Monday, March 14, 2011

Outshine Other Sellers With Essential Upgrades

Imagine walking into a significant business meeting appearing like you simply dragged yourself straight from bed. You would be unlikely to produce a good impression and waste your time of securing the job.

The same thing goes for selling a house. First impressions are lasting. Some buyers won't even consider many homes that don't have good roadside charm.

Today's buyers are very picky. There isn't any sense of urgency in the current market, so buyers are taking time to find the best home possible, which will last them for many years to come. In certain areas, there are far to many homes for sale, so you need to be sure that buyers are going to be drawn to your property before they even walk-up to the front door.

Fortunately, exterior improvements needn't be costly. The recent Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report 2010-2011 discovered that the improvements that yielded the greatest return around the investment when sold were a brand new steel door plus a new garage door.

The common cost nationally to get a new door was $1,218; the return was 102 percent. The common cost to get a new garage door was $1,191; the return was 83.9 percent. The most notable nine of 10 most cost-effective improvements nationally were for exterior projects. Exterior charm can be as significant as ever, and may even be so within this market.

The Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report is a collaborative report done annually by Remodeling Magazine and the National Association of Realtors. It compares construction costs with resale values, which can be according to estimates from a lot more than 3,000 Realtors and appraisers.

Beautifying your front yard doesn't need to cost much. Cleanse weeds and dead plants. Add flowering plants for color and mulch to tidy up areas which are not heavily planted. Replace a lawn which may have seen better days with less lawn along with a border bed of flowering shrubs. Do in-ground planting well ahead of time, if at all possible, This way plants have the time to get established before your property enters the marketplace.

A deteriorated fence needs to be removed, repainted, repaired or replaced. Any peeling paint near the front walk, house exterior and trim needs to be refreshed. The side of your home that provides the most weather exposure usually needs more maintenance. If you have ignored it, you will end up deducting dollars from the sale price. You should repaint where needed, prior to selling.

The quantity returned on do-it-yourself investments differs from one location to another. It is critical to check with your local real estate broker before you start   an upgrade project to make certain that you don't over-do an improvement that won't return on the investment.

Most homeowners assume they'll manage to get thier money-back and much more once they sell. Actually, most upgrade investments often don't return 100 % from the amount invested, specifically in a down market.

A small mid-range kitchen remodel returns 72.8 percent nationally, based on the 2010-11 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Index. Inside the Pacific region from the U.S., you likely will recoup 84.1 %.

However, an important upscale kitchen remodel pays back only 59.7 percent nationally and 66 percent inside the Pacific region. The only sensible argument  against an important remodel project is when you're residing in your home and you will benefit from the improvements before selling.

Patio decking addition ranked good from a list of popular exterior improvements. Although, nationally the price recouped is merely 72.8 percent, it could be a vital enhancement if your home does not have any outdoor liveable space and many  homes inside your neighborhood do.

Always remember that the supply and demand of like properties which are nearer to your home will impact just how much you'll recoup out of your fix-up investments.

Emergency Mortgage Relief Program Under Attack

The House of Representatives elected last Friday to wipe out mortgage help for homeowners who have lost their jobs or become ill, as the two parties struggled over how to balance frugality and concern during a period of massive budget deficits. A dominate party-line voted, 242-177, lead by the Republican-run House to abolish the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program may be as far as the legislation gets. The White House has threatened to veto the measure, and its prospects are unsure in the Democratic controlled Senate.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to the environment, our health, our finances, and our communities.

  • Environment: Cars are a leading cause of climate change. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.
  • Health: The average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.
  • Finances: One point of Walk Score is worth up to $3,000 of value for your property.
  • Communities: Studies show that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.

 Find A Walkable Place To Live

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Increase Your Energy Efficiency



Unless your home was specially constructed for energy efficiency, you can usually reduce your energy bills by adding more insulation. Many older homes have less insulation than homes built today, but adding insulation to a newer home may also pay for itself within a few years.

Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler space. In the winter, this heat flow moves directly from all heated living spaces to adjacent unheated attics, garages, basements, and even to the outdoors. Heat flow can also move indirectly through interior ceilings, walls, and floors—wherever there is a difference in temperature. During the cooling season, heat flows from the outdoors to the interior of a house.

To maintain comfort, the heat lost in the winter must be replaced by your heating system and the heat gained in the summer must be removed by your cooling system. Properly insulating your home will decrease this heat flow by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat.

To determine whether you should add insulation, you first need to find out how much insulation you already have in your home and where.

A qualified home energy auditor will include an insulation check as a routine part of a whole-house energy assessment. An energy assessment, also known as a home energy audit, will also help identify areas of your home that are in need of air sealing. (Before you insulate, you should make sure that your home is properly air sealed.)

When insulating your home, you can choose from many types of insulation. To choose the best type of insulation, you should first determine the following:

• Where you want or need to add insulation
• The recommended R-values for areas you want to insulate.

Understanding R-Value


The R-value is a measure of thermal resistance used in the building and construction industry. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness. Under uniform conditions it is the ratio of the temperature difference across an insulator and the heat flux (heat transfer per unit area). Heat transfer through an insulating layer is analogous to electrical resistance. R-value is the reciprocal of U-value. The U-value (or U-factor), more correctly called the overall heat transfer coefficient, describes how well a building element conducts heat.

The US Department of Energy has recommended R-values for given areas of the USA based on the general local energy costs for heating and cooling, as well as the climate of an area. There are four types of insulation: Rolls and batts, Loose-fill, Rigid foam, and Foam-in-place. Rolls and batts are typically flexible insulators that come in fibers, like fiberglass. Loose-fill insulation comes in loose fibers or pellets and should be blown into a space. Rigid foam is more expensive than fiber, but has a higher R-value. Foam-in-place can be blown into small areas to control air leaks, like those around windows. Increasing the thickness of an insulating layer increases the thermal resistance. For example, doubling the thickness of fibreglass batting will double its R-value,

The R-value is a measure of insulation's heat loss retardation under specified test conditions. The primary mode of heat transfer impeded by insulation is convection but unavoidably it also impedes heat loss by all three heat transfer modes: conduction, convection, and radiation. The primary means of heat loss across an uninsulated air-filled space is natural convection, which occurs because of changes in air density with temperature.

The amount of insulation or R-value you'll need depends on your climate, type of heating and cooling system, and the section of the house you plan to insulate.
Properly insulating your home will not only help reduce your heating and cooling costs but also make your home more comfortable.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Have A Safe Holiday

Residential fires during the holiday season are more frequent, more costly, and more deadly than at any other time of the year.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/holiday-fire-safety-tips/#ixzz18J4tTol4

Monday, October 18, 2010

Thinking about remodeling in your home. Kitchen and baths give your home the biggest bang for your buck. Here are 11 kitchen and bath trends for 2010

Read on...

Friday, September 24, 2010

Solar power meets consumer power: Group discounts help you buy home solar power. See how to save and be green.

 
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