How do you go about choosing improvements for a home?

[centralaustinite]

You need to find a house that is move-in ready!

Doing a remodel long distance is just nuts. Contractors are busy right now and some will balk at working with a client who is remote, the chances of miscommunication are just too high and it doesn't take very much extra time and hassle to eat away their profit. Same for designers.

Find a house that you can live in right away.

Regarding teasip, it is an Aggie term (derogatory) for UT students, alums. It is an old term with a long history, maybe the OP is an Aggie with a UT child? Or re-appropriating teasip as a positive term? UT does use it on occasion with pride (and serves tea on special days like Texas Independence Day)

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Regarding teasip, it is an Aggie term (derogatory) for UT students, alums. It is an old term with a long history, maybe the OP is an Aggie with a UT child? Or re-appropriating teasip as a positive term? UT does use it on occasion with pride (and serves tea on special days like Texas Independence Day)

Well, this ex-G a m e-c-o-c-k had no idea! Thought I had been here long enough to learn such. Thanks for the lesson. With all the conference shuffling, I need to learn a bit more about them Aggies.

[sezzam]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

...
Doing a remodel long distance is just nuts. Contractors are busy right now and some will balk at working with a client who is remote, the chances of miscommunication are just too high and it doesn't take very much extra time and hassle to eat away their profit. Same for designers.
...

+1.

Move in to a temporary residence in Austin from when you start vetting contractors all the way through when the work is done. If you cannot afford that, buy a house with little or nothing to fix.

[hillcountryheart]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Doing a remodel long distance is just nuts. Contractors are busy right now and some will balk at working with a client who is remote, the chances of miscommunication are just too high and it doesn't take very much extra time and hassle to eat away their profit. Same for designers.

This. It is very difficult to handle a remodel long distance.

20 years ago, when building, we used rounded sheet rock corners because they were fashionable and customary in California, and they are friendly to elders and kids. Turned out to be a wise proposition.

If you can give a short list of what you're used to and would like to find in a house here, I'm more than happy to give you feedback on what I see. There are also loads of "indoor tours" of residences here online as well as new build builder's sites that lists what they use at the low end.

The age of the house and the neighborhood are important, because this influences the way the house was built, and what looks good in a remodel.

[teasipmom]

Yes, I think I'm convinced to avoid doing a remodel long distance, based on all your helpful comments. Especially if it might be hard to find contractors. I'll continue to look for a move-in ready house.

And regarding my username, centralaustinite is correct. teasip is for 'tea sippers' and was a derogatory name assigned by the Aggies. I come from a long line of UT grads and have a lot of family in Austin (my parents and at least a dozen cousins there). And, of course, I'm a mom. My brother, however, is an Aggie. But I don't fault him for that.