The Real Estate Pulse » New Home Sales

Budget Kitchen Remodeling Ideas To Increase A Homes Value

TREP — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:33:52 +0000

When is it comes to home improvements and renovations, there are few rooms in a home where remodeling makes as much sense as the kitchen. The kitchen is considered a marquee room in a home and making improvements to a kitchen will typically increase a home’s value. But when you’re a real estate developer or a homeowner looking to sell a home, you have a lot to more consider with kitchen renovations namely keeping costs down. Below are some good, budget kitchen remodeling ideas that will improve the look and value of any kitchen.

According to NARI, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, the average kitchen renovation runs anywhere between $20K and $50K. That’s not small change and if you’re trying to keep costs down it’s best to stay away from any major work. There’s a lot of things you can do to a kitchen to maske it look much better than it currently does without breaking the bank and there’s good chance that a lot of the stuff below you can get done yourself.

Refinish the Cabinetry

If your existing cabinets are made of good wood, you might want to consider sanding them down, refinishing them and painting or staining them a new color. Refinishing the cabinetry in a kitchen can have the same dramatic effect of replacing them at a fraction of the cost. And you’ll also save a ton of money by not having to hire contractors if you’re willing to do the work yourself. Refinishing cabinets is not the toughest thing in the world and the return on your investment is quite high.

Repaint the Kitchen

Another way to dramatically change the look of your kitchen is by painting the walls a different color. If you combine this with refinishing your cabinetry, you could end up with a brand new kitchen! Another great thing about painting is that it’s easy enough for most homeowners to tackle themselves. Another remodeling project that doesn’t require hiring professional contractors equals more money in your pocket.

Floors

Depending on what kind of flooring you have, replacing your existing flooring or giving it a good cleaning can really improve the look of your kitchen. Tile can be pretty expensive to replace so what you may want to do is just it a good cleaning (don’t forget to clean the grout as well because it can also get pretty filthy) and repair any scratched or cracked tiles to make the floor look like new.

New Faucet

A new faucet in a kitchen can also go a long way in modernizing the kitchen and increasing its appeal. Not only are faucets not terribly expensive but it’s also something that a competent do-it-yourselfer should be able to handle.

Lighting Fixtures

New lighting fixtures can also help to bring more light into the kitchen and modernize the look and feel of a kitchen as well. You can use spot lights to highlight centerpieces in the kitchen or sconces and other forms of wall lighting to add some character to the kitchen.

Any real estate agent will tell you, the kitchen is arguably the most important room in the house so it’s important that the kitchen be in top condition if you expect to sell your home for top dollar. The remodeling ideas above are all easy to execute and can yield a high return on your investment.

Simple Home Improvement Projects That Can Add A Ton Of Value To A Home

TREP — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:34:22 +0000

In my last post I talked about how you can find a local handyman to help you out with various projects around a house. If you’re a real estate agent than you know that some home improvements can have a dramatic impact on the value of a home. Below are some home improvement ideas that are known to add value to a home and enhance curb appeal and the best thing is most can be done by your average handyman. If you didn’t already know, a good handyman can be a huge asset to a realtor getting ready to sell a home.

Replacing Bathroom faucets – You already know that home buyers like to see modern and up-to-date fixtures in bathrooms and replacing the sink faucets in upgrading the look in the bathroom. Fortunately replacing the sink faucets is not a terribly complex job and it can dramatically change the look of your bathroom.

Replacing Light Fixtures in the Bathroom – This is another small and not too complex project that can dramatically change the look of your bathroom. A good light fixture can also affect the level of brightness in a bathroom which is also a positive.

Fresh Paint in the Bathroom – A fresh coat of paint in the bathroom will complete a bathroom overhaul. Considering bathrooms are one of the most important rooms home buyers look at when looking for a home, it is money well spent.

Staining or Painting Cabinetry in the Bathroom – Sanding the cabinetry in the bathroom and applying a fresh paint or a stain will give your bathroom a fresh and new look.

Replacing the Hardware in the Bathroom – Replacing hardware is a low-cost improvement that makes a big difference in appearance.

Install Ceiling Fans – Installing ceiling fans can change the look of any room and can also be quite effective at cooling the temperatures inside a home during the hot summer.

Staining or Painting Cabinets in the Kitchen – Most buyers consider the kitchen to be the heart of a home. Painting or staining the cabinetry in a kitchen will dramatically improve its appearance. For the best results make sure to completely sand the cabinets before applying paint or stain.

Replace the Hardware in the Kitchen – A simple change that can improve the appearance of the kitchen. Make sure to use quality hardware that is consistent with the kitchen’s appearance and design.

Replace Kitchen Faucet – Another simple change that goes a long way in changing the appearance of your kitchen.

Replace the Light Fixtures in the Kitchen – Often the light fixtures in a kitchen are easy to change and new light fixtures can make the kitchen brighter as well as give the kitchen some character.

Consider the Entry to the Home – What does the door to the main entry look like? Does it need to be replaced? Can it be painted? At the very least make sure to replace the door handle on the front door. Adding a couple of planters to either side of the front door can also go a long way as can some light fixtures.

Simple Landscaping – A bag of high-quality fertilizer that covers up to 5,000 square feet will cost you under $3o at the local home improvement store and the bright green grass will give prospective home buyers a great first impression. make sure the lawn is regularly mowed to maintain good curb appeal.

Regular maintenance and Upkeep – Cleaning the carpets and the tile are fairly inexpensive to do and also give the home a fresher appearance. It’s also a good idea to repair any grout in the kitchen and bathrooms that has become chipped or discolored as well any dents or holes in the walls.

All of the above are minor cosmetic changes that can easily be done by a good handyman with the exception of cleaning the carpets but will dramatically improve and change the look of a home. In today’s real estate market, it is sometimes unrealistic to expect to make big changes to a home and still expect to make a profit so smaller, cosmetic changes such as the above are often the solution.

How To Find A Good Handyman For Your Next Home Sale

TREP — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 05:03:37 +0000

With the real estate market in its current state it’s essential for a real estate agent or house flipper to get the most profit out of every home sale. With most homes needing at least a little work to get the best sales price out of them, it’s essential to know exactly how to find and hire good handyman services or a good contractor depending on what you need done.

Personally I like to have a good handyman or two in my rolodex as I find them more versatile than contractors and they’re typically more willing to do some of the more mundane stuff, like a yard clean up or something, than a licensed contractor. But I should also note that sometimes you just need a licensed contractor for a bigger job or a more complex job and in those situations it’s best to go with a licensed contractor. But for everything else I like to use handymen because they get a lot done in a short amount of time and I only have to deal with one person versus several independent contractors.

The key to finding a good handyman is to review at least three to five good bids from several, well-qualified handymen or contractors. This isn’t practical to do before every single home you need to get ready for sale and that’s why it’s best to the job right the first time so you can just continue to use the same handymen over and over again provided they do a good job for you.

Initially getting started is the hard part since you’ll have to come up with the names of at least 3-7 handymen. I like to get a few more names than I need so I can eliminate a few during the screening process without having to go back and start all over again. To come up with these initial names I’ll ask anybody and everybody. While I would prefer to only use the names of handymen that were referred to me, that’s not always possible and it doesn’t really matter since I’ll be screening all the handymen before I ask them for a bid. If you need some suggestions on where to get referrals from, try your friends, family members, neighbors, work associates, other real estate agents, the local home improvement stores, hardware shops and don’t forget to use social networking sites like Facebook to ask your local friends for referrals as well… Now onto the screening process…

My screening process is actually quite simple. The first things I check for are the basics. I begin by looking for a local address and phone number. I look for handymen that have been in business for a long time and preferably handymen that have been serving my community for the same length of time. Now it’s time to check for complaints.

For checking complaints and checking out reviews I absolutely love the internet. I like to start out by doing a search in Google for the handyman’s name or business name and sorting through the results while looking for complaints and/or reviews. It’s also a good idea to do searches for the handyman’s name along with keywords like “complaints” or “reviews” to get more specific results. For more reviews and feedback from past clients you may want to check out sites like www.yelp.com or www.insiderpages.com. To finish my search for complaints and reviews I like to contact the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) and ask about any complaints that have been filed against the handymen I am pre-screening.

At this point you’re ready to contact the handymen and have them come in for a bid on your project. Before I ask a handyman to bid on a project I like to get on the phone and ask him what his favorite types of projects are or what his area of expertise is. The fact of the matter is that handymen come with a wide variety of skills and it’s really up to you to determine what a handyman is good at and what you should hire someone else for.

While I have him on the phone I also like to let him know that I’ll need to see some work references prior to hiring a handyman. Asking for and checking a reference is one of the best ways to ensure that you’ll be working with a reputable handyman. Too often homeowners will just ask for references and never check them and that’s a big mistake. To get the most out of references you’ll have to call them and ask about the handyman and his quality of work.

The biggest mistakes most homeowners make when hiring a handyman is they hire a handyman based on a personal reference (without further vetting the handyman) or they don’t check references. Unfortunately these mistakes can cost a real estate agent both time and money and that’s going to cut into your profits. Don’t let that happen to you. Follow the tips and advice above and make sure you find a good handyman to help prepare your homes for sale.

New Home Sales Lowest Since 1991

TREP — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:08:58 +0000

Sales of new homes dipped to a level in March that has not been seen since 1991 and the inventory of homes for sale has hit a three-decade high…

Single-family home sales dipped 8.5% last month – the lowest level since October 1991. Economists had only expected a dip of about 1.9%.

Sales of pre-owned homes also fell 2% in March…

More bad news for March: the median price for a new home fell 13.3% to $227,000.