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2006 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report HomeGuide123 IDEAS Home Improvement

You will find a complete Index of Articles by Category and by Month in the Archives.

December 5, 2006

The annual Cost vs Value report was published December 1st by REALTOR® Magazine in cooperation with Remodeling Magazine. The report covers 25 popular projects in 60 cities.

Prices for most remodeling projects continue to climb, while the recoup value of improvements at resale is declining to levels last seen in 2002. These are the findings of Remodeling magazine's 19th annual "Cost vs. Value Report-the eighth prepared in cooperation with REALTOR® Magazine. None of this should come as much of a surprise to you: This year's recoup values confirm the housing slowdown many parts of the country are experiencing.

With both home-sale and remodeling activity at record levels in the last five to six years, some cooling is inevitable. Indications are that the current downturn represents a return to "normal levels. (See "No cause for alarm")

Read the REALTOR® Magazine overview at Making Home Improvements Pay. Summary data is included for major regions of the country.

The Washington area is one of the 60 cities/metro areas covered. Down-loadable PDF reports for each of the 60 cities can be purchased for a nominal fee at Remodeling Online.

In the DC Metro area, a two-story addition returns a whopping 105% and a fiber cement siding replacement for tired vinyl or aluminum returns nearly 99%. A home office remodel returns the least at 83%. On average, The DC Metro area has higher returns than national averages. These are taken from the purchased Washington report.

It is often more beneficial to remodel and/or upgrade an existing home instead of trying to sell and buying into the features you desire. Especially if you otherwise love your house and neighborhood. The only caution is to be careful not to over do it compared to the surrounding area. You may have a hard time selling and get even less when and if you ever do want to sell.

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December 31, 2005

Once in a while we run across a web resource worth noting. We found this one called HomeGuide¹²³.com. I was somewhat impressed with the breadth of content, organization, cleanliness and no ads. Just straight forward information from lawn care, landscaping, flooring and heating/cooling to remodeling, satellite TV, loans and swimming pools. It is like a mini encyclopedia for the homeowner. Here's an excerpt from the home page:

HomeGuide123.com was designed by a staff of individuals who understand how important—and expensive—home ownership can be. Our team believes in providing our visitors with the most practical, up-to-date home care information possible so that they can protect their investment. HomeGuide123.com's writers and developers have designed a comprehensive, user-friendly directory containing articles, tips and additional resources dealing with a wide array of topics, such as home improvement, services and remodeling. Our articles are original, thoroughly researched and written with a homeowners needs in mind. We will continue to improve this resource to better serve our visitors, so we welcome their comments and suggestions.

The publishers are rather anonymous. Whoever they are, they are attempting to do a good thing. My only criticisms are the lack of depth in some areas (although, this is not necessarily a "How To" site for the do-it-yourself crowd) and they reference other web resources with URLs that are not linked for navigation. It is organized like a blog but doesn't have the features of a blog.

There has to be a financial motive here somewhere but, I can't find it. There's a Resource Section but it doesn't appear to be financially driven.

Might want to check it out.

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July 18, 2005

We recently expanded our services to home preparation to enhance the value of our client's listings. "Ideas" is truly a great find! They do high quality woodworking, painting and restorations at very affordable prices. Pictured from left is Carlos (CEO), Hector (Chief Deputy CEO), Brazil (Chief Craftsman) and Dabid (kneeling, Chief Craftsman Deputy).

We've used them on two of our listings and they did an awesome job.

Now that I let the IDEA out of the bag (so to speak), I'll only give out their contact numbers if you become a client and need assistance getting ready to sell! Call us.

Sorry, they are one of our competitive advantages. Click on the picture for a larger view of this great team.

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