Insurance and Credit

It’s not cheap to work on your house. The costs for buying construction supplies, hiring a qualified work force and paying the various fees for permits can quickly add up.

You could borrow cash from a bank to help pay for all the work, but banks always expect you to pay back not only the loan, but also the interest. A $10,000 bathroom remodel may actually end up costing you $15,000 by the time you’ve paid back all the interest. Instead of going for a bank loan, why not look into some of those credit cards offered by the larger home improvement store chains? As long as you have decent credit and a plan to pay them back, it’s usually an option worth considering. Those credit cards have several distinct advantages:

Zero Interest for a Limited Time: Many of those hardware store credit cards give you a period of 6 to 12 months with zero interest charges as long as you use the credit card in their store. Those savings could add up to big money if you are able to pay back all of the amount you borrowed on the credit card. Even more importantly, big stores like Lowe’s Home Improvement stores may have multiple credit cards available for your unique personal situation.

Big Store Discounts: Hardware store credit cards often give you sale prices on items you buy or services you contract through the store. You might save 3% – 10% on the total cost of the project, which could be a pretty good chunk of money by the time you’ve added it all up.

All-In-One-Solution: There is something to be said for buying all your home improvement supplies for a specific project from one store. Instead of visiting a dozen stores to find a refrigerator you can go to one store and buy a faucet, a sink, a refrigerator, all the cabinets and even hire and schedule the installers all at one time. You don’t need a big hardware store credit card to necessarily do this, but things do seem to go much smoother this way.

These hardware credit cards can end up being a win-win for both the customer and the store. The store sells more inventory and makes more profit while the customer is able to “borrow” more money to make home improvements without having to pay any interest for a limited time! A limited time of no interest payments, possible discounts and the ease of ordering everything in one store makes those large hardware store credit cards a pretty good idea in many cases!

As we all know, the housing bubble has popped. This has put a strain on people who were hoping to use the increased monetary value of their homes to perform some much needed home repairs. The downturn in housing values across the nation means there are many people who are now living in houses that have not built up any added value over the past several years.

In a rising housing market you can buy a house value one year and in the next year the value of the home will actually grow by a few percentage points from one year to the next. So if you bought a home for $150,000 five years ago it might actually be worth $200,000 today with normal economic growth. You would then be able to borrow money against that added value from a bank and use that cash to upgrade your house.

These days many home prices have actually plummeted in the past year or so, which means a lot of people are now paying for houses that are now worth less than what they originally paid. This means they don’t have that extra home value which is known as “equity.” When you owe more cash on a house than what it is worth then you are said to be “underwater” with your mortgage payments.

Fortunately you can still afford home improvements even without having equity in your home. There are a number of different home improvement loan and financing options available if you know where to get them. One of the easiest ways to get a low interest home repair loan is to use an online lending institution. The application process is free and easy and you can get approved in just a few days.

Another great way to keep the costs of a home remodeling project down is to do at least some of the labor yourself. There are lots of easy do-it-yourself home improvement jobs most people can do around their homes with just a little bit of know-how and some elbow grease. For most home improvement jobs the largest expense often comes from the amount of manual labor involved, so by doing some of that work yourself, you can really reduce the total cost of the overall job.

If you have a important home repair that needs to be done, don’t let your home’s dropping value prevent you from getting the money you need to make the repairs. Most small house repairs can become major headaches if they are allowed to go unfixed for too long. And, as expected, big home improvements always end up costing more than the small ones.

House sellers know that now is not necessarily the easiest time to sell a home and that it’s definitely a buyer’s market these days. There are, however, some things you can do to help raise the selling price of your house and make it more appealing to potential buyers. Just adding a few features to your home can really set it apart from the competition. Try some of these great home improvements get your house sold:

Spruce up Your Front Yard: An increased number of house buyers are being choosy with the houses they see and many are initially judging homes with a simple “drive by” look. Trim back any overgrown shrubbery, make sure your grass is green and cut neatly and think about planting fresh flowers or greenery that’s in season. A first impression can make all the difference between selling your home and having it on the market for months or years at a time.

Fix Up Those Bathrooms: The last twenty years have brought a lot of functional updates to what buyers expect in a bathroom. Even if you have an older home you can update this important room with features such as fresh paint, an updated toilet and a modern tub and shower combination unit. Don’t go overboard but new flooring, a new sink and an updated shower are all highly desirable. Even something as simple as replacing a bathroom light can completely change the character of a bathroom for the better.

Updated Kitchen: Kitchens are tricky because you can very easily spend a lot of money remodeling a kitchen only to to have the kitchen not meet a potential buyer’s tastes. Stick with light colors in the kitchen that will appeal to a larger selection of different potential buyers. Investing in updated appliances that stay with the home will always garner more interest and consider spending the extra money on stainless steel appliances which are still very popular.

Any of the above home upgrades will help you sell your home and make even more money when all is said and done. Yes, some of these improvements can initially be expensive. Sometimes you may need to get a loan for those house improvements in order to make more money when you sell your home. Ultimately you’ll be glad you did when you sell your house and make more money than you ever expected!