09 Jul 08 Thinking About Remodeling Your Existing Home?
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
For some, declining home values has many homeowners seeking to remodel rather than sell. As recent reports from the National Association of Realtors have stated, pending home sales are down and in most major real estate markets, so too are home values. It is for this very reason that many homeowners are inclined to sit on their home and are willing to ride out the housing slump in hopes of regaining some of their home’s value in the future.
The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) has estimated that homeowners will spend in excess of $302 billion on remodeling and other home improvement projects in 2008. This is a slight decline in home improvement spending from 2007, when homeowners spent $306.7 billion on remodeling projects.
Finding a trustworthy contractor is often a concern for those wishing to conduct major remodeling jobs. My advice for those homeowners is to consult the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB’s Reliability Report is designed to help protect consumers from being taken advantage of. This service allows you to either enter in the business name or the type of business you are seeking, e.g. contractor, plumber, real estate agent, etc., which will then provide you with a list of businesses to choose from. Another great resource offered by the BBB is their Accredited Business listings, where users can also search by business name, type of business, and even the product offered.
A few things to remember when hiring a contractor is to hire one that is a member of a professional association, never pay for the entire job upfront, and check out the company’s references. Speaking to past customers can sometimes be the best way to feel out your new contractor.
Tags: bbb, bbb reliability report, better business bureau, contractor, hiri, home improvement research institute, home values, housing slump, NAR, national association of realtors, remodeling
30 Jun 08 Home Inspection Checklist
If you are planning to buy a home, you are likely planning to sell a home too. One of the usual steps in the buying and selling process involves having your home inspected. Below is a list of commonly inspected areas of a home.
Many home inspectors will begin their routine with the home’s foundation. Cracks can occur from earth settling below, which can lead to moisture seeping through. If there are cracks in your foundation, be sure to have a professional contractor come and repair the problem.
Expect your roof to be given a thorough overview, as a damaged roof can lead to much bigger problems – often associated from water damage. Reroofing a worn roof can often add value to your home, but only reroof if it is absolutely necessary; otherwise have any damages repaired by a professional roofing contractor.
Once inside your home, an inspector will look for any obvious signs of damage to walls, ceilings, and floors – e.g. stress fractures in walls, water damaged ceilings, and cracked tiles or worn out carpet. Additional interior inspection will include checking the heating and air-conditioning systems, doors and windows, plumbing, leaking sinks, electrical fixtures, and electrical outlets – to ensure they are properly working.
If selling your home, be sure to have as many of these items fixed before your scheduled inspection to prevent having to do so afterwards. In today’s market, most problems that are discovered will likely need to be repaired before listing your property; or you may not receive your home’s full value upon selling.
Tags: buying a home, foundation, home inspection, home inspection checklist, home selling tips, interior inspection, new home inspection, outside inspection, roof repair, selling a home
19 Jun 08 List of Real Estate Forums
For those of you who wish to learn from real estate professionals in your area, or perhaps wish to learn about national real estate developments and news, and even worldwide real estate issues, real estate forums are a great resource. Real estate forums are also helpful for building relevant backlinks to your real estate related website while contributing and sharing your thoughts and ideas with other forum members.
Below is a list of the most popular real estate forums on the web, we hope many of you find this list helpful. If that’s the case please take a moment to bookmark this page to your favorite social media websites by clicking the ‘Bookmark’ link below.
Forum / PR / (ranked from lowest to highest Alexa rank)
www.realestatewebmasters.com/forum.php 5
www.forums.biggerpockets.com 4
www.prorealestatenetwork.com 3
www.tucsonrealestateforum.com 3
Tags: active rain forum, agents online forum, bigger pockets forum, forums real estate, list of real estate forums, pro real estate network, re forums, Real Estate, real estate advice, real estate agents forums, real estate discuss, real estate forum, real estate investing, real estate owned, real estate webmasters forum, real estate websites, team aguilar, tucson real estate forum, world property links
