GUIDE
Local businesses o er home improvement tips
2022 REAL ESTATE EDITION
HOME IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE
ASK A HOME BUILDER
ASK A REMODELER Lauren deFreitas is the owner of Genius Home Renovations LLC based in Flower Mound. She opened her residential renovation company in 2019 and is also an investor and Realtor. WHAT AREAS OF THE HOUSE ARE PEOPLE FOCUSING ON THE MOST FOR REMODELING OR REDESIGNING? I get a lot of calls for additions. People want to add on a master suite or a mother-in-law suite or build out their attic. I get a lot of calls for just expanding home size. People discovered their houses have to function better or di erently lately since the pandemic. I get a lot of calls for bathroom remodeling, and then just kind of general maintenance and ooring and painting. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHANGES YOU HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST YEAR? A lot of people have those formal dining rooms at the front of their house. So I do get a lot of calls for people wanting to kind of enclose those and put French doors something like that, to where it can be like a study or o ce, kids’ homework rooms. I’ve seen people wanting to create more private functioning spaces. And, as well as, just updating the exterior painting, painting brick and adding some fun stu to where they can kind of customize what their home feels like and looks like so it’s not all cookie cutter in the neighborhood. ARE THERE ANY TRENDS THAT YOU’VE SEEN IN THE PAST YEAR? Your average house is around 38 years old, so a lot of people are ready for updates. A lot of people were forced to do some updates after that freeze [in February 2021] because they had a lot of pipe bursts and stu like that, which led to big renovations [in] kitchens [and] bathrooms. We do get a lot of requests for bathroom updates. A lot of people are getting rid of the garden tub—the big soaking tub in the master—and everybody wants big walk-in showers and spa bathrooms. So that would de nitely be a trend, getting rid of bathtubs and just using the space how they use it now, not how it was used 40 years ago when [the] average house was built.
Reginald Rembert is a Flower Mound-based contractor who owns Rembert Custom Builders with his wife, Ida. He has been in the real estate business for more than 20 years. DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW HOMEOWNERS? Just make sure that you get a reputable builder. Do your research. Make sure your builders are legitimate, nancially sound and honest builders. If you’re looking for a custom home, make sure you work with someone that allows you to build custom — build exactly what you want and not what someone else wants you to build. We allow the customer to pretty much dictate the build process. HOW HAS THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC AFFECTED THE SUPPLY CHAIN? It’s still an issue. Costs are still going up and home prices are still going up. But the interesting thing is it’s not slowing down the buyer. Buyers are not really a ected by what’s going on, at this price point. We do have some supply chain issues and we have been a ected by COVID and the supply chain issues. HOW HAS INFLATION IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS? We don’t think in ation is a ecting us too much. Of course it a ects everybody at the gas pump, at the grocery store. Our prices are going up. There’s supply chain and delays and shortages of material and so forth. But I don’t know that that’s a direct in ation-related item or just the economy as a whole. ARE YOU MONITORING ANY TRENDS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE PEOPLE? Actually, no. There’s still demand. The demand may not be as great as it was 12 months ago, but there’s still an excess of what we can accommodate or can support so the demand is still there. But on our side, we’re not building many a ordable homes anyway. So I guess most of our clients are lying above the in ation and a ordability curve.
COMPILED BY DESTINE GIBSON
ASK A REAL ESTATE AGENT
Jason Haugen is a Realtor who owns Haugen Properties with his wife, Shirley. The couple opened their Highland Village-based brokerage in 2014, and they have more than 30 years of experience combined in the real estate business. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TRENDS YOU ARE SEEING IN HOUSING PRICES? It’s been a rollercoaster ride, really. Nobody thought it could get hotter. But it just kept getting hotter. 2009-10 were the worst years in real estate. I’ve always said these last few years have been like [2009] and [2010] in reverse. Nobody [was] buying in 2010, I mean, it was terrible. Five months ago, three months ago, you couldn’t keep a listing on the market. Now, it’s kind of leveling o a bit. Now, prices are gonna come down, things are less a ordable because the interest rates went up. HOW HAS INFLATION AFFECTED HOUSING PRICES? The housing prices were going up regardless of in ation. And in ation is going to basically make things less a ordable because you’re paying more at the pump, more for food, more for everything. The supply chain has been terrible. It’s like we’re living in another dimension. But you gotta realize it always changes. We got to be able to roll with it. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES IN TRENDS BETWEEN CITIES? Everything’s a microcosm of any city. The whole state has been just on re. With the higher interest rates, everything’s kind of tamped down. There’s a lot of fear; there’s a lot of stu —people get fearful, and people are going to just sit and wait for a while see what’s happening.
Reginald Rembert Owner, Rembert Enterprises Inc. 4316 Laura Lane, Flower Mound 214-213-5982 www.rembertbuilders.com
Lauren deFreitas Owner, Genius Home Renovations LLC 4001 S. Broadway Ave., Flower Mound, | 214-641-0309 www.geniushomerenovations.com, www.realestateagentdfw.com
Jason Haugen Co-owner, Haugen Properties 2300 Highland Village Road, Ste. 120, Highland Village 469-583-7571 www.facebook.com/ HaugenRealEstate
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LEWISVILLE FLOWER MOUND HIGHLAND VILLAGE EDITION • JULY 2022
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