The 2 Rooms That Really Sell Homes

According to Trulia as quoted in Forbes, These Are The 2 Rooms That Really Sell Homes.  I can't disagree, but would offer an additional point:  Before taking it upon yourself to select your home repair and fix-up projects in advance of a sale, contact a knowledgeable Realtor to find out what really matters to buyers in your specific market.


It's nearly impossible for a homeowner to be objective in selecting what to change about their own home to make it appeal to today's buyer. Thus it's easy to overspend, or spend on the wrong things, or delay your sale unnecessarily while making the wrong upgrades!  -David

Home Maintenance 101: 7 Things Every Home Owner Should Know

Here are some easy around the house fixes you might find helpful!

HouseLogic | REALTOR® Content Resource | Home Maintenance 101: 7 Things Every Home Owner Should Know:

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Thought about Updating your Kitchen?

In these two slideshow presentation froms Fine Homebuilding, some interesting photos and layouts:

• Re-creating the Kitchen
• 7 Solutions for Kitchen Layout and Design

You may have to click "Skip" on a couple of ads but the information is worth it. -David

Have you Hugged your Tradesman Today?

For all you would-be homesellers who've decided to remodel rather than to move, PLEASE RECONSIDER- - we Realtors need the business!!!

Meanwhile, Sept. 16 is National Tradesman Day, a great day to show some appreciation to all those contractors who are dodging catering trucks and risking stressful encounters with surly inspectors just to update your kitchens and man caves. 

Join Mike Rowe in celebrating National Tradesman Day on his "PR Campaign for Hard Work" website, http://www.mikeroweworks.com/.

And get out there and hug a tradesman...or a Realtor!!! - David

How To Screen For A Good Home Contractor

Home remodeling projects are expected to top $130 blllion this quarter, their highest total since Q1 2008. A likely catalyst is that the average cost of a home improvement project is falling fast.

With the economy loosening up and contractor costs on a downswing, some homeowners are choosing to put money back into their respective homes, and making home improvements. If you're among them, you'll want to make sure you've properly screened your contractor. 

In this 4-minute piece from NBC's The Today Show, you'll learn tips for picking a good home contractor. The advice is mostly common sense, and worth heeding. For example:

• Only select registered/licensed, and insured contractors for work in your home
• Don't automatically select the lowest bid; you may want to discard it instead
• Communication skills matter. You must be able to express your wants, and have that message understood.

And lastly, if this is your first time working with a particular contractor, be sure to ask for references and follow-through on them, too. Sometimes, past customers can tell you more about a contractor than you can learn yourself.

Car Enthusiast? 2-Car Garage but Three Car Family? How about a Lift?

Garages can be tough to expand if you get a third car or want to set up a workshop.  For some, there's a solution: Install a Lift Into Your Garage! -David

Wavy Flooring: How, Why, and What to Do

Engineered floors, often surfaced with hardwoods or bamboo, sometimes demonstrate waviness or warping.  Good quality engineered floors shouldn't do this!  Furniture makers (like your blogger as a hobby) know why this is: wood moves!  And humidity is the primary culprit.

In an attempt to keep gaps from appearing between floorboards during times of low humidity (winter), installers sometimes glue them to the slab or subfloor, or install them too tightly together.  And flooring installed in winter will always expand when humidity rises (summertime months). When they do, the wood will warp if it has nowhere else to go.

No force can stop wood from expanding and contracting with the seasons, so some floors require special installation.  This is not a place to economize!

More info:  How to fix engineered floors that warp | Inman News

-David

Fixing Up or Selling As Is: Relevant Considerations

As in just about everything except scuba diving, it doesn't make sense to go overboard when fixing up a home to sell.  BUT, certain fixes may pay for themselves several times over in terms of attracting offers and getting maximum value.  Inman columnist Dian Hymer explains this well in Fixing to sell: Don't go overboard | Inman News. -David

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Fix or sell as is?

Now that's a fixer (click for photo source)!!!

Whenever it's time to sell a home, the "fix or sell as is" question comes into play.  The trick is to make sure the home won't be remembered for what is wrong with it, for what doesn't fit into the neighborhood, for what was over-personalized.  - David

For more info: Avoid home improvement gimmicks that hammer resale value Inman News

Money May be Tight, But Homeowners Still Investing in Great Outdoors | RISMedia

Money May be Tight, But Homeowners Still Investing in the Great Outdoors.  Have a look at how people are personalizing their yards and gardens, from landscaping to firepits to abors to water features. - David

5 home innovations | Inman News

For the home that has everything, here are 5 innovations from the trade show floor of the International Builder's Show.  One is a cool noise-reducing system that could be perfect for our tightly packed homes in the Beach Cities! -David

Remodeling activity is on the rise, architects say - MarketWatch

Thinking of remodeling instead of trading up? You're not alone! - David

Remodeling activity is on the rise, architects say - MarketWatch

Don't try these improvement projects at home - MarketWatch

From shows on the DIY network and on HGTV, you could get the impression that the majority of homeowners love to purchase fixers and spend every weekend on enormous home improvement projects.  Well, it's more like 5%, but the value of making the right improvements to your home is definitely there.

I say the right improvements because