Low Cost Tips For Increasing Your Home's Value

Here are a few small low cost tips that you can make to your home, to help increase its value.

Home Improvement Tips: Under $100
Tip 1: Spend an hour with a pro. Invite a realtor (Jennene in Las Vegas) or interior designer over to check out your home. Many realtors will do this as a courtesy, but you will probably have to pay a consultation fee to a designer. Check with several designers in your area and usually for less than $100 an hour, they can give you lots of good ideas for needed improvements. Even small suggested improvements, such as paint colors or furniture placement, or just storing some of your personal items, can go a long way toward improving the look and feel of your home.

Tip 2: Inspect it! Not every home improvement is cosmetic. Deteriorating roofs, termite infestation or outdated electrical systems or plumbing should be checked. Afterall, you can't fix it if you don't know it's broken. So hire a home inspector to check out the areas of your home that you don't normally see. They may discover hidden problems that could negatively impact your home's value. Small problems (such as a hidden water leak) can become big, expensive problems quickly; the longer you put off repairs, the more expensive those repairs will be.

Tip 3: Paint, paint, paint. One of the simplest, most cost-effective improvements of all is paint! Freshly painted rooms look clean and updated and that shouts value. When selecting paint colors, keep in mind that neutrals appeal to the greatest number of people; therefore, making your home more desirable. On average, a gallon of paint costs around $25, leaving you plenty of money to buy rollers, painter's tape, drop cloths and brushes. So buy a few gallons and get busy painting!

Tip 4: Find inspiration. An alternative to hiring a designer is to search for remodeling and decorating inspiration in design-oriented magazines, books, TV shows and websites. Simply tear out or print off the ideas you want to try and start your to-do list. Always keep it simple especially when remodeling on a tight budget, do-it-yourself projects are best option.

Tip 5: Cut energy costs. The amount of money you spend each month on energy costs may seem like a fixed amount, but many local utility companies provide free energy audits of their customers' homes. They can show you how to maximize the energy efficiency of your home. You may not realize how much leaving that computer on 24 hours a day costs you. An energy-efficient home will save you money now, which can be applied to other updates, and is a more valuable and marketable asset in the long run.

So before you decide to sell your home, maximize its value by doing these few low cost home improvements tips.

Where To Get Foreclosure Help

Since there are so many dubious assistance programs and out-right scams preying on homeowners facing foreclosure, it can be difficult to find legitimate help. So I thought it might be helpful if I posted some legitimate resources for assistance here on my blog.

Here’s a list of programs that are either operated by the U.S. government or have its seal of approval:
To find a counselor, contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at (800) 569-4287 or (877) 483-1515, or go to www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hccprof14.cfm
Call (888) 995-HOPE, the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline to reach a nonprofit, HUD-approved counselor through HOPE NOW, a cooperative effort of mortgage counselors and lenders to assist homeowners.

Visit NeighborWorks America’s Web site at www.nw.org/network/home.asp
Go to this Web site for information on federal mortgage modification and refinancing programs: http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/

The Controller of the Currency’s consumer information site for banking-related questions is http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/

OCC Customer Assistance Group and consumer assistance site: www.occ.gov/customer.htm

Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/homes/rea04.shtm

Federal Reserve Board: www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/foreclosurescamtips/default.htm

NeighborWorks America: http://www.nw.org/

HOPE NOW: http://www.hopenow.com/

Source: Controller of the Currency (04/21/2009)