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HouseBlog Headlines - Money

Make More When Selling Your House

If you're a DIYer, here are some tips and suggestions to increase your homes value--both when your planning improvements and when you finally prep for the sale.

According to research originally done by HomeGain, here are a few poven ways to increase your home's selling value....

Clean / de-clutter - 973% Average Return on Investment: Remove clutter by storing items in basement, attic or friend’s home. Rent a storage space or sell excess items, if needed. Keep every room very clean during open homes. Do pre-open house cleanliness inspections.

Lighten and brighten - 865% Average Return on Investment: Replace any burnt-out bulbs and use higher wattage bulbs, if possible. Have defective electrical components repaired or replaced. Make sure skylights are clear and keep drapes open during the day.

Staging - 251% Average Return on Investment: Buy some fresh flowers, live plants and other decorations to liven up the home. Dispose of old furniture or other large items. Consider renting furniture or hiring a staging consultant.

You can get the full list of suggestions here and a Home Sales Maximizer calculator here.

Some of the statistics seem a bit dubious (I'd challenge their suggestion that unseen improvements like plumbing upgrades can return 260%) but the list is indeed worth a read.

(via Lifehacker)

Posted on 03/15 | Comments (1) | Filed under Headlines : Money

A Credit Card with Home Improvement Rewards

Yesterday in the Wall Street Journal I spied news of a new Visa rewards program of interest to DIYers.

As explained here, the new card from Chase Bank is designed to provide special incentives for home improvement spending.

Like most cards, it features a point-based system in which points are accumulated for each dollar spent and those points can then be later converted to gift certificates or products. In this case the system is pretty common...2,500 points = $25, meaning you're getting about 1% cash back.

What makes this card different is that the points tripple when you use the card at home improvement retailers, bumping the refund up to 3%.

As always, the devil is in the fine print...while there's no annual fee for the card (good) the rate starts at 13.24%. Not fantastic. That said, if your one who has the discipline to use the card but then pay it off every month you could probably work this out to your advantage. Obviously, home improvement spending adds up!

Details from Chase and the application form are located here.

Posted on 01/21 | Filed under Headlines : Money

The ROI of Remodeling in 2005

What's they payback of remodeling when you sell? The just-released 2005 edition of the Cost vs. Value Report has the answers.

Published by Remodeling Online since 1988, their annual report is renowned for it's detail. You can of course look at specific projects like finishing an attic or remodeling your bathroom, getting good data like the average project cost and cost recovered upon sale.

The amazing thing is the report then further breaks down the reporting detail by the extent of the remodel (average vs. upscale) and by location (both US region as well as major cities).

You can review the 2005 Cost vs. Value Report here.

Posted on 11/09 | Comments (1) | Filed under Headlines : Money

What to do About Rising Energy Costs...?

Regular reader Megan wrote to us with an excellent question we all should be asking ourselves...

My husband and I have been reading your site's blogs for awhile now as we are preparing to tackle a remodeling project. I was reading the paper this morning and saw a story about how this winter is going to be really expensive because electricity and natural gas costs are going to be alot higher. I was wondering if there was any information or tips you or your bloggers had about making energy efficient appliances or things remodelers can do to lower utility bills? - Megan

Megan also sent us a second story with some advice on holding down costs, with good ideas like sealing up windows, installing a programmable thermostat, and adding attic insuluation. It's a helpful primer on the topic.

That said, we have lots of smart and motivated home improvement warriors who visit this site so it seemed to make sense to throw the question out to everyone: What are you doing to make your household more efficient in the face of steeply rising energy costs?

Posted on 10/12 | Comments (15) | Filed under Headlines : Money

Katrina Increases Building Costs...or Not

Well this is interesting. Tucked in the NYT business section, in an article focused on blogs no less, is this revelation that Katrina may in fact not substantially impact the cost of building materials. Turns out that the initial estimates that the press ran with were put out by the (biased) National Association of Realtors. Real Estate bloggers have sinced debunked their calculations.

Interesting.

Posted on 09/17 | Filed under Headlines : Money

Insurance Coverage & Home Improvements

This WSJ article focuses on considerations for homeowners insurance when Katrina-like disasters strike, but it has considereations relevant for everyone to think about regaradless of where you live.

"People are not especially aware of the limitations of their insurance, and they're not knowledgeable about the product," said Mari McQueen, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, which is published by Consumers Union, an independent nonprofit testing and information organization. "There's been a remodeling boom, and people have made some lavish improvements to their homes," she said. But not everyone has notified their insurance companies about these improvements.

I wonder how many people who do home improvement projects actually do think of informing their insurance company?

Posted on 09/16 | Filed under Headlines : Money

What You'd Expect

In the midst of all the tragedy, I'm sure this isn't a surprise to anyone.

Hurricane Katrina Affecting Home Prices

Katrina to Squeeze Building Supplies

Posted on 09/07 | Filed under Headlines : Money

Dangers of ARM and Interest-Only Loans

When we bought our place two years ago, we were eager to lock in a 'historically low rate' that we feared would never come around again. Rates have stayed pretty low, but these days the action is really in the lowest possible payments, come hell or high ~~water~~ risk. This WSJ article has a good review of the risks of zero interst and ARM mortgages. Buyer beware!

Posted on 08/11 | Filed under Headlines : Money

Hot Product

The WSJ notes that real estate sales increased at a record pace in June. The increase was in both value and in the number of closings.

The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that existing homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.33 million units last month, a gain of 2.7% from the May sales pace. The torrid sales pace helped to push the median price of an existing home up to a record of $219,000 last month, a gain of 14.7% from the median, or midpoint, for prices a year ago. It was the biggest jump in prices since November 1980.

Posted on 07/27 | Filed under Headlines : Money

Worldwide Housing Bubble?

OK, so we've read about a US housing bubble and all the arguments that it does/doesn't exist.

So, what's a global housing bubble? The Economist has some thoughts on that mind-bending question.

Posted on 07/20 | Filed under Headlines : Money

The remainder of the archive is presented here in condensed form. To read any entry simply click on the date below each headline.

Add your house

HouseBlog Headlines - Money

Make More When Selling Your House

A Credit Card with Home Improvement Rewards

The ROI of Remodeling in 2005

What to do About Rising Energy Costs...?

Katrina Increases Building Costs...or Not

Insurance Coverage & Home Improvements

What You'd Expect

Dangers of ARM and Interest-Only Loans

Hot Product

Worldwide Housing Bubble?

The Affordability Problem

A Gift to Whom...?

The True Cost of Ownership

Looking For Bargins? It's a Moving Target

If the Housing Bubble Bursts...

Retire Debt Free?

Finance and Homeownership

Self-Built in the UK

Keep Your Receipts!

Home Improvement Finance Matters - 401(k) vs. HELOC?

Extensive Renovation Article--with Costs!