Hi. We are looking at a ranch that was built in 1948. It has no basement. The current structure is 2400 square feet, hardwood floors and seems pretty solid. How do we get a ballpark on how much it would cost to build up. THere is some room to build out, but I am not sure we could get what we want. We currently have a 2-story 4800 square foot home that we love, but this is in a much better proximity to the school that our three children attend. We are trying to see if this is a $80,000 project or something much higher. I know it is hard to say, but is there any rule of thumb or any other guidelines to this? The current structure has a kitchen, open to a family room and 'Florida room' with three bedrooms and an office. We'd like to keep that structure, with some enlargement to the kitchen and add at least 4 bedroooms on the top floor. Any thoughts? I am planning getting an architect and/or a builder to come out, but I would like to know if it is even possible to look at this alternative. We have room to spend about $400,000 but that would include probably $80,000 upgrade outside (there is an old pool and an unkept pond) and that would also include all expenses, "soup to nuts" and decorating. We currently have a wonderful house that we love with a renovated $80,000 kitchen and we'd like to keep the same type of lifestyle.
Thanks, G
