Home Improvement

Dangerous Decorating: Improvements that Lower the Value of Your Home

Reality television home improvement shows are no doubt fun to watch. It is amazing to see a small room or entire home transformed into a show place. Some of the most unbelievable transformations are on children’s rooms. They will take a theme like the racecars or princesses and make a child’s dream come true.

As a Realtor, my favorite part of the show Trading Places: Boys vs. Girls, is at the very end when the parents arrive to see the redecorated room for the first time. Whether there are ropes hanging from the ceiling, a psychedelic paint job or artificial grass on the floor, the reactions are priceless. Sure they are saying “awesome” for the television cameras, but are they really happy with the new rooms? As a parent, I know how quickly kids grow out of favorite toys, colors and activities. A theme-based room could be hard to transform back to a normal room when the fad passes or child grows. And what if you have to sell your home? How will potential buyers view that boat on the ceiling or the chalkboard walls?

This isn’t just something that happens on television. People really do crazy things to their homes and it’s not always for their children. Whether it is a unique wall treatment or an indoor hot tub, some people’s individualism hurts the value of their homes.

Here are some of my favorite, unbelievable things I have seen in people’s homes and how the remodel deteriorated the estimated value.

Playground Swings in the bedroom. This family removed a wall from two adjoining bedrooms to create one large room and bolted two playground swings to the ceiling. This home was 1700 ft.., split level home with 3 bedrooms prior to removing the wall. It is now an odd two bedroom. Combined with the possible extreme damage to the structure of the home depending on the weight of the persons using the swings this home would have lost thousands of dollars of market value.

Crinkled grocery bags glued to the wall instead of wallpaper. It is a nice unique look but since it will be difficult, if not impossible to remove, you will need to find a buyer who likes the look as much as you did.

Multi-colored hand painted murals and stenciling painted on walls throughout the home. This can be beautiful to the owner but because it is uneven, it is difficult to repaint. Often sanding and several layers of special primer are required to remove.

Indoor hot tubs. Unless you are installing in a four-season porch, think twice about this, especially if you live in a cold weather state. It just doesn’t make any sense. I have seen them installed in bedrooms and family rooms. Many were professionally installed. Most buyers still didn’t like them because they took away living space. Often buyers were concern about the installation. What if it leaks? Will it wreck the foundation? Does the steam cause mold? Even if the sellers offer to remove the hot tub prior to the closing, buyers have so many concerns that they will walk away from the home. Again your improvement reduced the value of your home buy tens of thousands of dollars.

So does this mean a person shouldn’t personalize their home at all? Of course not!It is your home after all.

What I am suggesting is that when you are considering a home improvement or trying the next decorating trend, remember that your home is your biggest investment and asset. Put the hot tub on the patio, deck or four-season porch. Swings belong in the backyard. And wall treatments need to be removable and easy to repaint. Make your decisions with this in mind and your home will be beautiful and pocketbook will be protected.

Copyright 2006 Teri Eckholm

Why the Recession is the Best Time For Home Improvement Projects

At this time of economic turmoil, holding on to your money and keeping them stashed somewhere safe is a good idea. But you know what? There is a better idea and this is to invest it in your New York home. What better way to enjoy every buck than by living in all the luxury home improvement can offer and eventually reaping more bucks at resale time? Whether you are in Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island or Manhattan; it pays to look into the benefits. Here are more reasons why the recession is the best time for home improvement projects.

In the current market that we are in, everybody- even the industry giants are hurting. This time, more than ever is the best time to spruce things up and boost home appeal and value as well as the quality of living of the family. Financially speaking, improving your home now would not even be as bad as you think. To enlighten you, here are the benefits of tackling projects in a recession.

More Budget Friendly Options

All businesses and even the giants in the home improvement industry are affected by the recession that struck not only New York and the United States but the entire world as well. With this, discounted sales and bargains are not uncommon when you try to shop around from one store to the next. This makes smart buyers avail of high quality materials, supplies and products at a much lower cost.

Contractors Competing More Aggressively

Being in a work field that requires to always be on the move to tough it up, contractors sure dread dormant days. And the low economy is not helping them get enough jobs. This makes contracting businesses compete more aggressively not only in terms of marketing efforts but with the whole package of what homeowners will get if they hire certain professionals. Most qualified contractors offer lower service charges plus some promotional home improvement bonuses like finishing up small jobs for free in addition to the contracted work.

Better Quality Results

The recession normally causes many homeowners to hold on tightly to their purse strings. This makes less possible clients for our qualified New York contractors. And the less busy they are, the more time they can allot to your home improvement project. Because of this, your hired contractor is able to pour in more efficiency to the job enabling him to look even into the smallest of details. This makes up for a timely completion of the job and better quality results for you and the family to enjoy.

Recession Fuels Green Remodeling and Improvements

As if the above mentioned do not make home improvement more tempting to undertake now, here comes another great benefit. The government is even willing to pay you for tackling and investing on energy-efficient home improvements. This tax credit benefit for homeowners is comprised in the economic stimulus package of President Obama. Not only will this make up for the greatest cutback on your planned remodeling budget, but you’d also be getting a considerable reduction on your future monthly energy bills.

A lot of people tend to want to do home improvement projects on their houses, but where do they go for these particular projects? I was searching around online the other day and I found some really nice quality businesses that can help you out if you are looking into doing some home improvement on your house or property. These sites all came highly recommended by a few of the Home Improvement websites and DIY/Construction forums I was going around visiting, so you know they are of quality! These sites in particular offer all kinds of really nice custom hand-carved doors and different types of windows as well. Right now I rent a town home so its pretty impossible for me to really change anything, but still I had a look at some of these sites nonetheless! I found one site that was really nice because they actually let you view all of the hard-carved doors right on their website.

Some sites can become quite frustrating because they go on and on about how great their site is and then you can’t view any samples! I hate that! But these sites were completely different and covered all the bases. A few of the hand-carved doors you can look forward to seeing are things like; Hand-Carved, Expo Series, Beveled Glass, Old World, Tiffany, Iron, Western, Z-Door, Unique, etc. And then within these main categories are several subcategories. It seems like anything you want you really could have! I’m all about customized projects, uniqueness, affordability and functionality and the doors and windows they offer on these sites offer all of the attributes and so much more! The types of woods offered on some of the top quality sites are things like solid mahogany, teak, knotty alder, ash and cherry! They also have other things like transoms, door hardware, and solar screens! These are the types of places I love shopping at because it’s a “one stop shop” type of deal. With sites like these, you don’t need anyone or anything else.

They even will give you a free quote for the project you need done (door, entry doors, windows, solar, magnaseal). Simply fill out the basic information such as name, email address, address, and some comments about your project and they can easily get back to you by either email or phone so you can talk to your project wants and needs with them. Pretty simple! Also, I should mention that these sites (the good ones anyway) will have specials such as Christmas Day sale, or certain percentages off products.

Do Not Just Look on Price While Shopping For Home Improvement

As time goes by, lifestyles will change together with growth in the family. This makes the need for home improvement, indefinitely, an important part of living. But other than making the home more apt at providing for the current needs of the family and enhancing everyday life; projects such as remodeling, additions, landscaping, repairs of damages and others may also pave way to a more valuable property. Thus, undertaking any could be a great investment that allows homeowners to enjoy a recoup on the money that was spent. One of the key tasks that a homeowner has to efficiently play is shopping. This article lays out reasons why you should not stop at the price while at it.

When planning for a home improvement, keep in mind that you are investing not only on your New York house but on the quality of living it affords the whole family. The materials, supplies, appliances, features, fixtures, furniture and other furnishings that will be integrated into the project will greatly contribute to the overall durability, comfort and functionality. With this said, it pays to shop wisely whether you are in Long Island, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Queens.

Shopping for home improvement can be tricky. In buying items, it is always stressed that quality should come first. Buying cheapest on the other hand would only allow the project to last for some time and will require immediate replacement, thus not a wise buy. But would that mean that the most expensive brings the best quality? The answer-not necessarily, so do not go breaking the bank over products. This clearly tells us that price is not the only factor to look into to give the best value for your money.

Quality can still be ensured even if you pay low. How? When shopping for home improvement, be at the right place at the right time. There are certain times of the year when stores, shops and hardwares offer amazing discounts. Avail of this and you’ll be enjoying good quality at a better price. Great bargains can also be found online, but you have to be very meticulous and careful if you opt to do this. Make sure product details are carefully read and ensure that the website has a homeowner-beneficial return policy.

Before really buying, it pays to go shopping around for home improvement products first. Patience will surely be rewarded. The more items you can compare before deciding to buy, the closer you get to finding just the perfect solution to your needs. Do your research on average pricing as well as how satisfied other homeowners were with the product. Check out with neighbors, friends or relatives for some honest feedbacks and referrals. The Internet is also an excellent place to be reading reviews and comparisons posted by people who really have had an experience with certain products.

Your hired contractor or other home improvement professionals can also give you great insights on how durable or effective certain products may be. With their years of experience, contractors would have noteworthy basis for comparisons. A reliable contractor would not risk his good reputation and recommend an inferior product or material.

It is often common for people to search immediately for a hotel to stay in for a break. Hotels are publicized quite well and therefore people miss the opportunity to hire a cottage for a holiday. People should look at cottages and try a holiday break in one to give themselves a change. England is a beautiful country and holds some very exciting tourist attractions including historic buildings. Cornwall cottages is a beautiful holiday location with beach view and plenty of beautiful place to explore.

The current article will discuss the advantages of cottages as a holiday option and will explore Cornwall as a holiday destination. It is important to find a location appropriate for you, that will fulfill all of your needs. Hotels are often placed in the middle of built up areas where there is a lot of noise from traffic, people and buildings. This where cottages have the advantage over hotels as they are usually found in areas with a lot of land, surrounded by peace and quite.This giving you a more relaxing style holiday.

Hotels are shared by many people, who are all staying for different reasons. It may be that your relaxing holiday break turns into sleepless nights due to the noise from other customers within the hotels. Particularly when you come across stag and hen parties staying in the same hotel. Holiday cottages give you a more private option as you can hire a cottage for just families and friends of only one group, allowing you to enjoy your holiday. This allows for the peaceful and more private option. Cornwall is a popular U.K holiday destination with features like the Eden Project, The Lost Gardens of Heligan and the wonderful Cornish coast.

Cornwall has plenty of wonderful cottages surrounded by acres of beautiful countryside. Cornwall always has many activities that it provides. cornwall cottages are  surrounded by large of land and they are perfect for holiday breaks. These cottages are situated close to activities and restaurants for all of the family. During your stay you can visit many of the historic building and castles that are situated near by. It may never have entered your mind to look into hiring a cottage instead of sleeping in a hotel, but all in all cottages are a more peaceful option. It is quite common for people to miss out on opportunities for a relaxing break away in the U.K staying in some beautiful locations. Why not explore different parts of England by staying in rental cottages, allowing you to explore more than before.