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Home Improvement Projects With the Best and Worst…

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Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to small-but-impactful upgrades where a lesser home improvement loan will do. But before making a beeline for the home improvement store or hiring a contractor, consider which projects will give you the most bank for your buck when it comes time to resell your home.

Since not all home improvement projects are created equal, we’ve outlined five projects that could potentially give you the best bang for your buck. Along with five projects where you’ll most likely lose nearly 50 percent of what you spent when reselling your home in the near future.

Projects with the highest potential for recouping your costs:

Upgrading to a top-of-the-line garage door
Average project cost: $3,470
Average resale value: $3,411
You’ll likely recoup98.3 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Adding manufactured stone veneer
Average project cost: $8,221
Average resale value: $7,986
You’ll likely recoup 97.1 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Installing moderately priced wood deck
Average project cost: $10,950
Average resale value: $9,065
You’ll likely recoup82.8 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Completing a minor kitchen remodel
Average project cost: $21,198
Average resale value: $17,193
You’ll likely recoup81.1 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Replacing your vinyl siding
Average project cost: $15,072
Average resale value: $11,554
You’ll likely recoup76.7 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Projects that offer the worst return on the money spent:

A high-end bathroom remodel
Average project cost: $61,662
Average resale value: $34,633
You’ll likely lose43.8 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Adding on a glamorous bathroom
Average project cost: $83.869
Average resale value: $45,752
You’ll likely lose45.4 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Going all-in for a major high-end kitchen remodel
Average project cost: $125,721
Average resale value: $67,212
You’ll likely lose46.5 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Adding on an upscale master suite
Average project cost: $256,229
Average resale value: $123,797
You’ll likely lose51.7 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

Adding on a swanky backyard patio
Average project cost: $54,130
Average resale value: $25,769
You’ll likely lose52.4 percent of this cost when reselling your home.*

When reviewing these figures, keep in mind that the data provided is based on national averages and that what sells in some neighborhoods may not sell well in others. It’s also worth noting that it’s ok if the improvements you’re interested in aren’t solely based on the returns you’ll make. Instead, you may find it’s more about making your home a place your happy with and proud to live in for many years to come.

However, if you’re determined to complete projects with good returns, talk with your Realtor to help you decide which projects make the most sense for your locale. Then stop by your nearest branch to speak with a crewmember about the FAIRWINDS solutions that work best for your individual situation.

*Based on national averages compiled by remodeling.hw.net.

Source

https://www.fairwinds.org/blog/home-ownership/home-improvement-projects-with-the-best-and-worst-returns.html?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=rss

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HOME IMPROVEMENT: COMMUNICATION

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One evening a man and his wife called another couple to see what they were doing. “Oh,” said the other wife, “we’re just drinking coffee and talking.” As she hung up the phone, she demanded, “Why don’t we ever do that?

They’re just drinking coffee and talking.” Her husband said, “So make a pot of coffee.”

They sat with their freshly brewed coffee, just staring at each other in silence. “Well, call them back,” he directed, “and find out what they’re talking about.”

Communication is tough.  Challenging. Tricky.  Sometimes we miss the what the other person really wants!

This week I’m in a meeting in Baytown Texas presenting a series called HOME IMPROVEMENT.  Last night we talked about “Secrets to a Satisfying Marriage.”  One of those is communication.  Let me briefly bullet some suggestions that will help improve your family communication.  Read the referenced scripture. Make personal application. Share these with your family and discuss how each of you can improve.

◆Learn to really listen.  Don’t interrupt. Don’t second guess. Don’t judge motives.  Just focus on your loved one and listen with your ears and your heart. (James 1:19)

◆Set aside some time for undivided attention. While a lot of family communication is spontaneous, research has shown that strong families intentionally carve out time to talk about their day, share their feelings and discuss their hopes, dreams and fears (Eph 5:16-17)

◆Be transparent.  Ephesians 4:16 admonishes us to “speak the truth in love.”  Truth is transparent.  Open. Illuminated by light.  Honest communication is open and transparent.

◆ Be sensitive to the feelings of others.  Men and women are typically different in their expressiveness.  Men tend to communicate from the head and women from the heart.  (1 Pet. 3:7)

◆Deal with communication issues. Don’t ignore them.  Deal with them as quickly as possible (Eph 4:26). Deal with one issue at a time. Lovingly communicate what the issue really is.  Then work together to solve the problem.

◆Establish rituals, traditions and values that foster communication.  (Prov 13:22). Play to the strengths of your family.  Have special family nights. Date night. Vacations. Meals on birthdays. Develop your own unique traditions that you anticipate and talk about.

◆Be positive in your outlook.  Sure, bad things happen.  Problems occur.  And sin can and does invade our hearts and homes.  But be positive in your attitude and approach to solving your family problems.  If you focus too much on a small problem area, it will seem worse than it really is.  (Eph 4:32)

◆ See things through the eyes of a kid.  If you’re a parent, remember what it was like to be young. What seems trivial to us now was important when we were kids and is important to our children. Show that you care. (Col. 3:21)

◆Communicate with God and let God communicate with you. In other words–pray!  Read the Bible.  Make it a part of your family life. A lot of communication issues can be overcome and resolved when our spiritual commitments are valued, and our love for God shared. (Deut. 6:4-6).

Good communication builds and bonds.  It creates a sense of belonging.  It’s the lifeblood of your family.  Good communication enhances your relationships.   But don’t call another couple to find out what they’re talking about!  Dig deep into your relationship and you will find plenty of things to discuss.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman

Source

https://thepreachersword.com/2018/08/22/home-improvement-communication/

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3 Easy DIY Summer Home Improvement Projects to Increase Your Home Value

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Before summer ends, take advantage of the warm weather for more than a vacation. This is the best time of year for easy DIY projects that are fun, relaxing and valuable. Not only can you enjoy a Saturday afternoon in peace, these projects will increase the value of your home, too.

Don’t forget – it’s easy to make a small monthly payment towards warranties on your home. When it comes to appliance or home system breakdowns, DIY projects can be a bummer. A home warranty is easy to manage and can even help increase your home value as a selling point to new buyers.

1. Plant a tree or privacy hedge.

Landscaping is essential for “curb appeal” when home buyers shop around and seek a great first impression. Not only does a tree add aesthetic value to your home, the monetary value of a tree on your property increases each year.  A perfectly placed tree can also provide strategic shade to reduce cooling costs when blocking the home from direct sun.

Trees make great investments for a lifetime, but not all trees will add universal value. Fruit trees can be valuable, but the value depends on the individual buying, such as a homeowner who especially enjoys pears or apples. To surely increase your home value, pick a species of tree that fits your unique biome and tends to last for decades. Plant hardy trees that are prone to resist disease, including the crape myrtle, sugar maple and northern red oak. Weeping willows work well near standing water if you have a troublesome area that won’t drain, and limelight hydrangeas are short but produce bright flowers that are sure to catch attention. Consider planting a mature tree so that its youngest years are over and it’s best suited to take off.

Planting a privacy hedge will also add value by offering seclusion for your home. While one tree can average around $100, a hedge will run higher depending on how many shrubs will amount to the coverage you’re looking for. Consider cornering your property with hedges to space out your landscaping while still offering privacy.

2. Refresh rooms with paint.

Simply repainting a room will give it an entirely new perspective. This can help improve the value of your home by giving you the chance to choose a color that is more appealing to a home buyer.

When we first move in to a home, we make choices that turn the home into our own unique style. Some of these style choices might affect the opinion of future buyers when you choose to sell your home. By changing a room from, for example, a dark red to a light gray, new comers viewing your home will find the colors more virtually appealing rather than forming a strong opinion on this one aspect of the room.

3. Install ceiling fans.

Circulating the air in your home has many benefits and comes at little cost.

If you’re not ready for a brand-new AC unit or HVAC system, to save money this year a new fan can help add value to your home instead. If you’re looking to conserve on your cooling costs, then a ceiling fan is sure to help move cool air from your primary rooms.

Not only will you better conserve on your cooling costs, you’ll also improve the air quality in your home to help fight mildew. Homes with poor circulation are often humid and experience mold. This may greatly enhance allergies in families and can cause severe health problems over time. Adding ceiling fans to your rooms can help build value for families who care about their health and well-being in the home.

Did you know that home warranties can help you sell your home as an added benefit to the buyer? Get your free quote today and learn about Select’s coverage plans!

Source

https://selecthomewarranty.com/blog/3-easy-diy-summer-increase-home-value/

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America’s Home Expert Danny Lipford Delivers DIY and Budget-Friendly Bathroom Renovation Tips

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MOBILE, Ala. (PRWEB)

Form and function are important in today’s homes. That’s why home improvement expert and host of “Today’s Homeowner,” Danny Lipford, launched a national media event today to share ways homeowners can improve both the aesthetics and functionality of the most used room in the house – the bathroom.

Lipford showcased a bathroom project he recently completed for an episode of his nationally syndicated television show, “Today’s Homeowner.” “Bathroom updates continue to be one of the most popular home improvement projects for homeowners,” says Lipford. “The price tag for bath renovations can add up quickly, but there are plenty of ways to create a fresh, updated look for less.”

Broadcasting live from a home in Mobile, AL, Lipford kicked off the event with a tour of the “before” bathroom. He pointed out several areas that homeowners often want to address in renovations, including:

  • Optimizing the space
  • Replacement of dated flooring and lighting
  • Painting

To open up the space, Lipford removed a large, center linen cabinet to make room for a new double vanity, increasing the functionality of the room. Demolition is a key area where homeowners can save on renovations according to Lipford. As a budget-friendly alternative to vanity replacement, Lipford suggested adding a new faucet and hardware to achieve a modern, updated look. He showed viewers a great option from Danze by Gerber’s Vaughn Collection, which the homeowners selected for their bathroom makeover.

Next, he offered homeowners another way to save big on bathroom renovations – repairing rather than replacing. New toilets can cost hundreds of dollars. Instead of buying new, Lipford recommended using a Performax All-In-One Repair Kit from Fluidmaster to replace the existing toilet’s interior mechanism. At a cost of about $20, this kit helps an existing toilet operate more efficiently at a fraction of the cost for something new.

Lipford wrapped up the media event suggesting additional budget-friendly bathroom updates:

  • Replace bath fixtures such as paper holder, towel bar and hooks
  • Add moulding to an existing mirror to create a custom, high-end look
  • Paint the room a light color help the room feel larger
  • Scrape/remove existing popcorn ceiling texture
  • Add decorative light switches and plates
  • Add crown moulding

During the media event, sponsored by Danze by Gerber and Fluidmaster, Lipford connected with 25 television and radio hosts and a nationwide audience of more than 20 million viewers. A broadcast-ready clip with Lipford’s advice is available to the media. The complete step-by-step renovation of the featured bathroom will debut on “Today’s Homeowner” TV week of October 8. Visit TodaysHomeowner.com to check local listings.

About Today’s Homeowner Media
“Today’s Homeowner” is a trusted home improvement authority delivering fresh, original, practical advice to consumers across diverse media platforms including the top-rated, nationally syndicated “Today’s Homeowner” television show, now in its 20th season and its radio counterpart, the nationally syndicated “Today’s Homeowner” radio show. Additionally, the media brand hosts the top home enthusiast destination website, TodaysHomeowner.com, drawing more than 2.5 million monthly visitors, robust social media channels and the award-winning lifestyle blog and web series, “Checking In With Chelsea.” 3 Echoes Productions, the professional production arm of the brand, serves an impressive national clientele with expert video services.

Host and founder of the brand, Danny Lipford, is among the most sought-after home improvement experts in the country. The seasoned remodeling contractor and media personality served as the home improvement expert for CBS’s “The Early Show” and The Weather Channel for over a decade and has made more than 190 national television appearances on “FOX & Friends,” “Inside Edition,” “Morning Express with Robin Meade,” FOX Business Channel, “Rachael Ray” and more. He travels the country making appearances as a brand ambassador and spokesperson, and contributes expertise to hundreds of popular magazines and online media outlets each year.

Source

https://www.prweb.com/releases/americas_home_expert_danny_lipford_delivers_diy_and_budget_friendly_bathroom_renovation_tips/prweb15707875.htm

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Temple & Webster eyeing $50b home improvement market

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Temple & Webster is eyeing the $50 billion home improvement market as a new source of expansion, as Australia’s largest pure-play online homewares retailer moves from turnaround phase to growth.

The online player plans to add home improvement products such as flooring, window coverings, sinks, taps and baths to its existing range – which could prompt home improvement market leader Bunnings, an e-commerce laggard, to sell more of its products online.

“Home improvement is a big category – a bigger category than furniture and homewares,” chief executive Mark Coulter told The Australian Financial Review after releasing the company’s best results since listing two years ago.

“We won’t go into selling timber and building materials – that’s not our game – but what we will be looking at is categories that make sense and are a natural extension to making a home beautiful.

“You may go to Bunnings for your building materials, but if you’re looking for inspiration you come to us – we think there is an opportunity there.”

Temple & Webster expects to make a maiden profit in 2019 after reducing bottom-line losses to just $21,000 in 2018 from $7.76 million in 2017 and a whopping $44.9 million in 2016.

The company earned $300,000 before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation in the June-half – in line with its promise to reach profitability during 2018 – reducing its annual EBITDA loss from $6.8 million to $600,000.

Revenues rose 12.6 per cent to $72.6 million in the year and by 25 per cent in the June half, underpinned by 24 per cent growth in active customers to 198,000 and 31 per cent growth in first-time customers to about 42,000. The strong momentum continued in July, with sales up 34 per cent.

Gross margins improved from 42.7 per cent to 44.2 per cent as marketing and staff costs were controlled and acquisition costs for first-time customers fell to $54 compared with $89 in 2017 and $100 in 2016.

The company, which finished the year with a cash balance of $9.9 million, is also testing the market in New Zealand, setting up shop on TradeMe before possibly establishing a dedicated website and app.

It also plans to open a small-format design store in Sydney and is eyeing other new categories.

The Australian furniture and homewares market is worth about $14 billion, according to Euromonitor International, but online penetration is about 4 per cent – well below the 10 per cent penetration rate in the United States and 13 per cent in Britain. Temple & Webster expects sales to shift online at a faster rate as Millennials aged 22 to 35 start spending money in this category.

After rising three-fold to 76¢ over the past 12 months, the shares gained another 8 per cent to 82¢ on Tuesday, buoyed by the strong start to 2019. The shares were issued in October 2015 at $1.10.

“We believe Temple & Webster has entered 2019 with strong momentum and believe 2019 is on track to being [the company’s] first full financial year of profit,” said Bell Potter analyst Sam Haddad.​

Source

https://www.afr.com/business/retail/temple–webster-eyeing-50b-home-improvement-market-20180820-h148l9

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‘Home Improvement’ Star Goes Rogue, Slams Hollywood Elitists For Ignoring Middle America

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(Conservative Tribune) – George Orwell once wrote that left-wing intellectuals have no conception of what the common man, who they claim to champion, was like.

Today it is the Hollywood left who are too elitist to know what Middle America is like, according to a former star on the show “Home Improvement.”

On Friday, Zachary Ty Bryan told Fox News that actors feel superior to Middle America — especially those who voted for President Donald Trump — because they appear on film and television.

“I think there’s kind of been this narcissism created now that because you’re in the public eye, all of a sudden you know more than the normal Joe Schmoe which just isn’t the case,” he said.

“Whether you disagree with the president, or you don’t, he’s doing what he feels (is) best and he’s representing a very large majority of people who live in Middle America.”

Bryan asserts that actors don’t even attempt to understand the people who voted for Trump and fail to recognize that much of their celebrity status comes from heartland America.

“As an actor, I think one of the first things that you’re taught is it’s the fans that make you who you are,” Bryan said. “And a lot of those fans are watching in Middle America.”

By continuing to criticize rather than trying to understand the “other side,” they are in essence alienating Middle America.

Bryan, who keeps in touch with “hardworking Americans” in his home state of Colorado, states they are tired of Hollywood elitists.

As an example of liberal superiority, he cites Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick who told audiences that they will be “on the right side of history” if they vote against Trump.

Bryan represents part of a growing backlash against the left-wing elites that dominate Hollywood.

Hollywood is indeed in a bubble.

They believe that, in the case of Kevin Bacon, there is “a right” and “a wrong side of history.”

The best example of this occurred in the 1972 presidential election between Republican Richard Nixon and the Democrat George McGovern.

When Nixon won, the upper-class movie critic Pauline Kael was surprised because “everyone I knew voted for McGovern.”

Recently, in The Federalist, writer Bret Easton Ellis, who has made a career of bashing yuppies, told Hollywood anti-Trump elites to cease their hysteria or they will continue to lose elections.

In response, many Hollywood leftists refuse to take his common sense advice and have instead screamed at him for being a Trump supporter.

westernjournal.com/ct/hollywood-elitists-ignoring-middle-america/

The post ‘Home Improvement’ Star Goes Rogue, Slams Hollywood Elitists For Ignoring Middle America appeared first on Tea Party.

Source

https://www.teaparty.org/home-improvement-star-goes-rogue-slams-hollywood-elitists-ignoring-middle-america-320012/

Breaking Your Personal Limits