Financing Your Remodling Project
No matter how much you love your new home when you purchase it, the odds are that at some point in the future you will want to think about some kind of home improvement project, whether it is remodeling or making an addition. Upgrading a kitchen, adding a swimming pool, extending a wing of the house to include a study and another bedroom, or putting up a new fence are all common projects undertaken by home owners to improve both the look and the value of their homes. The problem is, all of these tasks cost money.
For those wondering about where they can get the funds to make their project a reality, there is always the possibility of home improvement financing. Whether engaging in simple decorating, in home repair, or in a big improvement project, financing options are available. This financing will usually take the shape of a loan, and loans will differ in conditions and charges according to the borrower. There are a few options when it comes to these loans. They can be paid on a monthly basis, a bi-weekly basis, or on quarterly payments. The length of the loan is also something to determine; will it be paid off over five or ten years, or even more? Remember that the time will determine the amount of interest paid on the loan.
The reason for taking out a loan like this is because not all projects can be done by amateurs. Sometimes, whether we like it or not, we have to call in the professionals to do what needs to be done in our homes, and tradespeople charge quite a bit of money. Even projects that can be undertaken by novices will necessarily entail some costs in terms of materials, so really big jobs will always need some extra cash available. Many people will never be able to save up the money necessary for the project, so taking out a loan becomes a necessity. For some reason, most find it easier to pay off than to save up.
The best way to get a loan is to shop for one. Don’t take the first offer you see advertised; instead, shop around and try to get a price that is the lowest available. There are many institutions that offer loans such as banks, credit unions, and loan companies, and they all have different qualities as far as interest charges and terms. You will need to have a clear idea of what your home is worth and its equity, as well as your earning potential, in order to be approved for the loan. It is vital to take your time and do a lot of checking before signing any agreements, to make sure that the venture doesn’t cost too much in the end.
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Maximizing Your Returns
Maybe you’re about to put your home on the market and are looking for some quick ways to increase the value of the house. Maybe you’ve just bought a property and are looking to make some renovations and put it back on the market to make a few dollars. A lot of people know that remodeling a home can be a quick way to turn every one dollar you spend into two dollars on the sale. However, many people don’t know which areas of the house to focus on in order to maximize profits.
The Kitchen: Think of it this way: there are areas of the house that people want to remodel and there are areas of the house that people want to use to its fullest extent as soon as they move in. People might want to remodel a basement or recreation room to tailor it to their specific needs and desires. People probably do not want to remodel the kitchen, so you should do it for them.
If you live in a family oriented neighborhood or area, make sure that you have a woman’s input when you’re deciding how to remodel the kitchen. In many spousal relationships, the woman will put an absolute veto on the house if she is unimpressed with the kitchen. Renovate in such a way as to maximize the utility of the kitchen. Make sure there is as much storage space as possible without too severely limiting the amount of space to move about. Update it with the most recent appliances, ones that will offer time- and energy-saving options to the person who will spend the most time in the kitchen.
The Bathrooms: Like the kitchen, buyers generally tend not to want to remodel the bathrooms. It is a cumbersome process that would leave the buyer without the use of their bathrooms for a period of time, so they’ll pay top dollar if you do it for them. The key to remodeling the bathroom is to make it look fresh and new. Nobody wants to buy a house with bathrooms that look like they’re rotting from the inside out, but unfortunately this is how many bathrooms get to look after five or ten years of use without a major overhaul.
New tile is a must when you’re remodeling a bathroom. The shine from new tile will make everything else sparkle a little bit more and ensures that any offending grout will also be removed. You may also want to consider chrome fixtures, as new chrome tends to make a great impression. Light pastel colors can also be a great touch, as they make the buyer feel like the room is new, not like it has been around for many years.
The Master Bedroom: Finally, the master bedroom can be a great remodeling option when you’re looking to increase the value of your home. This is where spouses or couples will envision their alone time, and you want to make sure they envision it with anticipation. Do a little something that will set your master bedroom apart from others that they see. When the couple goes back to their own bedroom to think about which house they want, they’ll say to each other “Remember the such and such in the master bedroom of that one house? That would really be great!” If you can elicit that type of response, you’ll be making money hand over fist on the sale.
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Should You Finish Your Attic?
When trying to increase the amount of living space in a home, there are several options to consider. Remodeling or finishing an attic into needed living space is certainly one option. There are others, as well. These include finishing a basement or garage or adding onto your existing home.
The decision about how you will add living space must factor in such considerations as cost, available space to place an addition, the intended use of the space, and the ability to provide appropriate access to the new area. You will need to think through each of these considerations in making a decision.
In considering cost, the critical points to review are these:
If you work with an existing space (basement, attic, garage) you should not incur the expense of a roof, exterior walls, or foundation, unlike a traditional addition or 2nd story, which may need a foundation, several exterior walls, and a foor You should consider the return on your investment. If you can add a room, bathroom or other living space that increases your home at a small expense, it is likely to give you one of the highest rates of return. Is it reasonable to include an additional bathroom? Adding a bathroom will increase the value of your home, but you must consider the costs incurred in building it. For example, will construction of a bathroom in an attic require reinforcement of the walls to support the weight? If you wish to do the work yourself, are you better prepared to finish an existing space or build an addition? Do you know enough about insulating and wiring a attic or a basement? What are the implications of your choice in terms of the adequacy of your current heating and cooling system? Will you need new ductwork or an auxiliary furnace or AC unit? You can get an instant online estimate for finishing your attic at http://www.remodelestimates.com/calculators/intor.cfm?ver=21.
The next question is whether there is space for an addition to your home. Here are some questions to consider:
Will local building codes and zoning laws allow an addition? How much yard will you have left after you build the addition? Will local building codes and zoning laws allow the type of addition you are planning and the type of materials you plan to use? How will you provide access from the existing structure into the new living space? How much change to the existing structure will be required? The intended use of the new space might argue against a particular choice. For example, if you plan to use the new space as a home office, you might need to consider such things as:
Will you need external access to the space? How much heavy equipment will be placed in the area? Will that weight require reinforcement of the floors or walls? Alternatively, if the space is to be used as a bedroom or playroom, you should consider such things as:
Are there special accessibility issues (for example, someone with a disability or an aging parent)? Do you need to add a bathroom, or is another bathroom close enough? How will you provide adequate lighting (for example, adding a gable or a skylight)? Does your basement offer a dry enough environment? Finally, you will need to understand and accommodate access issues. A few of the more critical questions to consider are these:
Do local building codes require more than one means of access or egress from the room? Can you plan for emergency escape? How will you ensure adequate ventilation? How much change to the existing home will be required in order to provide access to the new living space? These are some of the major questions to consider when deciding whether finishing an attic is the best choice for your home and your family. By taking these factors into consideration you can evaluate whether finishing an attic is the best decision for your family and your current home. By calculating the cost, considering modifications to your existing home and yard, how the new space will be used, and what other changes are required to provide access, you can make a wise decision. If you are considering an attic remodel, I strongly recommend reviewing the Attic Remodeling Workbook available at www.amazon.com to ensure that you understand the complexities and challenges involved.
Attic Remodeling is very likely to be the solution to your need for additional space. These questions will help you ask the most important questions and make a wise decision.
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The Best Way to Utilize Your Basement
The Basement is a place that is often neglected in the home; however, good basement floor plans can completely revolutionize the way your basement space is utilized. A basement is an area of uncharted waters for most people. If you maximize the space that is found in your basement it automatically increases the space in the house. However, since many basements also contain heating apparatus and other problem areas, basement redesign can be a tricky business.
It only takes a bit of foresight to redesign a basement or to build a completely new one. A good floor plan can help you not only maximize the space in the basement but also plan the overall utility of it.
Good basement floor plans can remarkably transform your basement into areas that are used by the whole family. Basements can make wonderful recreational areas, gyms, laundry centers, home offices and much more.
Basements can also be wonderfully useful when it comes to having a place for storage; floor plans can help you design a storage space that holds much more that just simply stashing everything underneath your house. A basement can be also remodeled as a recreation area which can hold a pool table or a home theater system.
Getting a proper design done right at the beginning is crucial to any successful remodeling or construction; the same applies to basements as well. Although it is possible to design your own basement using computer programs that are freely available over the internet, it is wise to consider using a professional designer.
Making the right choices at the beginning will make sure that your design comes to life in a systematic and time bound manner. A basement can also serve as a good second bedroom or a bar. It can be a place where you can hide yourself from the daily grind.
A basement is more than just a storage dump or the home of a boiler. Basements space is precious in a world where we fill our homes more and more and space just seems to be running out. Basements can be transformed from a wine cellar to a home entertainment center; all you need is the help of some good basement floor plans.
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An Inexpensive Way to Improve Your Bathroom
A really simple way to update your bathroom without doing a full remodel, and without sending your home remodeling costs through the roof, is to replace your bathroom vanity. Bathroom vanities can cost as little as $100 (depending on the size you need), up to a couple thousand depending on what your tastes and budget are. I am going to talk about several different options that are available for different budget levels to help you get the bathroom of your dreams.
RTA Bathroom Vanities or Pre-assembled vanities are a great way to get a fresh look for your bathroom without spending a lot of money to do so. Most of the building supply stores will carry their own line of pre-assembled bathroom vanities that you can take right out of the box and stick in your bathroom. While they are starting to add more design details into the vanity, these bathroom vanities traditionally are your basic cabinet with some detailing on the door that come in a wide range of door styles and finishes. There are also hundreds of companies that are selling RTA bathroom vanities on the web. These are usually a little bit better quality than what you will find in Home Depot or Lowes and they are usually less expensive, since they don’t have the huge overhead costs that the big stores have. The difference between the store bought vanities and the RTA vanities that you find on-line, is that you will have to assemble the RTA vanities yourself (which usually just requires a screwdriver). These are the same style cabinets that you will find in all newly built, mid-priced homes.
If you are looking for something a little bit more modern, one of the hottest remodeling trends is the Euro Vanity. The euro vanity is identifiable by the protruding sink bowl in the front, and downward curving doors. Most vanities are sold as a kit with the sink bowl included. These can also be found as pre-assembled units in the store, or as rta bathroom vanities on-line. While cabinet itself is usually not as deep as your traditional vanities, it still offers storage space below the sink. Most companies will offer 3 basic finishes- white, oak, and cherry, but you can occasionally find some unique finishes if you search hard enough. If you are going for a more modern look in the rest of your house, this is a great way to bring the same design features into your bathroom
Something that has become more popular in recent years with people trying to create a more custom look in their bathroom is what they call a bathroom furniture vanity. It is called a furniture vanity, because people were literally taking antique furniture and retro-fitting them to accommodate plumbing and a sink. Because of the demand for this type of vanity, manufacturers finally started creating vanities that look like antique pieces of furniture. You will find this type of vanity in a lot of the higher end homes that want to keep the custom look of the house flowing into the bathroom. The possibilities are endless when it comes to furniture vanities, and the prices can range from a couple hundred up to a couple thousand. This is a great look if you have the big budget required to have your bathroom look as nice as the vanity does!
Finally, for the ultra custom look is the artistic or decorative bathroom vanity. This type of vanity is a cross between a furniture vanity and a piece of art. They offer the style and detailing of furniture, with the artistic touches of a piece of art. For the homeowner that truly wants to make a statement with their bathroom design, or even make it a centerpiece of the house, the artistic bathroom vanity is the ultimate choice. However, this type of high design comes at a price… with most vanities starting at $1,000 and going up from there, this is no small investment. The really nice thing about the handful of companies that are selling them, is that they come as a complete kit with the vanity top, sink bowl, and matching mirror included. There are not a lot of manufacturers out there, so if you are looking for a decorative bathroom vanity, be prepared to surf the web.
Regardless of whether you are updating a powder room, or designing the bathroom for a multi-million dollar home, there are a wide range of options and price levels to meet your budget. Take the time to really shop around, both in the stores and on the web, and you will find exactly what you are looking for at a price you can afford.
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