Month: July 2020

Just this morning I read an article entitled:  We’re Running Out of Homes To Sell” in Lake Tahoe.

With key points in the article noting:

With more and more families and businesses moving to the state of Nevada to take advantage of its many tax benefits, our architectural firm in Incline Village, NV is fielding a lot of requests for more information about remodeling v/s buying a new home.

Right here in Incline, inventory is as tight as I have ever seen it during my 30 year residency.  With this noted, I thought I’d share some insight about the value of remodeling and some examples of what our architectural firm in Lake Tahoe and Truckee has recreated over our 30+ years of designing and remodeling homes in Washoe County.

Buyers usually want something they can move into – especially during the prime buying season – which is summer in Tahoe.  With the region’s limited inventory, and the demand to live an active life in the High Sierra, we do suggest our clients take a good look at the property’s overall assets.

Up here at 6,000+ elevation, that usually includes the views of the Lake and surrounding forest and mountain views.

If the home is rather new, a fresh coat of paint usually does the trick for a little facelift.

If the home is established, we like to look at the entire structure – evaluating its windows to ensure they are Low E, HVAC capabilities, and overall design.  The latter of which is very important when it comes to snow load – and where the snow UNLOADS when the spring thaw arrives; this past winter we’ve seen our share of broken porch railings and buried driveways due to poor design.

One also wants to review the home’s ‘new owners’ and how the design may or may not be ideal for either a large family moving in or a large home that now belongs to empty-nesters.  Our team at Borelli Architecture enjoys the opportunity to review our clients’ new purchase and offer solutions to best fit their lifestyle.  Some of the options may include the expansion of the kitchen, combining two guest rooms into an en-suite Master, refining the layout to move a downstairs bedroom to the main floor, or removing a pony wall to gain more space for a Great Room or brand new office.

In addition to the most urgent need to remodel a room into an office (see my recent post), another remodeling idea for mountain homes is to recreate the existing patio into an outdoor kitchen and dining environment.

And that is just the beginning of what one could or could not do to remodel a mountain home in Truckee or Lake Tahoe.

Another option of course, is to build a brand-new home.  There’s a beautiful golf course community in Carson City – which is just over the hill from the Lake – which also offers access to a private facility on the edge of Lake Tahoe. You can check it out at ClearCreekTahoe.com.  If you’d like a personal tour, I’ll be more than happy to show you some of the ideas for mountain golf course home designs.

Please never hesitate to give us a call to discuss your ideas for designing a home in Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Truckee, or right here in our hometown of Incline Village, NV.