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The Best Home Renovation Projects That Hold Their Value

home renovation projectsIt’s the depths of winter but spring will be here before you know it. With that your thoughts might be turning to that home renovation project you’ve been waiting for. Now’s the time to get the final plans and cost in place so when the weather turns nice you can hit the ground running.

A home renovation isn’t simply painting a room or putting down new carpet. Those things are nice to do and are needed from time to time. When I say home renovation I’m referring to big projects…ones for which you might want to call in a contractor. For the most part these are projects that are going to cost thousands of dollars, maybe even reach into 6 figures.

With that much money at stake it’s important to do your research ahead of time. One of the big issues is how much return you can expect to receive on your home renovation investment. You don’t want to dump $20,000 into a project only to see it’s value dwindle to nothing.

We’ve been thinking recently about finishing our basement. We could add several additional rooms of living space there along with perhaps a bathroom. We know it would add value to our home life (giving us more personal space) and add value to the home itself. But how much money to put into it is the real question. What could we expect to get back in value if we ever sell our home?

With that in mind, check out this infographic from Contractor Quotes. It shows the typical cost of each major home renovation and what you can expect to recoup in cost when you sell your home.

Home Renovation Projects That Increase a Home’s Value

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How to Avoid a Foreclosure When You Are Struggling Financially

If home ownership is the American dream then a foreclosure is a homeowner’s worst nightmare. Thousands of people face this situation every day because they are struggling financially and have failed to pay the mortgage. It can definitely lead to some sleepless nights worrying over whether or not the bank will come take your home.

avoid foreclosureAvoiding foreclosure is extremely important for several reasons. For starters, it damages your credit score. You may see a drop of 200 points or more even if you had perfect credit beforehand. In addition, the information stays on your credit report for seven years. This makes it very difficult to secure a new mortgage loan or open other lines of credit in the future. It’s a stain on your personal financial record that takes years to overcome.

How to Avoid a Foreclosure

In the end you may have no choice but to foreclose. However, don’t assume all hope is lost because you may be a month or two behind on the mortgage.

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The Difference Between Married and Single Homebuyers (Infographic)

Perhaps you heard that existing home sales rose 5.1% in May from April according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s the strongest pace for homebuyers since September 2009. It’s good news but don’t get too excited just yet. The housing recovery is happening but has been slow and uneven at best (sales were down in April).

The rise in home sales in May was attributed to first-time, younger homebuyers entering the market. These buyers have been cautious about purchasing a home having seen what the recent recession did to home values. Traditionally, first-time homebuyers have made up about 40% of the housing market. Right now that mark sits at 32% so we have a bit to go before the statistics return to normal.

Buying a home versus renting remains a difficult decision. So many variables come into play – from affordability, to employment security, to school systems, to size, to neighborhood – the list goes on and on.

My wife and I bought our first home after we had rented for two years. Job security prompted the purchase, as we were confident my career in education would keep us in one location for some time. We were first-time homebuyers at age 27 and bought a typical ranch-style starter home.

The biggest priority for our home purchase was affordability. We didn’t care about driving distance to work, location to activities or size of the property. We wanted something small but with enough room so we could expand our family (in other words – have children).

Married vs. Single Homebuyers

Had I been single and not looking to start a family, I doubt I would have bought a home in the suburbs at age 27. My priorities would have been on friends, activities and advancing my career. Anything but settling down.

It speaks to the difference that age and marital status have on the decision to buy a home. Where a person is at in life factors into when/if they buy and what they look for in a home. Today’s infographic from my friends at Choice Home Warranty highlights these differences between married and single homebuyers.

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Understanding the Basics of Refinancing Mortgage Loans

What does it mean when you consider refinancing mortgage loans. Why would a person even consider it? Please welcome Jessica Kane as she shares her insights on the subject.

refinancing mortgage loansMany homeowners who have owned their property for more than a year or two have already refinanced a home mortgage. Some of your friends and family members may have casually mentioned that they were in the middle of a refinance loan process, or they may have talked about the great interest rate they got or their plans for their home equity funds.

If you are not familiar with mortgage refinancing, you may be wondering what this actually means, how you can do it and what the benefits would be for you. By spending a few minutes learning more about it, you may decide that now is the right time for you to contact a mortgage lender about refinancing your home loan.

What Is a Refinanced Loan?

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How to Make a Home Inventory Checklist in Case of a Catastrophic Loss

Recent events surrounding the theft and eventual recovery of our family basketball goal have me thinking more about home security. One issue that presented itself during that incident was that I did not have proof (like a model number or receipt) or identifying marks on the goal that it belonged to me. If I had that proof the police could have pursued the matter more aggressively.

home inventory checklist in case of lossDuring the ordeal I had a conversation with a friend of mine who used to be a detective. He mentioned a case he investigated where a man had his entire music collection stolen. Fortunately for him, he had written down the title and artist of every CD in his collection. He gave that list to my friend who, believe it or not, was able to track down the collection. Of course, he was aided in his search by the fact that the not-so-intelligent thief sold the entire collection at once…to one pawn shop.

Wasn’t too hard to link those to events together.

My friend went on to say he has made a home inventory checklist of everything of value in his home. In case of a catastrophic loss such as a house fire, he will be able to present his home inventory checklist to the insurance company showing concrete evidence of what he did own. Of course that won’t help him recover the sentimental items he lost but it will give him a better chance of recouping the fair market value to replace all the consumer products he lost.

So, guess what the kids and I started doing over Christmas break?

How to Make a Home Inventory Checklist

We haven’t entirely completed our project but these are the steps we are taking to make our home inventory checklist:

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Debunking a Few Home-Buying Misconceptions

The following is a guest post by Tali Wee of Zillow.com.

couple looking at a home to buyNavigating the home buying process as a first-time buyer can be confusing, risky or even defeating. Buying a home is one of the most expensive purchases buyers make in their lifetimes, so it’s vital they make informed decisions. Some common sense negotiating tactics don’t translate to the housing market, confusing even the savviest shoppers. Plus, risky strategies work well for some buyers’ circumstances but disadvantage others.

It’s important for buyers to do their own research before accepting rumors as truths. Here are a few common house-buying misconceptions.

Misconception #1: Buying a home is a quick process, especially in competitive markets.

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Simple and Fun Ways Landlords Can Treat Their Tenants Well

Dog staring at a sign that says Dogs WelcomeThe primary objective for owning rental real estate is to make money. Landlords can facilitate meeting this objective by running their property like a business and treating their tenants well. A happy tenant is one more likely to stick around for the long term.

There are many money related issues with being a landlord. The most expensive and time consuming period, other than the initial purchase and renovation, is the turnaround phase after a tenant leaves. Repairs, cleaning, advertising, interviews, and background checks all need to be accomplished before a new tenant can move in. The fewer number of times a landlord devotes to those tasks the better.

With that in mind, here are some things I’m doing to help my tenants enjoy their stay.

Response Times

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Goodbye Mortgage and Lender B.O.A. Hello Baby Step 7!

finished paying off the mortgage

My reaction to paying off the mortgage

Remember the feeling of those significant milestones in your life?

That time you moved away from home.

That day you said, “I do.”

That moment when your kids finally grew out of diapers.

That big job promotion or beginning a new career.

All of these and many more have occurred in my life and in our household. The one we experienced recently surely ranks in the top ten in matters of earthly importance.

We’ve Paid Off Our Mortgage!

Goodbye Bank of America. It’s been…uh, “nice” knowing ya. Hello Baby Step 7!

This event actually occurred in February. I walked into our local BOA and received the deer in the headlights look upon mentioning I wanted to pay off our mortgage. They appeared happy for me but I knew better. What was really running through their minds was “Rats…lost another one.”

They thought worse than that when learning I also wanted to close all my accounts. The only reason we opened a checking account there was because they purchased our mortgage from Countrywide years ago. It made it simpler to pay down our mortgage as we could transfer money to BOA from our main bank at PNC.

Uncharted Financial Waters

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How Landlords Can Screen Out Potentially Bad Renters

bad rentersOwning and renting property is one of the best investment strategies for building long-term wealth. Besides the money needed to purchase the property, what holds most people back is the fear of dealing with bad renters. It’s not a misguided consideration either. Take it from someone who knows – bad renters can be awful.

With that being said, in my five years of owning rental property, I’ve only had one bad renter who forced me to take legal action and pursue an eviction. I attribute that success to the process whereby I select tenants for my properties. I live by the adage that the best place to catch potentially bad renters is before they sign on the dotted line.

How to Screen Out Bad Renters

What can a landlord do to screen out a potentially bad renters? Here are six things I’m doing that may seem obvious but are often not followed.

1. Handle your emotions on a vacant property

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The Hidden Commodities of Real Estate Investing

The following is a guest post from Jim Driscoll, the founder and author of CriticalFinancial.com.

ID-10017132Ever looked at real estate investing as having a vested interest in a packaged commodity? Huh…a packaged commodity? How is that? Well, let’s look at real estate from a broad perspective.

Real estate is made up of an array of commodities each possessing their own intrinsic value; such as wood, concrete, petroleum products, copper, aluminum, and other building materials. The cool thing is they are packaged together into a single investment called real estate, which can be leveraged, depreciated, and purchased with borrowed money.

As if that’s not attractive enough, a fantastic tax benefit pushes real estate into the category of best investment ever’! Is there a greater investment? If there is, I haven’t found it. What other investment allows you to invest potentially 5% or less of your capital, then lets you outsource your interest payments to a tenant.

Ahhh…the utopian investment. Nope, not so fast. Being a landlord is not for everyone. Those middle of the night phone calls to fix a stopped up toilet are enough to weed out a large swath of investors.

Real estate is not liquid. Many investors want to be able to rid themselves of their investment as soon as they think it looks to be hitting a downturn. For some folks though, ‘being liquid’ only creates temptation, and we know what temptation can cause us to do in the highly intense investment game.

After my experiences of losing money through investing in Wall Street products, I have now trained my mind to think of real estate as a forced savings account.

Real Estate = A Friend to Inflation

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5 Common Rental Real Estate Mistakes Landlords Will Make

rental real estate mistakesSo, you are ready to take the rental real estate plunge and become a landlord. Awesome! I hope that you have come to that decision by desire (you really want to do this) and not by necessity (you were forced into it because your house wouldn’t sell). One of those scenarios (hint: the first one) generally works out better than the other.

My wife and I have been renting properties for some time now and our landlord experience has been positive. I believe our success comes from a desire to run a quality business, as we never considered this to be a whimsical adventure. We spent over a year studying the idea to make sure rental real estate was right for us because we knew it has its darker side. I believe we set ourselves up for success as landlords by doing that because we went into it with our eyes wide open.

Rental Real Estate Mistakes Landlords Should Avoid

Even with all our preparation we made some mistakes with our rental real estate. Here are five big ones I want to help you avoid.

1. Paying too much for a property

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