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How To Achieve High Home Improvement Value

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:33:09 +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 can also be your biggest investment and as such it is deserving of continued improvement to increase the value of your investment. Or perhaps you’ve bought your home with a view to making some quick improvements an 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 sunroom or a verandah 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.

About Author

Alison Stevens is an online author and maintains The Home Improvement Website to assist homeowners with home improvement tips and information.

What Exactly is a Home Improvement Loan?

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:54:24 +0000

A home improvement loan is actually one of the simplest ways in which you can live in your dream home. This is because it is the prime option for someone wanting to enhance the appearance of their home and also add to the value. In other words, a home improvement loan pays off in many ways. First of all, your home looks great and, second of all, the investment pays for itself because the home goes up in value.

As for how you get a home improvement loan, there are a couple of ways. The first is that you can simply go to your bank and request the money. You can do an assessment of how much work you would like to do and request that amount. The second way is to refinance your mortgage and use the equity in your home to fund your home improvement project. How you do this is you refinance for the worth of your home, you pay off our mortgage, and you then take the difference between the worth of your home and your mortgage and use that money to fund your home improvement project.

Types of home improvement

You can use your loan to fund any improvement to your home. You may want to simply improve the appearance of your home or you may have worn and broken areas that must be fixed or replace. However, the loan must make sure that the improvements that are done to the home are right with the borrower’s needs and don’t exceed the amount that the borrower is borrowing. This means you need to make sure you cover all of your improvements by not deviating from your initial plan.

For example, you may wish to add rooms onto your home. Maybe you need an extra bathroom or an extra bedroom. Perhaps you want a sun porch or a sitting room where you can sit and relax for a while. It is really up to you. Maybe your plumbing needs an overhaul or you need to put more siding on your house.

Here is a more detailed idea of what you can achieve with a home improvement loan:

- Installation of central heat and air
- Installing a fire place
- Swimming pool installation
- Rewiring the home
- Remodeling any room in the house

Loan details

There are certain details of the loan that you must be mindful of. The first thing you must keep in mind is that the interest rate of your home improvement loan is going to depend on your credit rating. If you are credit challenged, you may find that getting a competitive rate is somewhat difficult.

However, there has been an increased amount of competition between financial institutions because more and more people are looking for home improvement loans. Because of this competition, there are more options for borrowers to take advantage of. There are a number of online lending services that have added to this competition, which also increases the chances of getting an approval on a home improvement loan. The process has been simplified by these entities.

But before getting the loan, make sure you get quotes on how much it would cost you. You can assess the work yourself, but you can have a professional do it even if you do decide that it is a project you want to do all on your own. This increases your chances of being able to stay within the amount the loan is for. If you exceed your loan amount, you may not be able to pay for the remainder of your improvements. But know that if you need a home improvement loan, different lenders have different options for you.

About Author

How you can save money on home improvements and get estimates from local contractors in the Toronto’s area. They offer Home Improvement Help, Contractor Referral, Drafting Service.

A Home Improvement Loan Decision Should Not Be Made in Haste

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:54:23 +0000

Taking out a loan is not a small decision. If the collateral security happens to be your house, then the decision has implications not just for you but the future of your entire family.

Hence, opt for home improvement loans secured by your house only if you are dead certain of your ability to repay the loan in full.

Most of the home improvement loan seekers go to a broker to get the best possible deal. The job of the broker is to get a lender who will lend the maximum money to the borrower at the easiest terms. Generally, loans that charge the lowest APR are considered as good deals.

Home improvement loans can be used to fund practically any and every improvement to the home. The lender will ensure you are not borrowing a large amount when a small amount would serve your purpose.

To secure his interest, the lender demands that you offer your house as the security for the loan. Only perfect credit scores qualify for unsecured loans.

When applying for a home improvement loan, be prepared for the scrutiny of your credit file. With 3 out of 5 persons suffering from debt of more than $10,000, lenders have become very cautious.

Do you have good credit?

All your transactions form a part of your credit file and the same is scrutinized to determine whether you can be relied to repay the loan on time. If you suffer from bad credit, you will have to pay a higher rate of interest.

It is not worth to risk your house for a beautiful new kitchen, bedroom or bathroom unless you are absolutely certain that you can afford the loan.

The Home improvement sector is an extremely competitive sector. Service providers are many and the competition has ensured that the prices remain low. Now is the best time to get that home improvement job done.

Companies are struggling to meet their targets and are offering great offers to the buyers to ensure they stay in business. While women are in no way inferior to men when it comes to doing home improvement jobs, this sector is dominated by men.

Home owners beware!

When employing a home improvement company, make sure you employ licensed and registered professionals only. The law places the burden on the buyer to ensure that he employs licensed workmen only and you face the risk of losing all benefits that accrued to you from insurances, warranties and guarantees.

There is no denying that home improvement business is a very lucrative one:

a. Labor charges run high
b. After hours labor charges have to be heard to be believed
c. Materials are often supplied by the home improvement contractor. He buys in bulk at cost and sells it to the home owner at a profit.

Be there at the right place and the right time, aggressively market yourself, please your clients to ensure word of mouth publicity, advertise in local papers and magazines and find yourself a rich man in no time at all.

Demand for home improvement companies will never go slack. Even in the worst of the times, people do not stop beautifying their house. The hours are long and the work is hard.

If you are ready to bend your back, you will find a big fat check in your account month after month. The question is “Are you up to it?”

About Author

Visit, subscribe to and bookmark: http://www.avr-2808ci.com & http://myhomeimprovementtips.com for your home improvement entertainment projects and Abzorb Mats! And keep up with the latest home improvements for your home and family.

Protecting Your Family and Home From the Dangers of Lightening

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:21:06 +0000

Protecting Your Family and Home From the Dangers of Lightening

As the seasons change, so do the elements and storms we are exposed to. This time of year, hurricanes and flooding rains are major problems we face. A by-product of these mysterious weather phenomenons is lightning. A lightning storm, also known as an electrical storm, can be extremely dangerous and destroy a home with a single blow. These erratic ribbons of energy seek to find refuge by kissing the earth with a tremendous force of energy and destroying anything that may be in its path.

At any particular moment, there are over 1,800 thunderstorms in progress somewhere around the globe and 25 million bolts of lightning reach out of the sky, coming in contact with the ground, annually.

Watching a good lightning storm zigzag across the sky is an awesome visual experience. The ominous ness and the electrical displays are extraordinary to watch. But, these displays of dancing energy come with a destructive power that steals more lives and causes more damage than floods, hurricanes and tornadoes – combined.

There is a way you can help to protect your home from being destroyed by these flashes of energy. Installing a lightning protection system can provide a path for the lightning to follow into the ground and help to direct it from melting the shielding in your homes electrical system and taking out the electronics and appliances plugged into your outlets. These systems do not prevent lightning from striking nor do they attract it, but help to direct its energy out of harms way.

Lightning protection systems that meet the latest standard requirements are considered to be 99% effective by Underwriters Laboratories. These systems can be partially concealed on the exterior or completely concealed during construction.

If lightning strikes the ground, it can affect whatever is within a 60 foot radius and 10 times that area, if it strikes water and can be lethal. On average, it can strike over 50 times within a quarter-mile of your home and is the leading cause of fires in suburban and rural areas.

There are several factors to determine if your home is at risk:

1. If your home is located in an open area

2. If lightning strikes were reported or seen within close proximity

3. If your home is located in an elevated area, like a mountain.

4. If you do not have a system to safely direct the path of electricity into the ground

A Few Lightning Facts

· A lightning bolt can travel from 25 – 45 miles horizontally prior to hitting the ground and can be from 6 to 8 miles in length.

· The size of a bolt is about 1 – 2 inches in diameter with the surrounding light making it seem a lot larger.

· A single bolt of lightning can become up to 5 times the heat of the sun and carries with it 1 billion volts of current and up to 20,000 amperes.

· The Empire State Building is struck by lightning over 100 times per year.

· Most lightning strikes occurs between 12 noon and 4 PM

In homes located where sandy soil conditions are prevalent, more elaborate systems are necessary. Sand is dryer than normal soil and does not conduct electricity in the same way that moist soil does. For areas with sandy soil conditions there is a system that dissipates the energy over more of an area than the simple lightening rod, cable and clamp system.

Although the rod and cable system is easier than the more elaborate systems, for the best results and to ensure that you meet the requirements for a lower deductible and discounted premium from your insurance carrier, have a licensed professional evaluate and install the best system to protect you, your family and your home.

To get your copy of Hector’s book,

What Your Parent’s Never Told You About Owning a Home

Visit www.americashomeimprovementcoach.com and with

your purchase his book you will receive 5 reports on

ü Selling Your Home In Any Market

ü Hiring the Right Contractor For You

ü Staying Within Your Budget

ü Looking Out For Contractor Scams

ü What Questions Should You Ask a Potential Contractor

About Author

Hector Seda has been coined "America’s Home Improvement Coach". He has been in the construction industry for thirty years and is also a syndicated columnist. He has been quoted in Lowe’s For Pros as well as other media. Hector Seda has been interviewed on radio and television across the United States. He is a regular guest on “Your Morning”, a Philadelphia morning talk show on Comcast CN8. He is a speaker and advocate for ethical construction and home improvement. He is a Certified Construction Consultant, Certified Project Manager and Certified Construction Inspector. Mr. Seda is a member of The Society of Industry Leaders, a Standard and Poor’s Co. and consultant for Vista Research, a McGraw-Hill Co. which provides consultation on construction and real-estate for institutional fund managers. Hector Seda is a Subject Matter Expert for Homeminders.com, a Phoenix based company. He is also a correspondent and columnist for North Jersey Media and active planning official in the State of New Jersey, as well as, the author of “What Your Parents Never Told You About Owning A Home” and has a new book to be released in the Spring of 2008 through Adams Media Publishing “Repair For Resale”.

Home Improvement Financing 101

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:21:10 +0000

You’ve decided to spruce up the homestead with some needed improvements. Fantastic. Now here lies the rub, how are you going to find home improvement financing?

Let’s face it, kitchen floors and new window panes don’t grow on trees. Even though home improvements are an investment that will make you money in the long run, finding the home improvement financing you need now can be difficult, and not getting an adequate amount of funding for your projects can lead to compromises in quality that you may later regret.

Homeowners have a variety of options when it comes to finding home improvement financing. They can borrow against the equity in their homes and various federal loan programs also exist for borrowers. Here’s a few home improvement financing options you may what to consider:

Mortgage refinancing: Now is the time to take advantage of historically low interest rates by refinancing your mortgage to pay for home improvements. You can refinance your mortgage and borrow money against the equity you have in your home. Some banks even offer loans that allow you to borrow more money up front by adding the value of the planned improvement to your equity. Refinancing your mortgage for home improvement financing purposes is a good deal because you’ll have the convenience of just one home loan and monthly payment.

Home equity loans: These loans, also known as second mortgages, lets homeowners borrow money by leveraging the equity in their homes. They’re popular among folks looking for home improvement financing because homeowners are able to deduct the interest from their federal taxes.

Federal Title I loans: If you don’t have much equity in your home, you may qualify for home improvement financing under a Title I loan. These federally-backed loans offer negotiable interest rates and can be tapped for about $25,000. The loans can only be used to pay for essentials however, such as improvements made necessary by a medical condition, not luxuries like swimming pools.

One method of home improvement financing you want to avoid is financing through a contractor. These loans often are made by sub-prime lenders and come with hidden fees. Also, getting financing through your contractor puts you in a poor bargaining position with him when it comes to getting a quote for your home improvement project. When hiring a contractor, it’s best to have your budget and home improvement financing already prepared to ensure the best deal.

Home ownership is like any other investment — you’ve got to spend money to make money. But to get the most out of your home investment, make sure you get your home improvement financing right. Borrow from reputable lenders and don’t overextend yourself.

About Author

For more information on Home Improvement Finance
visit our new website www.dreamhomeimprovementguide.com