The reality is that for most of the people in the buying pool for houses at that price range in Bethesda and other close-in DC suburbs, time is a more valuable commodity than money. At that price bracket, most potential buyers are 30-something professionals, many of whom are married with (or planning to have) kids. For many people in that demographic, it's worth it to spend more for a house that requires no work, because the tradeoff for a cheaper house with major projects is that you have to spend the time to plan a remodel, hire someone to execute it, then either live through it or move out (which takes even more time and planning). When I bought my house 10 years ago, I was single, 30 years old, and worked at a law firm. I had the flexibility to extend my rental until some work could be done to my house, so I bought a house that needed cosmetic updates, and got a good price in a hot neighborhood where houses were selling for above asking within a few days. The prior owners 'totally 80s' choices were not appealing to buyers, and also did nothing to highlight the portion of the house that was the original structure from the early 1900s. Once I moved in, I never had time for the DIY projects I envisioned (such as gel staining the kitchen cabinets!), and the house felt like a 'work in progress' for a while. Now I am married with a baby, and I still have a full time job. If I were house hunting now, a house that was 'move in ready' and required nothing more than paint and decorating, would be worth a lot of $$. Because the time and effort required for major renovations would be a tipping point in terms of stress and quality of life, which is hard to quantify in dollars. And I say this as someone who has a decent 'eye' for imagining the potential a house has. In fact, I just recently moved back into my house, after moving out for the summer for a major remodel and addition (totally worth it, but totally exhausting and stressful and time-consuming). Many of my friends who are not into decorating and house stuff also have trouble even imagining the 'after' that a house could be, and overestimate how much it would cost (even at the inflated prices in this area) to make changes. So I think for the average buyer here, 'move in ready' is worth $$$$$, and a 'needs remodeling' house may not even be considered unless it's a tear down to build a mcmansion.

Here is the latest plan from the architect. I do think I am going to move forward with this and cut back on one other remodeling project in the house to help make up some of the cost difference. -The architect flipped the bathroom. -He extended the wall on the left, which will have a long window above. He left one slider to get the bikes out. I like the wall as it adds more privacy from the road/driveway. -He added a door out of the garage to the back yard. - He added 8" in width by moving the wall closer to bedroom 3, so now the room is almost 13'8". But I am thinking I might just move it back to 13'. -Now, do I want a slider where the parrot cages are with access to the backyard? I kind of think I do. I can see myself pushing them out there to clean them (although they are fairly easy to clean with Lysol/bleach wipes). I could see this as a dog room also for someone else with access to the backyard. As it stands now, I might put a fence as in the third pic, and let a dog use bedroom 3 with a doggie door to the fenced area. - Th ctr. Is suggesting a door in the six foot opening into the laundry to keep the AC separate. I have no idea what to put there. Thank you!!! :)

Thanks for the update and a very merry Christmas to all as well. tj

@User - Not pot lights, but more of a modern style for the dining room and at the base of the stairs - those are both super traditional and its small but has a big impact when you swap them out. If you paint a griege (even lighter maybe than what you mention) it will immediately make your house feel more modern/clean lines. the white is too much of a contrast and isnt' bright like it likely once was. Your tile isn't that bad, the grey/non-tan will pop out with a difference color paint. We did a full house in similar situation a few years ago - changing the spindles/under the steps on the stairway made a MASSIVE change. I couldn't believe what a difference it made. We called around and some places were charging $$$$ to do the stairs, once guy offered to use a sprayer and it was like $500 and done in a day. I had worked on it myself for about 40 hours by that point and realized the bloggers were crazy that thought it was just simple and easy and fast. This house WILL look exactly like you want it too.