6 Key Factors That Make Home Renovation Reliable

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Home renovations are one of the best ventures explored by homeowners, helping them realize their dream of living in a house they have always desired.

The best feeling is being able to design and renew your house on your own, without having the need to intensely clean your house, or buy a new one. It is totally natural to get bored of the same paint color of your bedroom, or the warped flooring of your living room.

You might want to renovate your old kitchen or renovate the bathroom with stained tiles and discolored plumbing fixtures. Experts believe surrounding yourself with the things that are pleasant to the sight, have health impacts on the mind.

It reduces the levels of stress hormones. Therefore, if every now and then you think about home renovation, you shouldn’t feel guilty. It is in the very nature of human beings to desire perfection.

Remodeling your house isn’t only to change the appearance of your surroundings but also to make it convenient for day-to-day activities.

It is also a very reliable way of adding to the value of your house.

Considerations When Renovating a House

Top Factors to Put in Mind for a Reliable Home Renovation

If you have decided to work on your house, then we have come with hacks to help you get it done immaculately.

Careful budgeting

Before you daydream about a luxury bathroom or a beautifully designed kitchen make sure you have the money in your pocket.

Research about the prices of every product and service you will be hiring; compare the prices of new furniture and appliances you will be upgrading.

It is imperative that you keep a small amount of your money for hidden expenses, and services that might have skipped your mind during the budgeting.

It is also very important that you compare the prices offered by various contractors, or else you will be ripped off.

Detailed planning

Preplanning before you start any project is very important. Not even a lion gets out of his den to hunt for prey without pre-planning.

It would be an utter waste of money to not make a rough sketch of everything prior to the work being started – from your budget to the design you desire, from the cabinets of your kitchen to how you plan to make it spacious.

Discuss the plan with the contractor you hire. This will help them make an estimate. You might write down the details from the minor to the major, or just give them a pictorial idea to help them to realize your plan.

Sharing your idea with the right professionals will help them review it and decide whether it is feasible or not.

Besides the design and theme, your plan should also include the types of material you want to be used. For instance, whether you desire your floors to be covered with natural stone flooring or hardwood flooring. You prefer your walls to be covered with wallpaper or paint, the fixture you will want to use, mention everything in great detail.

You might also prefer eco-friendly roofing options for your house.

Pen down everything in the form of a contract, your services, the contractor’s prices, and the decided time. This is to make things solid and for your own good. So, in the future, if the contractor under any circumstance tries to deviate from the decided plan, then you have written proof to prove your word.

Choosing a contractor carefully

One of the most important things to do is research the service provider you are about to hire. It is this factor that decides if your project will be a success or a life lesson. See if they have a:

  • License:

Licenses are the most important certificates that help customers identify qualified service providers. Sketchy companies are mostly non-licensed.

  • Insurance:

You certainly wouldn’t want to pay for the hospital bills of a worker, who encountered a mishap during your home renovation. Therefore, hire contractors who are professional enough to know the value an insurance company adds to the reliability of a company.

  • Upfront Prices:

Upfront pricing is the professional attitude of all reliable home remodeling contractors. Those with ambiguous pricing policies are sketchy and one has to be careful of them.

  • Warranted Services:

Last but not least is the warranted services offered by home renovation contractors. Renovation services are uncertain and things can go wrong after the completion of the work.

You might need to hire the contractor for the same services again for a mistake committed by them, so repaying will be unfair to you and unfriendly to the pocket.

  • Pull The Permits

When doing any kind of remodeling work make sure the contractor pulls all of the necessary building permits.

Without taking this essential step it is possible there could be building code violations. When it comes time to sell your home, you’ll be dealing with an unwanted headache.

Realistic programming of work

 Another very important factor to keep in mind is the time period required for the work to be completed. Be completely realistic.

Home renovation is time-consuming and one can’t expect it to get done within a few days. It is good for the service providers to take their time, and faster services can sometimes mean poor quality of work delivered. So, abstain from pushing the workers to be quick, or else your work quality will suffer.

Regular communication

It is very important that you are in contact with your contractor, so you have surveillance of your home remodeling.

You can visit the site once a week to check on the progress of the work, but don’t visit every other day, because your regular visits can cause delays, which is for your own bad.

Sometimes the contractor himself would want you to pay them a visit to discuss an important issue relating to your house.

Patience

Fruit of patience is never bitter. You always get good results after being patient. The more you wait, the better services will be delivered, because skilled professionals know at what pace to work to get things installed and repaired in the most efficient way.

5 other factors to consider

Consider these factors before hiring a reliable home renovation contractor.

ON-TIME DELIVERY

It is very important that you talk about the time period of the service being provided. Patience is certainly important, but delays can be very heavy on the pocket and inconvenient for you. So, make sure the contractor abides by the decided time in the contract.

REPUTATION & RECOMMENDATION

What the general people remark about a contractor says a lot about their proficiency. The better-reviewed ones will offer good workmanship.

It certainly doesn’t imply checking for reviews on their own websites, which could be manipulated. Rather, look for reputable websites that post authentic reviews of genuine past customers of any service provider.

You can even ask your friends about their experience with a reliable home remodeling contractor.

COMMUNICATION

It is very important that you are able to easily talk to the contractor throughout the project. The ease with which you can access a service provider determines its efficiency.

QUALITY OF WORK

It is very important that who you are hiring offers quality service, which can most of the time be determined by their experience. The foremost quality of a top-notch contractor is their experience. Long years of experience bring expertise and skills.

The longer a contractor has served the people, the greater the chances that quality service will be provided to you.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

See if they prioritize customer service. A home renovation contractor should listen, value their customer’s desire and strive to realize it.

Final Thoughts

Doing a home renovation can be both exciting and stressful at the same time. It is essential to keep on top of the work being performed. It is when you don’t pay attention that problems often occur.

Put your best foot forward and you’ll have a dramatically improved place to call home.

About the author: The above article on home renovations was written by Rohma Charlotte. Rohma is a senior content writer who enjoys writing about real estate and home improvement projects.

Would You Buy a Haunted House in This Real Estate Market

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Purchasing a Haunted House in 2022

With Halloween just around the corner we thought we would take a look at buying a home that has paranormal activity. Would you buy a haunted house?

If you said yes, you’re not alone. According to new research, 73% of Americans say they’d consider purchasing haunted real estate in a competitive market (but 52% say they wouldn’t pay full market value). 

Read on to learn more spooky stats and freaky findings from the survey.

76% of Americans Believe in the Supernatural in 2021 

Of those supernatural believers, 44% say they’ve experienced more supernatural events since the start of the pandemic. Millennials are 3x more likely than boomers to report an increase in supernatural activity. 

Buy Haunted House

44% of Americans Believe They’ve Lived in a Haunted House 

Perhaps with 71% of Americans with remote-friendly jobs now working significantly more hours from home, there’s more opportunity to observe ghostly comings and goings than in the pre-pandemic days. In 2020, just 24% of Americans believed they have lived in a haunted house. 

Some Things Are Scarier to Homeowners Than a Haunted House

Only 5% of respondents said ghosts were the scariest part of homeownership. Homeowners, instead, are more afraid of:

  • ​​Mold (57%)
  • Foundation issues (56%)
  • Termites (54%)
  • Asbestos (54%)
  • Water damage (54%)
  • Pests (e.g., cockroaches, mice, spiders, etc.) (53%)
  • A leaky roof (53%)
  • Outdated electrical system (51%)
  • Lead paint (51%)
  • A leaky basement (48%)
  • Old plumbing (47%)
  • Radon (44%)
  • A broken furnace (41%)
  • Broken central air conditioning (41%)

Whether you’re buying a home for your family or are an investor taking advantage of a 1031 exchange, there may be worse things than ghosts when it comes to living in or flipping a home.

If the potential for ghosts or other paranormal activity is there it may be one of the questions you ask when buying a house.

Also Scary: Many Americans Lack Basic Safety Features in Their Homes

Although American homeowners fear floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters (54%), fires (49%), and other hazardous threats, many households don’t have basic safety features in their homes. 

For example, many homeowners lack a radon detector (66%), an alarm system (45%), a carbon monoxide detector (40%), fire extinguishers (38%), and smoke detectors (29%). 

Ghosts Are Not a Top Deal Breaker for Most Americans

Nearly half (48%) of Americans would rather purchase a haunted house than live within a mile of a dump or waste management facility. Other deal breakers that top home buyers’ lists include buying a home near the scene of a violent crime (47%), a former meth lab (45%), or within a mile of a prison (44%). 

Many homebuyers are also not interested in property located next to a cemetery (39%), where someone died of natural causes (26%), or with an address featuring “666” (33%).  It might take some sleuthing to know if your potential home has a haunted or notorious history, but if it means you’ll be more comfortable knowing, it’s time well-spent. 

Americans Find a Competitive Housing Market Scarier Than a Haunted House

Buying a home in the 2021 ultra-competitive housing market is tough, and 73% of Americans said they’d consider purchasing a haunted home — up from 59% in 2020 — especially if there were other benefits to offset the occasional paranormal activity. 

A surprising 27% of respondents even said they’d be willing to pay above market value for a haunted house. 

For the most part, though, 63% of respondents said they’d consider a haunted house if it came with a lower price tag. Respondents also said they would consider one if it had: 

  • A safer neighborhood (57%)
  • Friendly ghosts (53%)
  • Modern renovations and/or appliances (41%)
  • A larger yard or more land (39%)
  • More square footage (38%)
  • A better school district (37%)
  • Closer to amenities (28%)

In a competitive market, buyers have less opportunity to be selective based on limited housing stock. 

The tight market could also be why more than 1 in 10 Americans said they wouldn’t move immediately even if they saw signs of paranormal activity. In one survey, 48% of respondents said they’d try to get to know the ghost, 13% said they’d try to get rid of the ghost, 17% said they’d ignore the ghost, while 21% said they would sell their house. 

Buying or Selling a Stigmatized House in a Competitive Market

Although many homeowners apparently feel comfortable sharing their space with spirits, others said they would put their home on the market immediately under certain conditions, including if objects moved or levitated on their own (45%), they saw a ghost (37%), or their children suddenly behaved strangely in the home (40%).

Others said they’d move if a serious crime was committed nearby (38%) or if they learned about a crime previously committed in the home (34%). 

Buying or selling a stigmatized home in a competitive market can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on which side of the buying/selling coin you’re on. A home might be stigmatized from its reputation for hosting paranormal guests, but it can also suffer from negative associations with infamous crimes, violence or other unfortunate events that may have occurred in or near the home. A famous home featured in movies or TV might also be stigmatized if it attracts an endless stream of tourists or fans. 

Because stigmatized properties are harder to sell — typically they sell for 3% less and take 45% longer to sell — buyers willing to overlook the negative psychological impact of such a home may be able to get a bargain. As a buyer, tell your real estate agent that you’re open to the possibility of a haunted or other hard-to-sell home if it means you can make an offer that allows you to stretch your dollars further. 

Keep in mind that even if the house you’re buying is stigmatized, you still need to do your due diligence, especially if the market is ultra competitive. Make sure your credit score is healthy, your financing is in order, and this is the right house for you. Remember, chances are, you may encounter the same challenges in eventually selling the home in the future. 

Homeowners desperate to unload a stigmatized home and move as quickly as possible should be aware of the disclosure laws in their state. Some states require that sellers inform buyers of any stigmas associated with the property, but 62% of the survey’s respondents said they wouldn’t disclose a haunting to potential buyers if possible, (including 10% who would refuse even if the law required it). 

Work with a broker who can help you frame the sale as an opportunity for buyers looking to make a wise purchase and don’t mind working with, rather than against, the notoriety.

What to Know About Moving Long Distance

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Moving is one of life’s most exciting and stressful times. The thrill of moving to a new location with opportunities to explore and get to know a new community can be quickly chilled by the logistics of a long-distance move.

Whether your next move is across the country or across the globe, here’s what you need to consider during a long-distance move.

Planning for a long-distance move

Proper planning for a long-distance move is the difference between a relatively seamless transition and a total nightmare. It doesn’t matter if you are leaving a small rental property or a luxury home.

Here’s how to plan so your long-distance move goes smoothly. 

Manage your moving timeline

Begin at the end: When do you need to be settled in your new home? Pinpoint that date and then build out a calendar of the major tasks to complete before you can hit the road.

Start by creating a personalized move checklist that includes prioritized tasks (with a timeline for completion).

If you’re a homeowner, make a plan for the home you’re leaving. You can sell it yourself or list it with a realtor. Finding a great realtor can take time,  so keep that in mind as you set up your move timeline. If you are moving out of state as part of a divorce and need to calculate a house buyout, a realtor can help with this, too.

Are you moving for a job? Your new company may be able to help with locating housing and managing the moving process. Check-in with them to see what assistance they offer.

Long Distance Moving

Should you hire long-distance movers?

You’ll need to decide whether to hire a long-distance moving company or to move yourself. The main advantage in hiring a long-distance mover is their experience with complicated logistics. Regardless of the size of your house, a long-distance move is tricky. 

The easiest part is deciding which size van to rent. After that, consider:

  • What would you do if your moving van broke down?
  • How will you move your car?
  • How do you pack for long distances?
  • How many packing supplies do you need?
  • If a van seats two and you have a family of four, how will you move everyone?

And that’s just the beginning. Long-distance movers have the experience and equipment to safely, efficiently, and professionally pack and move your belongings. They also offer various service levels, from packing everything you own and moving it for you to simply loading boxes and furniture into their truck and delivering them to your new home.

Moving yourself can save you money, but in the end, you may find that hiring a long-distance moving company is worth it. Leave plenty of time to get quotes from at least three long-distance movers.

Inventory your stuff

You never know how much stuff you have until it’s time to make a long-distance move. Chances are good; you have way more than you think, so make a detailed assessment of what you’ll take, what you’ll donate or sell, and what needs to head to the trash. 

Now’s a good time to really pare down and decide what’s essential. Consider what you use, what’s sentimentally irreplaceable, and what “sparks joy.” Everything else should find a home elsewhere. 

If you are packing your own belongings:

  • Set up a schedule for packing
  • Gather packing supplies (bubble wrap, padding, moving boxes, etc.)
  • Follow your packing schedule
  • Label boxes clearly (i.e., “open first,” kitchen, kid’s bedroom, etc.)
  • Enlist help (friends and family)

Set aside a box of items you will need on the road. If you are driving over multiple days, make sure each family member has what they need to be comfortable. This includes any prescriptions or medical supplies they might need.

Take care of pets

Our pets are part of the family, and they need long-distance move prep, too. Please make sure all of their shots are up-to-date and have the proper gear they need for moving (e.g., crates, travel food and water bowls, etc.) well before you move.

Some animals require sedation to move — leave time to fill that prescription so your beloved pets can be comfortable.

Cats and dogs should also have a properly fitted collar with identification on it at all times. If you have not already, consider chipping your pets to be returned to you if they run away and lose that collar.

Make sure you plan for plenty of rest stops so that your animals can take breaks if they need them. 

Long-distance move paperwork

As with almost every major transition in life, a long-distance move comes with considerable paperwork. 

Before the move 

Before the move, you’ll handle the following paperwork:

  • Set up utility shut-off dates (and schedule essential utilities for your destination)
  • Cancel delivery services (food kits, newspapers, etc.)
  • Request school records
  • Request health records
  • Empty and cancel safe deposit boxes
  • Cancel local gym memberships and classes

Another major piece of paperwork involves documentation for taxes. Both selling and buying a home come with tax implications.

For example, if you sell a home in Texas and benefit from capital gains, immediately investing that growth in another house is known as a 1031 exchange. This type of transaction — reinvesting capital gains into a similar property instantly — can save you money at tax time, but only if you have proper documentation. 

Don’t forget to have your mail forwarded to your new address. Mail forwarding is a service provided by the USPS for one year. It can forward any critical mail that slips through the cracks as you move.

During the move

As you travel to your destination, keep the professional mover’s estimate, bill of lading, and inventory with you. 

You’ll also keep essential papers and documents with you on the move. These include:

  • Birth certificates
  • Death certificates or divorce papers (plus custody agreements where applicable)
  • Passport
  • Health insurance cards
  • Proof of car insurance
  • Mortgage documents 

Have a system for keeping track of all receipts during the move, as many of these expenses are tax-deductible.

After you arrive

No matter where you go, paperwork follows you. Once you arrive, set up utilities, and transfer your driver’s license, car registration, and insurance to your new home address. Most schools require evidence of residence to enroll students, so a driver’s license is critical.

With a new license and utility bill, you can also register to vote, get a library card, and join a local gym. You’ll also need to find doctors and set up new healthcare.  

Don’t forget to change addresses for: 

  • Credit cards
  • Life insurance
  • Investment accounts

Send copies of your moving receipts to your accountant, or create a file for tax purposes later.

Enjoying your long-distance move

When moving day arrives, proper planning means you should be able to wake the family up, have breakfast, and hit the road.

You’ve picked a tremendous long-distance moving company, and they’ve just hit the road. You’ve packed bags and supplies for everyone, and your route is planned and plugged into your navigation system.  

With all your hard work, it’s time to enjoy the trip to your new home.