Increase Your Home Equity

Has the bubble burst hurt the equity in your home? National Association of Realtor's report that homes have decreased in value from 2006 down 25%-50% depending in the area you live in. How do you build back some of your lost equity? There is a new term in the real estate world called being underwater. This means that you owe the bank more on your mortgage then it will appraise for. When I get asked buy my clients how do I increase my equity to sell there home this is what I tell them. 1st start with your landscaping. Perception is 90% of realty. You have to have curb appeal. Plant flower's, replace dead bushes and grass. Trim your hedges and trees so they can see the home from the road when they drive up. 2nd is your kitchen. Modernize and start with cabinets. Hard woods and darker cabinets are back in stile. Get rid of that pickled look and the white ones. My wife and I had ours painted a dark brow and what a difference it made. Appliances have changed from white to stainless and now black is in stile. Counter surface that are hard surface including granite, Corian and now poured concrete is the newest fashion. New sinks and colors are out and of course the new faucets make a huge difference in updating your kitchen. 3rd place is your bathrooms. Replace your toilets with one piece and low water/green toilets. Tile flooring, tile showers, tile walls are a look that makes your bathroom look waterproof. If you do it yourself or hire a contractor make sure you shop prices. I have found a lot of fixtures on a site called overstock.com. If you use a contractor check them out on Angies list and make sure they are licensed and bonded. I would always get two bids and see which one you want to work with. These improvements will pay for themselves and add back some of that lost equity.