Home Improvements: Prices Improving?

When it comes to food and fuel prices, they're going through the roof. But what about the roof itself? There the news might be a little better. Stacy Johnson takes a closer look in this short (1:18) video.

Tell us what you think… we'd love to hear YOUR opinion.  Use the comment link below to sound off.

Remodeling Your Home: Five Questions to Ask First

If you're planning to tackle a remodeling project this Spring, make sure you know exactly how big a renovation you can afford and whether it justifies the time you intend to spend in your revamped home.

There are 5 big questions you should ask yourself before you even break out the legal pad and scratch out your plans:

1 - How long do I plan to stay in my house after the renovations? The longer you plan to live there, the more creative you can be. But if you're planning on selling the house in the next five years, keep potential buyers in mind with your choices. In the latter case, for instance, go with neutral colors in the kitchen and bathroom, and consider maple cabinets. Some people hate oak, others hate cherry, but the majority can live with maple.

2 - Am I doing just cosmetic fixes or am I ready for an all-out overhaul? It's OK to make small changes one at a time, but think long-term about the next step. For example, if you're buying a new sink, buy one with enough holes on the deck for the faucet, sprayer and soap dispenser you might want to add on later. And if you know you're going to buy new cabinets later, don't replace the countertop with expensive granite now. The chances of reusing it are very slim — either it breaks when you try to remove it, or it doesn't match the footprint of the new cabinets.

3 - Am I prepared for the home upheaval? Be realistic about how long your project might take. Renovations can go on for months, so you need to be prepared to make do without that bathroom, kitchen or bedroom. When checking references before you hire your contractor, be sure to ask if the company finished the work on time. You'd be surprised how quickly a week can turn into a month. And if you're bunking up with your in-laws during renovation, that month can seem like a year.

4 - Are the renovations keeping with the style of my home? Any big changes you make to a home inside should reflect what future buyers will expect from the outside. If you live in a Victorian house, don't make it too contemporary. People who see a historical exterior will expect a historical interior, so stay true to the details. The same goes for a contemporary or modern home, where future buyers may not expect old-fashioned details like antique crown molding.

5 - Are my Do-It-Yourself choices reasonable? You may consider yourself handy, but many do-it-yourself jobs demand your time more than anything else. If you have a full-time job, are you capable of taking on a second one? Some makeovers that are not technically difficult can take longer than you think. For that reason, if you start any job yourself, try to sample it before committing to the whole thing. For example, while refinishing cabinets with a new stain isn't rocket science, sanding down each one can take forever.

Choosing the Right Contractor

Making major improvements to your home is one of the biggest decisions you can make.  So who actually does the job is an important decision.  How do you find the best contractor?  Money reporter Stacy Johnson has some tips.

If you have a question or comment about the video, please post your comment below.  Don't worry, your email address will never be displayed on our site for your privacy and protection.

Some Home Improvements Are Worth Skipping

Homeowners aren't recouping as many improvement costs as they could in recent years, according to a recent study by Remodeling magazine.  In fact, real-estate agents advise clients not to overdo it, regardless of what the local market conditions are like.

To keep costs down and spend remodeling dollars wisely, consider the following tips:

1. Ask for advice.

Before making any remodeling plans, clear your home of clutter and rent a storage unit, if necessary, to hold extra stuff while the home is on the market.  Then, get some advice from a local real-estate agent on how the home stacks up against the competition.

Cleaning the carpets, painting the walls and removing wallpaper are common fixes. It is wise to budget for these tasks before putting money aside for more expensive projects.

2. Dig deeper.

It also could pay to look below the surface by getting a home inspection before even listing the property for sale.  That way, problems that could hold up a sale are addressed in advance.

Some estimate that for every dollar of perceived defect, buyers want a $2 to $3 discount.  If that's true, it might pay to spend $2,500 to replace an old furnace before a buyer demands $5000 off for them to have to replace it.

Also, replacing something as necessary as a furnace helps create a favorable perception of how well a seller took care of the home.  If there is a problem with an essential element of the house, a buyer might think, "If that was neglected, what else was?"

3. Look outside.

Pay attention to exterior details like the condition of siding and windows.

According to Remodeling magazine's 2007 Cost Vs. Value Report, a wooden-window replacement recovers on average 81.2% of its cost at resale, and siding replacement recovers on average 83.2% of its cost.  The payoff for those projects is much better than for an upgrade that a buyer might not need.  A home-office remodeling, for example, recovers only 57% of its cost on average.  The estimates are national averages for midrange homes, not upscale ones.

4. Spend time in the bathroom.

Freshening up the bathroom doesn't have to be expensive, but it could be important.

It's most important for the bathroom to be clean, but sellers should also consider replacing the fixtures, tub, sink and toilet — if they need it.  Replace cracked tiles and curled linoleum.

The replacements don't have to be expensive.  A toilet can cost less than $250, and it is recommended that you consider taller, handicap replacement toilets to appeal to an aging population.

5. Keep it small in the kitchen.

The other room that often sells a house is the kitchen, but it might be best to keep renovations modest.  Remodeling magazine's report found that homeowners could recover 83% of the cost of a minor kitchen remodel at resale, compared with 78.1% of a major kitchen remodel.

Use caution when thinking about replacing refrigerators, stoves or dishwashers.  Buyers considering remodeling the kitchen will likely have their own preferences.

Along those same lines, sellers should replace a countertop if it is crumbling but not if its only fault is that it is outdated.  Even then, seriously consider material costs: There is no need to update to granite unless the competition has granite countertops as well.

Is There a Plus Side to the Downturn?

It may not be the best time to be selling a house in much of the country.  But increasingly, it's a good time to build or renovate one.

The housing slump has pushed down prices on everything from lumber and drywall to labor and design fees.  Legions of carpenters, tile layers and landscapers are sitting around with nothing to do.  Architects are taking on small renovation projects they once would have scoffed at, and contractors are offering their services at a discount.  Some people in the building trades are even posting fliers at construction sites to drum up business.

It's a striking contrast from the heady days of the real-estate boom, when builders and contractors could hardly keep pace with demand, prices of materials soared and a six-month wait to start a kitchen renovation was commonplace.

Not all parts of the country have been affected equally.  Builders in some areas where the job and housing markets have remained firm, report business as usual.  And many architects who specialize in high-end homes say they are as busy as ever.

But the picture is much different in other areas.  The same is true when it comes to which area has been hard hit by foreclosures and subprime-mortgage defaults.  In some areas, builders, contractors and landscapers say they're watching their backlog of work shrink to a few weeks from months, as new projects dry up.

As we've reported several times before… you need to do your homework.  Talk to us about the state of the market in our area before you decide to buy or sell.  All areas are NOT the same, and you need to be educated on just where things stand in your market to decide if buying now or renovating what you have is the smartest move at this time.