For September, I wanted to focus on an issue that it seems like a lot of folks are dealing with... "My kitchen needs to be remodeled, but we just don't have that kind of money." If you've said that, you're not alone...
A "minor" kitchen remodel will cost homeowners, on average, $21,695, according to the Cost vs. Value survey, an annual report by Remodeling magazine, in cooperation with REALTOR® Magazine, that reveals the top remodeling projects offering the highest returns at resale. Home owners stand to recoup about 72 percent (or $15,790) of that investment from a kitchen remodel when it’s time to sell too.
So the kitchen can offer some big payback at times of resale, but for the average home owner, $21,000 nowadays may be too much for their budget. So what should you do when a dated kitchen is still in desperate need of some TLC?
Check out this video below from AOL Real Estate with Jeff Lewis, star of Bravo’s “Flipping Out,” sharing how he transformed a kitchen for less than $5,000. He painted the cabinets, added new countertops, replaced the faucet, added a stainless steel kitchen island, and accessorized to give the kitchen an updated, fresh look.
And, don't hesitate to contact us for a free consultation about remodeling your kitchen!
Follow this link for the video: http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2011/08/08/how-to-make-5000-stretch-in-a-kitchen-remodel/
Friday, August 26, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Bill Asks Banks to Rent Foreclosures to Save Home Values
As a glut of foreclosures on the market weighs down home values across the country, a bipartisan bill introduced this week in the House proposes a solution to reducing the high inventories: Rent the properties out.
The proposed bill, Neighborhood Preservation Act of 2011 (H.R. 2636), calls on banks and the government-sponsored enterprises--Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--to start renting out some of their foreclosed properties to reduce REO sales and “stabilize home values and restore confidence in the housing markets.”
The bill would authorize federally-chartered institutions to enter into a long-term lease -- for up to five years -- with the occupant of the property or with another person, and then at the end of the agreement provide an option to buy the home to the tenant.
The bill could allow delinquent borrowers to remain in their homes but they would have to agree to pay rent and still sign over the deed to the bank or GSE, National Mortgage News reports.
According to the bill, this would allow the foreclosed property to remain occupied during the still-sluggish housing market and “preserve the property itself as well as the aesthetic and economic values of neighboring homes and even whole neighborhoods.”
"As Americans across the country are affected by this unrelenting foreclosure crisis, it is imperative that Congress address this issue," Congressman Gary Miller, R-Calif., who introduced the bill, said in a statement.
The proposed bill, Neighborhood Preservation Act of 2011 (H.R. 2636), calls on banks and the government-sponsored enterprises--Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--to start renting out some of their foreclosed properties to reduce REO sales and “stabilize home values and restore confidence in the housing markets.”
The bill would authorize federally-chartered institutions to enter into a long-term lease -- for up to five years -- with the occupant of the property or with another person, and then at the end of the agreement provide an option to buy the home to the tenant.
The bill could allow delinquent borrowers to remain in their homes but they would have to agree to pay rent and still sign over the deed to the bank or GSE, National Mortgage News reports.
According to the bill, this would allow the foreclosed property to remain occupied during the still-sluggish housing market and “preserve the property itself as well as the aesthetic and economic values of neighboring homes and even whole neighborhoods.”
"As Americans across the country are affected by this unrelenting foreclosure crisis, it is imperative that Congress address this issue," Congressman Gary Miller, R-Calif., who introduced the bill, said in a statement.
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