Exterior Remodeling tips for boosting home values

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Exterior Remoldeling Tips for Boosting Home Values
As the record-setting heat wave that swept much of the country subsides, Americans are venturing back outdoors to resume end-of-summer remodeling. When you make your to-do list, consider that the best improvements are the ones that add value to your home. The following are a few fix-ups that don’t require an advanced degree in carpentry, but can greatly increase the value of your home:
Look from a different angle - Snap a picture of your house. Use a digital or Polaroid camera to take several different photos of your home from various angles and exposures. It’s always enlightening to examine static images. They allow you look at details that you normally would miss, and should highlight targets for your home improvement planning.
Consider repainting - Nothing enhances the “curb appeal” of a house more than a fresh coat of paint. This project requires more patience than professional skill, so don’t be intimidated. Color selection is the part of home exterior painting that is most critical, so take the time to review the wide array of color samples provided by paint manufacturers. After all, with just the color white there are hundreds of shades. Try not to pick unusual colors for the majority of the house. Instead, look at more neutral, earthy tones such as light grays, browns or greens for most of the walls, and use brighter shades for the trim and accent touches. Warning: colors that look perfect on a sample card may need to be toned down for painting larger areas of your home. Be sure to check on a small area of the house first.
Do a little landscaping - A little landscaping goes a long way in improving your home’s curb appeal. Second to repainting, adding and maintaining new trees and shrubs is the most effective way to improve the beauty of your home. Trees are both attractive and functional providing privacy, shade and a screen to block unwanted views - creating more privacy in your home’s backyard. If you have distracting objects in your yard, such as utility boxes, shield them from sight with planter boxes or bushes.
Restore aging driveways and walkways - Pavers are the most fashionable and attractive of the possible solutions to a home’s worn, cracked or stained pathway, but they are expensive and require more skill than most homeowners possess. The alternative is to clean, repaint, or repave them. Money saving tip for cleaning your home’s driveway stain: stubborn oil or grease stains can be removed with a solution of baking soda and water. Make an absorptive paste, apply it and cover with plastic for 24 hours. Bye-bye stain.
Spruce up doors – Your home’s doors can be beautified, not replaced. Your front and back doors make a lasting impression for visitors, setting the tone for how your home’s interior is judged. Doors can be refinished and accent lighting and planter boxes will do wonderful things for drab home entranceways. If you are considering redoing your household doors, stripping and staining aren’t advisable. Instead, paint the door a traditional color, or coat the existing finish with an opaque stain. Finally, add a brass kick plate or a new, fashionable handle and lock for an extra bit of home elegance.
Maintain, maintain, maintain - Homeowners get excited over new projects and ideas but the general upkeep of a home isn’t fun and often gets neglected. When a house looks dirty, a lawn is overgrown or gutters are left hanging, a once-beautiful home takes on a tarnished appearance. This results in the de-valuing of a home that is likely worth much more. It’s easier to maintain a house on a regular basis than to take on the huge project of doing it all at once.

This was the fourth week that rates have dropped

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Most interest rates were down again during the week ended August 17 and 18, but the changes were not nearly as aggressive as immediately after the Federal Reserve Board's decision to pause in its long term pattern of quarter-point rate increases.
This was the fourth week in a row that rates have dropped and the long term fixed rate products are down at least 20 basis points over that period. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist commented "This week's news that July housing starts fell 2.5 percent added conviction to Fed Fund futures traders who are currently pricing contracts to suggest the chances of another rate increase from the central bank this year are about fifty-fifty. As a result, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are down for the fourth straight week and are the lowest they've been since mid-April. Meanwhile, ARM rates have gone down less. All of which could help persuade homeowners with ARMs on the verge of resetting to make the decision to lock into a fixed-rate mortgage now rather than take a chance of a higher rate on the adjustment date."
This was the fourth week in a row that rates have dropped and the long term fixed rate products are down at least 20 basis points over that period.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist commented "This week's news that July housing starts fell 2.5 percent added conviction to Fed Fund futures traders who are currently pricing contracts to suggest the chances of another rate increase from the central bank this year are about fifty-fifty."
"As a result, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are down for the fourth straight week and are the lowest they've been since mid-April. Meanwhile, ARM rates have gone down less. All of which could help persuade homeowners with ARMs on the verge of resetting to make the decision to lock into a fixed- rate mortgage now rather than take a chance of a higher rate on the adjustment date."