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Make Money From Home Improvements

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:01:10 +0000

Increasing the value of your home with home improvement remodeling

When most people set about selling home they forget that their property is worth exactly what someone thinks that it’s worth. No more and no less. If a prospective buyer thinks that it’s worth more then you will make more money when you sell it. The location of your property and the size of it sets the base worth of the home but at the end of the day it won’t sell at the price you think it’s worth unless someone likes it when they view it.

So to increase the value of your home and make money when you sell it you need to make it look nice. That’s all you need to do, make it look great. By making your property look amazing instead of dull and tired you can increase the value of your home by as much as 20% in some cases and you can go a long way to achieving that goal without spending huge amounts of money.

Home improvement tip

So what makes someone like your property when they come to view? It isn’t the location or the size of the buildings because they new all that before they came to visit. Most people either fall in love with a place or hate it depending on what they see when they walk around. At the end of the day that comes down to the interior decorating and general impressions they get when walking around. Even clutter in rooms can put people off even though it has nothing to do with the property at all.

Concentrate on what your property looks like rather than trying to increase value with building work because that is what will give you the most increase in value for the least outlay of money.

Bathroom home improvement

The bathroom is a room that can really turn a visitor into a buyer if it looks good and there is a lot you can do to it without needing to spend a lot of cash on it.

Make sure that everything in the bathroom is spotlessly clean. Treat and eradicate any black mould that might be growing in places like the grout between tiles and the sealer around fixtures. The sight of black mould alone can be enough to put off a prospective buyer altogether. Always dry up any condensation as it forms as this encourages the mould to grow. Make cleaning a regular chore.

Lighting can play a big part in your bathroom experience so investigate soft soothing lighting arrangements. Small lights placed around the edges of a very small bathroom can make it look bigger than it really is which will immediately increase its perceived value.

Paint the walls and ceiling or better still, tile the walls. Light coloured tiles with simple designs are best for a bathroom and can be inexpensive. If you have the budget, tile the whole bathroom from floor to ceiling to give the biggest ‘oooh’ factor. This is very effective in a small bathroom.

You might decide to get a professional tile setter to tile your bathroom but you can save a lot of money by doing it yourself. It’s also a very satisfying job to do because it will look great and you can say that you did it all yourself. For tips on tiling your own bathroom read the article Setting Ceramic Tile With Ease

Repair and maintenance

Fix anything that doesn’t work properly and make sure that everything is well maintained. You don’t want your buyers to see the shower dripping because it won’t turn off.

Home improvement – remodeling and restoration

If you want to make a big impression on your buyers then you can think about more drastic measures like bathroom remodeling. Rip out all the old stuff, design a new layout that makes good use of space and add features that you didn’t have before like a separate shower cubicle. Provide subtle lighting, floor to ceiling ceramic tiles and your homebuyers won’t be able to resist.

By making improvements to make your home look better, no matter what they are, you can increase the value of your home by substantial amounts so don’t neglect it when you’re selling. Make money from home improvements.

By: Steve Gee

How To Achieve High Home Improvement Value

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:04:40 +0000

People think of their homes in different ways. The old adage – a man’s home is his castle – can be true for many men and women. Your home is also likely to be your biggest investment and as such it is deserving of continued upgrade to increase the home improvement value of your investment.

Or perhaps you’ve bought your home with a view to making some quick improvements and on-selling it.

Whatever your reasons for buying your house you will expect to see a rise in your home improvement value.

Estimating your home improvement value is a simple process and increasing that value can also be easy if you plan well. Regardless of where your home is located, or its amenity or size, it will have the potential for home improvement value. A simple rule of thumb in home improvements is that every dollar you invest should return you two dollars.

D-I-Y Improvements

Planning is the secret to increasing your home improvement value. Spend time in the planning stages and you’ll be rewarded in the renovation stage.

Start with pen and paper and two columns. In the first column list all the features that your house currently has, for example: two bedrooms, one bathroom, combined lounge/dining area, etc. In the other column write down the features you’d like to have in your home; for example four bedrooms, two bathrooms, rumpus room.

You may not be able to achieve everything you’ve written down in the second column; however, writing down the features that you desire is the first step in achieving your home improvement value.

Gaining Another Bathroom

Many people desire an en suite bathroom and this can be a great way to add value to your home. If the main bathroom is located adjacent to the master bedroom – as it frequently is – it can be a relatively inexpensive job to know a doorway between the two rooms. This will give you and immediate home improvement value!

Often a well-located closet can be turned into a toilet area, providing another boost to your home’s value.

Adding A Bedroom

Before you go to the expense of calling in a contractor, take a look at the present bedrooms. Do you have a large bedroom than could easily be divided into two smaller bedrooms by installing a stud wall? These bedrooms may be small but can give children or teenagers some much needed private space. What about a sun room or a veranda that can be closed in to provide a bedroom?

Adding bathrooms and bedrooms to a property is a great starting point to improving your home’s overall value.

If adding additional rooms is outside of you price range, then something as simple as a fresh coat of paint can transform a house or apartment. Keep the wall colors light and the ceilings and trim white if your aim is to make the rooms look larger.

In the bathroom and kitchen the addition of new taps and cupboard handles can brighten and add a contemporary touch to the rooms.

Remember the basic rule that a small investment now will turn into a big investment in the future. Keep making those small improvements and you’ll be able to watch your home improvement value grow over time.

By: Alison Stevens

How Should I Spend My Home Improvement Budget

admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:23:20 +0000

How should I spend my home-improvement budget? – It seems now days everyone has an interest in home improvement, just flip through cable TV channels and you will probably find a home improvement show to watch. It is not hard to understand why home owners are interested in home improvement, the right improvements can increase a homes value tremendously and give the home more enjoyability to the home owners. The question that always seems to pop up is “how do i spend my home improvement budget?”

The average American will move every 4-6 years so always take resale value and home appeal into account when planning any home improvement project. People all have varying tastes so avoid doing anything to extreme that may hurt resale value and is to difficult to undo, but it is your home so express yourself just keep it within reason.

No matter where you live a kitchen or bathroom remodel will add the most value and appeal to your home. These are expensive projects to undertake and many bathroom and kitchen remodels will cost over $10,000. Although small cosmetic improvements like faucet upgrades and new cabinet hardware can increase the appeal of a kitchen and bathroom for little money.

New flooring is also a nice home improvement that adds value, however new carpet will not add as much as value and appeal as adding hardwood floors will. Many of todays laminate hardwood floors can be installed DIY by the homeowner relatively easily. If you are unsure how to install hardwood flooring check with your local home improvement store, many offer classes on hardwood floor installation.

Not all home improvement projects have to be expensive or large to make a difference. Some smaller projects can include improving or adding landscaping, interior and exterior painting, resealing a driveway and upgrading lighting fixtures. These are small projects that can be done in a weekend or a few hours. These home improvements all will add curb appeal and increase the value of your home at the same time.

The things you will want to avoid are adding items that require maintenance and ongoing expense such as hot tubs, saunas and swimming pools. While one of these items may appeal to you they may not appeal to a large percentage of buyers and will not increase your homes value by much, in fact they may cause your home to sit on the market longer if you ever decide to sell A swimming pool is a good example of a negative home improvement , swimming pools require additional homeowners insurance due to liability for injury/death, they are expensive and complicated to maintain and can be dangerous to small children and some pets.

With the proper planning and research spending your home improvement budget correctly is an easy task to accomplish. By using the Internet, television shows and your local home improvement stores as references and you are almost guaranteed to choose the right improvement for your home.

By: Darin Sewell