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Sell Your Home Faster with these Small Remodeling Ideas

Posted February 22, 2010.

Newly Remodeled KitchenIf you are remodeling to help sell your home, you need to pay special attention to the kitchen and bathrooms.  These are the most expensive remodeling projects, but if you plan to sell your home, they will be the most important to do right.

There are smaller remodeling projects that can improve your bathroom, add style and help you sell your home.  A few inexpensive improvements include changing the knobs or pulls on the vanity or installing a new and updated light fixture.  If your vanity is really outdated, painting it could be the remodeling trick that can bring it back to life.  All of these simple improvements can be done by yourself, further reducing your investment.

A good way to find new looks for an older bathroom is to attend a home improvement show, look in magazines, or tour model homes in your area.  If you’re only planning minor remodeling, don’t get worked up about the amazing spa tub in that model home.  Instead, use your time to look at the smaller items such as lights, pulls, and faucets.  All of these smaller things will also help you sell your home.

In remodeling in an effort to sell your home, it’s really important to pay attention to detail and to put your money into the rooms that matter to buyer most.  With a couple hundred dollars, you can’t add square footage to your master bedroom or add a bathroom, but you can update the look and feel of your house.

Remodeling with Appraisal Value in Mind

Posted February 8, 2010.
Kitchen Remodeling for Appraisal Value

A kitchen remodel can have a large impact on appraisal value

When you are remodeling your house, you should always keep the real estate appraisal in mind.  An appraisal of your house will tell you what it is worth at that time, taking into account some objective things like square footage and number of bathrooms.  The appraisal will also assess the value of some subjective elements of your remodeling efforts.

The subjective things are the hardest for home remodeling efforts to realize.  One is the condition of your property.  The appraisal will take into account upgrades and updates inside as well as out.  They will look at the quality of the materials used in remodeling a house.  The appraisal will also compare your house to others in the neighborhood or nearby areas.  Kitchen upgrades are an important area to consider when looking at a home’s value.

A competitive market analysis is done by a real estate agent and often comes close to the appraisal.  However, banks will only accept an appraisal for valuing a home.  An appraisal report contains more details about the house and appraisers are specially trained and licensed to do this work.  The appraiser is also an objective third party, whereas a real estate agent stands to make more money if your house sells at a higher price.

The lesson is that when you are remodeling, think about the appraisal.  Use quality products and up to date design to get the most value out of your house.