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| Home Value Experts Warn: Think Before You Improve! |
Misunderstanding your home's value could lead you to make wrong
or costly decisions.
Most Americans watching mortgage rates rise are deciding that
now is the time to buy or sell before it's too late. Whether you
want to sell, or just improve your home's value before you tap
into your equity, here are five things experts suggest you
consider before calling your bank or putting the 'for sale' sign
on your lawn.
Make Only Renovations That Count. Experts agree that the right
renovations, especially bathrooms and kitchens, affect the
marketability of your home. Bathrooms have become a popular
remodeling choice, and for good reason-- they have the highest
rate of return of any home addition or home remodel. Real estate
agents agree that a gleaming kitchen with state-of-the-art
appliances, cork or |
hardwood flooring, stone countertop and lots
of cupboard space can sell a house the instant a prospective
buyer sees it. Conversely, a cramped, ill-lit kitchen with
outdated linoleum and harvest gold appliances might actually
scare buyers away.
Improve What You Can't Renovate. If you can't afford to
renovate, update and refresh key rooms instead. Replacing an old
countertop, repainting cupboards and walls, and installing new
door pulls and lighting make big improvements to your kitchen
for a very modest price. Similar touches increase the appeal of
older bathrooms, too. Fresh paint throughout your home is
another low-cost, high-return project -- it makes everything
look cleaner and brighter, and buyers love a house they won't
have to redecorate immediately.
Maintain Where You Can. Depending on the |
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age of your house, you
can expect to spend between one and three percent of its value
every year on maintenance and repair. Your maintenance budget
should increase as your house ages, so remember to include funds
to replace major systems as required. Foundations and roofs are
things that are difficult to inspect, but in the long run minor
repairs can save you about ten times the cost of work necessary
to replace or rebuild.
Don't Overimprove. Before you commit to any big project, ask,
"Is this three-car garage or pool out of character for my
neighborhood?" If the answer is yes--you may be consigning your
house to an oddity status. If your house is improved beyond the
scope of all the neighborhood homes that surrounds it, it is
likely that the value of your home won't be realized when it
comes time to |
sell.
Do Your Home Value Homework. Many sites promising to give you
the value of your home don't deliver, but at http://www.domania.com you can
use their Value Check tool to get an instant valuation from a
real estate professional that includes a value range and
neighborhood statistics. If you want to "value it yourself" at
Domania, you can search through their database of 28 million
historical home price records. Searching by price, by location
or by address you'll develop a better understanding of
neighborhood trends--and if you look hard enough--what your
neighbor paid for their house.
About the author:
The editorial staff of Domania lives and breathes home values.
Find more advice and real estate tools at http://www.domania.com
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