Looking to Add Value to Your Home? Do These Projects!

Adding value to your home is important. Depending upon the amount of money you have though it really can limit the projects you can do. In order to help you out we found this article with more than 25 DIY project ideas to increase the value of your home. We hope they help get you thinking about what to do around your home!

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From the article:

The laundry closet that makes you want to wash your clothes.

Transform your refrigerator to stainless steel with a peel and stick film.

Turn a dull wall into an impressive bookcase.

Install a board and batten in the hallway.

Painting the garage floor makes it easier to clean and resistant to oil stains, chemicals, water, mold, and mildew.

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Read the entire article here: http://www.architecturendesign.net/diy-projects-to-add-value-to-your-home/

Looking for Ways to Boost the Value of Your Home? Try These Ways!

Every homeowner wants to boost the value of their home. In order to help you narrow down what to do in order to get the most bang for your buck we found this article. We hope it helps!

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From the article:

This is a great time to be selling a house???or buying one. With housing prices at recent highs (in some neighborhoods they???re exceeding pre-2008 valuations), it???s no wonder about 5.3 million homes are expected to change hands in 2015, up about 30 percent from the bottom of the crash, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Buyers as well as sellers can benefit. That???s because purchasing a home is comparatively cheap right now, thanks to still-low interest rates (they recently dipped below 4 percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage). ???A home buyer with the U.S. median income who buys the median-priced home will pay 15.3 percent of their income on their mortgage now,??? says Skylar Olsen, a senior economist at Zillow, the online real estate marketplace. ???The historical number is 22.1 percent.??? And although home prices will continue to climb in 2015, they???re expected to do so at a slower rate than in 2014.

So how do you make the most money, no matter which end of the transaction you???re on? For answers, the Consumer Reports National Research Center turned to the people most in the know for answers???the real estate professionals who broker almost 90 percent of residential sales.

A panel of 303 pros from around the country (covering markets big and small, hot and cold, city and suburban) completed our recent online survey, filled with essential questions: What are the costliest mistakes sellers make? When is the best time to put a home on the market? How negotiable are broker???s fees, really?

The answers may surprise you. If you???re a seller, advice from the pros on smart presale fix-ups, coupled with our expert product ratings and tips, can help you get the best sales price for your home???an additional 12 percent, on average. With median single-family home prices hovering at about $205,000, that???s a potential gain of $24,600. In pricier markets, the profits will go many times higher.

And both buyers and sellers can come out ahead with our guide to savvy financial and negotiating moves. Avoid the most typical mistakes and you could gain 11 to 20 percent, and even more in some markets, of the home sale???s price.

April through June is prime home-selling season. So let???s get started!

Spruce up the kitchen
Cost range: $300 to $5,000
Potential return: 3 to 7%
It???s a real estate adage that the kitchen, more than any other room, sells the home. In fact, 53 percent of real estate professionals told us that the kitchen is among the most important rooms of the home to have in good shape before selling.

But that doesn???t mean you should drop tens of thousands of dollars on a new one before putting your house on the block. ???Given all the volatility in the real estate market, you can???t spend megabucks on any project, even a kitchen, and expect to get that money back,??? says Bill Wilson, a real estate professional in upstate New York. His first advice to clients is to make all of those minor repairs that can lead to serious second thoughts for buyers???the leaky faucet, the loose light fixture, the burn mark on the countertop.

Once you???ve made the kitchen fully functional, think about a gentle spruce-up. For a few hundred dollars, you can probably paint the walls, update the cabinet hardware, and add new curtains, which will give the space a clean, fresh look.

If the kitchen is badly outdated, increasing your bud??get to $5,000 might make sense, especially if you could be in the home for a few more years. A couple thousand dollars will get you a top-performing refrigerator, range, and dishwasher, all with popular stainless-steel finish. New countertops and floors will cost about the same, especially if you go for DIY-friendly laminate and vinyl, both of which proved very hard-wearing in our countertop reviews and flooring tests. That will leave about $1,000 for odds and ends, such as light fixtures and a new faucet, as well as any necessary labor costs.

Paint the rooms???selectively
Cost range: $100 (DIY) to $1,000 (pro)
Potential return: 1 to 3%
A fresh coat of paint is the quickest way to transform a room. But it probably doesn???t make sense to have your entire house repainted prior to putting it on the market. ???I???ve seen people spend three, four, even five thousand dollars on a massive paint job, when all they needed to do was hit the walls with a Magic Eraser and maybe redo one or two rooms,??? says Redfin???s Bree Al-Rashid. (Sixteen percent of real estate professionals said interior painting is an important element in fostering the sale of a home.)

Kitchens and bathrooms are two candidates for a complete paint job given the high traffic they see. You should also paint any brightly colored rooms. ???Most people do not have the vision of what a room could look like, and instead they walk away and later say, ???Oh, that???s the house with the purple bedrooms,????????? says Kim Parten, a real estate pro from Horseshoe Bay, Texas. ???I???ve had homes not sell, or sell for less, because of purple bedrooms.???

Whites and off-whites tend to attract the most buyers; the neutral palette allows them to focus on a home???s attributes. ???Grays and beiges are both very reliable,??? says Al-Rashid. ???They???re not too warm, not too cold, and they work with most types of furniture, so buyers will be able to see themselves in the space.???

As for the paint itself, if you???re getting your home ready to sell, choose a paint that does a good job of hiding old paint and leaves a fairly smooth surface; several in our interior paint Ratings meet those requirements for less than $30 per gallon. Invest in a top-quality product if you???re planning to be in the home for a while. Our tough tests, which include scrubbing the finishes with harsh abrasives, found eight winners. Because a brand???s flat, eggshell, and semigloss formulations perform similarly overall, we???ve combined the scores into one to simplify the process.

You can paint the walls yourself or pay a pro about $300 per room, paint included, with added rooms costing $200, says Debbie Zimmer, a spokeswoman for the Paint Quality Institute.

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Looking for more ideas on boosting the value of your home? Then checkout this article about boosting value of home that could be of interest to you.
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Read the entire article here: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/03/top-5-ways-to-boost-the-value-of-your-home/index.htm

Increase the Value of Your Home With These Ideas!

paint-int08This article lists things you should focus on if you want to increase the value of your home. It also includes areas not to improve upon to increase the value of your home. It is filled with great information that we’re sure will help you in planning the next phase of your home!

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From the article:

Some home improvement projects that add value to a home include:

1. Remodeling the Kitchen
Most people consider the kitchen to be the heart of the home, and because of this, updates in this room pay off. According to HGTV, you can expect to recoup 60%-120% of your investment on a kitchen remodel, as long as you don???t go overboard. You should never make your kitchen fancier than the rest of the house, or the neighborhood.

A Little Paint Goes a Long Way
When it comes to how much you spend on a kitchen remodel, prices can run the gamut, from $5,000 to $75,000, or more. Get the biggest bang for your buck on a kitchen remodel by looking at color. Fresh paint, in modern colors, can go a long way towards updating the look of your kitchen. Plus, paint is relatively cheap.

Energy-Efficient Appliances
Replace old appliances with energy-efficient models. Energy Star-rated appliances are better for the environment, and they also help you save money, because they use less energy. Potential buyers often look for ways to save money when shopping for a new home.

2. Bathroom Addition
If your home only has one bathroom, you can recoup a large chunk of your investment by adding another one. HGTV estimates that you can recoup 80%-130% of whatever you spend adding a bathroom.

3. Reinventing a Room
Adding more square footage to your home with a new room can be an incredibly expensive project. Although you can recoup some of your investment, anywhere from 50%-83%, this project???s costs can quickly spin wildly out of control. Just turn on any of those home remodeling TV shows; projects that start off with a $15,000 budget quickly turn into $30,000 or more when homeowners and contractors run into unexpected problems.

Reinvent the existing space in your home to save money. Finish a basement, or convert the attic to a bedroom. Many homeowners can also add small apartments in, or over, their garages ??? which they can then rent out as a room.

4. Adding Energy-Efficient Windows
These days, buyers shop for homes with energy efficiency in mind. Old, drafty single-pane windows are a major turn off. Energy Star claims that adding Energy Star-rated windows can save you up to $500 a year in heating and cooling costs by making your home more energy efficient.

According to HGTV, you can expect to recoup 60%-90% of your costs when you invest in energy-efficient windows. You can also receive a green energy tax credit of 10% for this upgrade, as long as you install Energy Star-rated windows. You might also qualify for additional credits from your state, or even your utility company.

5. Deck Addition
Adding a deck increases the value of your home. Outdoor living spaces have become more desirable, especially since more people stay home for vacation (i.e. referred to as a staycation). If you make your deck and your backyard more appealing, your house will be more appealing to prospective buyers when you decide to sell. HGTV claims that homeowners recoup 65%-90% of their investment by adding a deck.

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Interested in more tips to increase the value of your home? Checkout this article for homeowners with more home improvement tips that could be of interest to you.
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To view the entire article click here: http://www.moneycrashers.com/7-home-improvements-to-increase-its-value/#ixzz2Sor0bGaR

Renovate Your Home AND Boost Resale Value!

imageAll homeowners want to do what they can to improve the value of their home. We found this article with ideas to cheaply and easily renovate your your home as well as boosting resale value. We hope it will make your creative juices flow!

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From the article:

  1. Hire a pro. Consider hiring a pro to take a look at your home and offer advice. One morning spent with a home inspector, a real estate agent or a local designer can give you insight into what potential buyers will see when they look at your home ??? and can save you money in the long run.
  2. Invest early in landscaping. A beautifully landscaped yard with gorgeous, mature shade trees can be a big selling point, but you’ll need to allow for at least several years of growth to make the most of your investment. Make planting a priority early on, and be sure to seek out expert advice on the proper placement and care of your trees and yard.
  3. Power wash paths and siding. Giving your home’s exterior and paved areas a power wash can be nearly as dramatic as repainting, for a much lower cost. Rent a machine from your local hardware store if you don’t have one.
  4. Maintain green lawns. Sad, neglected lawns are a major turnoff to potential buyers. Maintaining a healthy lawn from the beginning with regular care is the least expensive route, though laying new sod can be worth the dramatic improvement in curb appeal if you don’t have time to start from seed.
  5. Upgrade exterior doors. Curb appeal will help sell your house; it’s as simple as that. And the way your home looks from the outside depends a lot on the condition of your front door (and the garage door, if it’s visible from the street).
  6. Remove eyesores. Outdated wallpaper, tacky light fixtures, stained carpets and popcorn ceilings are all good candidates for updating. The replacements need not be high-end; just think clean, simple and contemporary.
  7. Minor kitchen renovations bank the biggest return. If your kitchen is fairly current, you may want to leave it alone ??? remodeling a kitchen comes with a hefty cost, and you may only be able to recoup around 65 percent of your investment. Smaller updates such as painting or refinishing cabinets that are still in good shape, or upgrading to Energy Star appliances, can refresh your kitchen’s look at a fraction of the cost.
  8. French doors add more than light. If you are looking for a special feature to add to your home, consider replacing a door or several windows with French doors. Not only will they let in more light, but the open feel they provide makes the whole space feel larger. Plus, they make for a romantic addition to your home’s sale ad. “French doors leading to the garden” ??? now that has a nice ring to it!
  9. Choose current paint colors. A fresh, crisp paint job in modern neutrals like gray and putty shows off your home to best advantage. Don’t feel you have to avoid all color; just be aware that the bolder your choice, the more likely it is that it won’t agree with someone. An overly bright or badly chipped exterior paint color may need refreshing too, so don’t stop with the indoors.
  10. Build in extra storage. Another great investment is to add built-in shelving or cabinets in halls, garages or anywhere you have the space. Buyers love seeing great storage, so this can add a lot of appeal ??? and if you are able to do some of the work yourself, you can keep costs reasonable.

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Interested in more tips to increase the value of your home? Checkout this article for homeowners with more weekend home improvement projects that could be of interest to you.
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To view the entire article click here: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/3189463/list