Partner with a REALTOR® Expertise and Ethics at Work For You

The highest return can come from not-so-sexy projects like installing air conditioning if your home doesn’t have cooling, updating the roof, or replacing the hot water heater, Staub adds. Personal style doesn’t always appeal to buyers, and overimproving compared to similar homes in your neighborhood can backfire, Staub says. Plug in your home’s address, and an online estimate may give you a number for what your home is worth.

Myth #4: Renting Is Smarter than Buying

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“Items in a house should feel collected over time rather than feeling purchased in one go,” says Chelcie Eastman, cohost of the Magnolia Network series “Anything but Gray.” Rooms filled with matching furniture sets or overly coordinated décor tend to feel staged rather than lived-in.
“You want to keep up with the Joneses, but you don’t want to beat the Joneses” when remodeling your home, says Angie Hicks, cofounder of Angi.
Let’s start with the most common type of mortgage, that workhorse of home loans — the fixed-rate mortgage.

You don’t need a finance degree to make an informed decision. REALTORS® have access to exclusive, educational resources that equip us to give you insightful and timely advice. REALTORS® are advocates for fair and affordable housing in our communities, and work to eliminate bias from the industry. Informed by proprietary data, local knowledge and NAR’s chief economists, REALTORS® work to keep you ahead of the market. They protect consumers through their expertise and professionalism, anticipating issues and ethically guiding you through a complex process. Partner with a REALTOR® – they have the expertise to help you navigate today’s competitive and often overwhelming market.

Real Estate Myths That Might Surprise You

The NAR report compared the estimated cost of popular home remodeling projects to real estate professionals’ estimates of the likely dollar value at resale for each project. More homeowners are prioritizing remodeling their kitchen, along with roofs and bathrooms, according to real estate professionals surveyed by the NAR report. View all five seasons of our video series highlighting real stories of first-time buyers as they navigate today’s housing market. Further, about half of homeowners with a mortgage are considered equity-rich, meaning they owe less than half of their home’s estimated market value. Many younger buyers assume that student loans automatically disqualify them from a mortgage, but that’s not true.

Project Costs

We’ve (Agent Genius) been saying for a very long time that the Association needs to get more consumer focused, as have many others within the online space. The Association of Realtors also seeks to be the Library of Congress to both home buyers and sellers with all of the resources imaginable on the subject in an attempt to be “all you need to know to be a smart home buyer and seller.” They also sought the opinions of Realtors throughout the process, making it clear in the initial presentation that thousands of consumers and thousands of Realtors were asked their opinions so that the Association could deliver a product with broad appeal. • A year for less than a month of Hulu+ • Unlimited access to every story • Re-read anything, anytime • Inbox drop + curated roundups

HouseLogic: Tips, Tricks, and Inspirations for the Perfect Home Makeover

Consider smaller scale updates, which can sometimes be completed for $200 to $5,000.
Here are seven common money mistakes homeowners make—and now you won’t.
Whether you’re buying your first place or finishing your third basement, the goal is the same — decisions you won’t regret.
On a $300,000 mortgage loan, you’d pay between $1,500 and $3,000 each year, depending on the premium you’re required to pay for PMI.

Group them into structural (walls, roofs, etc.); mechanical (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, etc.); and dream projects (kitchen or bathroom remodel, new deck, etc.). Could homeowners be at risk of upgrading their home too much? Fifty-four percent used a home equity loan or line of credit, 29% tapped into their savings, and 10% used credit cards, NAR data shows. In fact, some projects return every dollar poured into the upgrade. Even simple projects — like swapping out a front door — can offer strong returns at resale. The latest remodeling surveys show you may not need to overhaul your kitchen or invest in a top-notch bathroom renovation to make the biggest impact.

Getting Started with HouseLogic

“Spend $1,000 on a new, energy-efficient stove, and it could take 10 years of energy savings to offset the cost of the new stove,” he says. That’s even true for some energy-efficient appliances that boast cost savings. So says Arthur Teel, owner of Asheville Art Installers in Asheville, houselogic.com N.C. Circuit boards break, and energy efficiency numbers don’t always add up, he says.