Posts with tag 'Home improvement'

I work with a lot of homes that have been rehabbed before going on the market, so I'm always interested in home improvements and the effect they have on a home's value.

The National Association of REALTORS put out a Remodeling Impact Report. The report looks at the typical cost of remodeling projects as estimated by members of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. It also reports what Realtors are seeing in the market regarding home improvements. 

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Gutters and downspouts are the type of home infrastructure that you don't think about until you've got a problem. When there is a problem, it can be expensive and complicated.

Let's give gutters and downspouts their due, after all, because they've got an important job: To handle all the water runoff from our roofs and route it to proper drainage away from the house. Gutters that are in good working order protect your home from costly water damage. Without high-quality, properly installed gutters and downspouts, you could be funneling water right to your foundation, which is no good.

When it comes time to replace your gutters and downspouts, you've got to choose the shape and material that will work best for your situation. To help you decide, I'm sharing this Buyer's Guide to Gutters & Downspouts created by Aerotech Gutter Service.

Oh, and when you do decide tackle your gutt...

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I love my job because it's different every day. One day, I might be working with a family who is relocating to Roanoke, and I get the opportunity to show them my hometown. The next day, it might be empty-nesters who are looking to downsize into their next dream home.

I also work a lot with real estate investors. These folks buy homes that are in poor condition, often have been foreclosed on, and are in the hands of the bank or a foreclosure company. After the purchase, the investors rehab the house -- doing repairs and adding upgrades that get the home back in liveable condition -- and resell it, hopefully at a profit. This is also called "flipping."

What I love about rehabbed homes is that they often present super opportunities to buyers who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford a home with all the upgrades found in a rehab: A...

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Last week, I posted a list of the exterior home-improvement projects that have the most buyer appeal. In this post, I'm going to revisit those same projects and look at what you can expect to recover from each one.

The numbers I'm using here come from the same report by the National Association of Realtors that I sourced in the previous post. Members of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry estimated costs for each project, and Realtors estimated the value added. The "value recovered," which I've listed with each project, is the value added divided by the cost, or a representation of how much of the initial investment...

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Outdoor projects go a long way to adding protection from the elements and value to your home. Done right, they also add a lot in the way of curb appeal. Americans spent more than $326 billion on remodeling projects in 2015, but still, it's hard to know which improvements will appeal the most to buyers and add the most value when it's time to sell.

To get some guidance, the National Association of Realtors asked Realtors to rank home remodeling projects by appeal to buyers for the 2015 Remodeling Impact Report. I'm sharing the exterior projects that will get your home the most attention. And in every case, the exterior projects that Realtors say are most appealing to buyers are the ones that add the most value to your home.

Give these projects some consideration when deciding how to spend your home-improvement dollars, and 

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