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101 Cost-Effective Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home
A 25-year veteran of the real estate industry and principal of a residential construction company, Berges provides homeowners with a clear and practical guide to the impact that making certain improvements--both minor and major--has on the value of a home. Coverage includes the process of getting started, including the benefits of doing it yourself versus hiring a subcontractor, building inspectors, and the building permit process; exterior improvements to a home and its landscaping; interior alterations; and specific structural and mechanical improvements. This text will appeal to both homeowners planning to sell and those who simply want to make sound decisions about their home improvements. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 5, 2010
The book’s title says it all. Bergers, a real estate investor with plenty of experience in “flipping” homes, rates the relative value of home improvements in terms of resale price. Ratings run from one star (weak) to five stars (strong). This subject might have been quite dry, but the author's anecdotes and unpretentious writing style, plus the design of the layout, make it enjoyable. There are sections on overall improvements, indoor and outdoor improvements, electrical, heating & plumbing. Each interior room is individually examined. Finally, Bergers uses a case study of a home he bought to improve and resell, thoroughly demonstrating his rather complex method of determining ROI (return on investment) for all of the improvements made to the home compared with the resale value added. He also provides a helpful sample contract to use with subcontactors and glossary of terms.
Two of his basic tenets are:
The more visible the home improvement, the greater the value added.
To add maximum value, an improvement must be in line with the neighborhood. For example air conditioning, which is not too visible, can nonetheless add great value if the climate and neighborhood are such that many nearby homes have air conditioning.
Some of the valuable improvements are obvious (painting and cleaning up the yard), but there are some surprises, like adding insulation is of low value but adding a closet organizer is of high value. And my idea of adding a gazebo to our property, rated a strong value-adder, is a lot less impractical than I’d thought.
This book is a great reference for new homeowners (such as myself) as well as “home flippers.” Since home improvements are rated by area of the home rather than by value of the improvement, a list of improvements by rating at the end would have been a good addition. However, the author does provide a useful and complete index.
Two of his basic tenets are:
The more visible the home improvement, the greater the value added.
To add maximum value, an improvement must be in line with the neighborhood. For example air conditioning, which is not too visible, can nonetheless add great value if the climate and neighborhood are such that many nearby homes have air conditioning.
Some of the valuable improvements are obvious (painting and cleaning up the yard), but there are some surprises, like adding insulation is of low value but adding a closet organizer is of high value. And my idea of adding a gazebo to our property, rated a strong value-adder, is a lot less impractical than I’d thought.
This book is a great reference for new homeowners (such as myself) as well as “home flippers.” Since home improvements are rated by area of the home rather than by value of the improvement, a list of improvements by rating at the end would have been a good addition. However, the author does provide a useful and complete index.
June 22, 2007
The book was a pretty quick read. It had some really good tips. Most of what was inside is common sense. There were some things I didn't really think about. However, most of what was listed as "the highest priority" were things I was already planning on doing. Overall, a nice simple guide to look at if you are planning on fixing up your house. This is really not something I would buy, but would definitely check out from the library.
February 15, 2011
This book was just helpful a medium amount. It did have a lot of good advice and also provided ratings for how much projects could affect the sale price of your home. However, I really wanted to know how installing radiant heat flooring would affect the value of my house. While this book did have a chapter on heated floors it was totally tailored to the author's real estate market in Canada and not helpful to my situation in NC.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews