Peaks and Valleys of House Hunting Online

In general, the most popular times of year for online home searches are at the start of the year and in the summer, according to the Trulia Real Estate Search Report released Wednesday.

However, Trulia reveals some fluctuation across the country with a major tendency for online searches to peak when the weather is warm and dry.

“Local weather patterns have a big impact on when people search for homes online,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia.

“Search activity in warm-winter states, like Florida and Hawaii, peaks in January and February. But for most of the country, search traffic is highest in March or April, especially in regions where summer brings rain,” Kolko explained.

Nationally, online real estate searches pick up at the start of the year, peak in March or April, and then reach a lull in May.

Searches peak again in June and July and then taper off toward the end of the year.

Overall, December is the slowest state for online searches, according to Trulia’s data.

To zero in on statewide trends across the country, Trulia reviewed search patterns from 2007 to 2012, removing the upward trend to observe whether search activity in a particular month is above or below the annual average for each state.

In January, search activity in Hawaii and Florida is 10 percent higher than the annual average for each state.

Several states reach their search peaks in either March or April—32 states between the two months.

Southern states generally experience their busiest search months in the July. Mississippi is the only state to peak in June.

Montana and Oregon have the latest search peak months—August for both.

No states peak between September and December. In fact, according to Trulia, all states are at least 10 percent below their annual search average in the month of December.

Understanding these statewide trends can benefit both buyers and sellers, according to Kolko.

“Buyers and sellers can use these ups and downs to their advantage,” Kolko said. “Sellers looking for the most buyers should list when real estate search traffic peaks.”

On the other hand, “[b]uyers, however, should think about searching off-season, when there is less competition from other searches,” Kolko said.

Remodeling Projects That Yield the Greatest ROI

A lot of homes can use a facelift, especially properties in distress, but some projects may not be worth the sweat and dollars when considering the return on investment (ROI).

Based on results from the 2013 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed exterior projects will typically yield the highest ROI.

“Projects such as siding, window and door replacements can recoup more than 70 percent of their cost at resale. Realtors know what home features are important to buyers in your area and can provide helpful insights when considering remodeling projects,” said NAR president Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, California.

The report found replacing a door with a steel entry door anticipates the most return, with an estimated 85.6 percent of costs recovered upon resale. On average, the report found a steel entry door replacement is costs about 1,137 on average.

However, an article from House Logic, NAR’s consumer website, warned the lifespan of a steel door is generally shorter than fiberglass or wood doors.

The project that would reap the next highest return is a wooden deck addition. The project is estimated to recoup 77.3 percent of costs upon sale, but project expenses should average $9,327.

Replacing a garage door ranked third, with 75.7 percent of costs expected to be recouped and a lower average cost of $1,496. While most of the high-ranked projects were exterior, a minor kitchen remodel is expected to yield the fourth highest return of 75.4 percent. The average cost for this project is $18,527.

Wood replacement windows were No. 5, with 73.3 percent of expenses expected to be recouped, along with an average cost of $10,708.

Other projects expected to yield at least a 70 percent return were attic bedroom (72.9 percent), vinyl siding replacement (72.9 percent), vinyl window replacement (71.2 percent), and basement remodel (70.3 percent).

In general, projects involving additions, with the exception of decks, were expected to cost the most, while the returns were not as high. Among the additions, a two-story addition ranked the highest, but costs an average of $152,470 and yields a return of 65.4 percent.

Home office remodel (43.6 percent) and sunroom addition (46.5 percent) are expected to recoup the smallest return.

However, before tackling a project based on the report, Thomas advised consulting a Realtor to decide what improvement projects will provide the most upon resale in a homeowner’s specific market.

“Each neighborhood is different, and the desirability and resale value of a particular remodeling project varies depending on where you live. When making a home remodeling decision, resale value is just one factor that homeowners should take into consideration,” he added.

The report is completed in cooperation with NAR and compares construction costs with resale values for 35 midrange and upscale remodeling projects in 81 markets across the country.

Prices, Sales Improve in Largest Counties in December

Out of the 42 largest counties in the nation, all 42 exhibited price growth on a monthly, yearly, and quarterly basis in December, according to DataQuick’s monthly Property Intelligence Report (PIR).

DataQuick’s PIR assesses the housing market based on valuation trends, REO inventory trends, and sales trends.

In addition to positive price growth in all 42 counties, sales also showed substantial growth in December. Month-over-month, December sales increased in 32 out of 42 counties, up from just 13 counties in November.

Over the last year, sales were up in 38 counties in December compared to 25 in November. On a quarterly basis, sales improved in 12 counties, up from 7 counties in November.

While home prices and sales improved, VP of analytics for DataQuick Gordon Crawford, Ph.D., noted foreclosures worsened compared to November.

“Several fiscal uncertainty factors including debt limits, proposed tax increases and spending cuts may lead to further weakening the housing market,” he added.

In December, foreclosures increased month-over-month in 26 out of 42 counties, up from 18 in November. Over the last quarter, foreclosures were up in 27 counties compared to 22 in November. Over a one-year period, foreclosures rose in 21 counties in December compared to 13 in November.

“Although foreclosures continue to affect the market, a stabilizing labor market situation has contributed to strong home prices and sales growth over the last year,” Crawford said.

4 Ways to Hater-Proof Your Home, Before You List It

In my experience, there’s one fundamental truth about haters:  you can never fully escape them. The only way to live a 100% hater-free life is to never stick your neck out, and never do anything because, as the saying goes, you simply cannot please all of the people all of the time.

And this is particularly true with real estate and putting your home on the market - because homes, locations, aesthetics and such are so much a matter of personal preference, some people will find something to criticize about even the most perfectly staged, priciest properties on the market.  

As a home seller, your job is not to try to make your home be all things to all people.  That said, you don’t want to be the house that nearly every buyer and broker sees, rolls their eyes and utters the same few, predictable deal-killing criticisms. Fortunately, what is predictable is avoidable. Let’s explore the most common things buyers hate about listings they see. In the process, you’ll get equipped to sidestep those issues and, in large part, hater-proof your own home.

House Hater Complaint #1:  Odors. Some of you might think I’m beating a dead horse, here. But as long as house hunters keep emailing me to ask why, in the name of all that is sacred, they keep seeing homes that smell like all sorts of madness and mayhem, I’m going to keep repeating this message. 

Viewing a home sounds like it’s all about the visual of the experience. And visuals are critical - your home should be in its Sunday best, so to speak, when it’s being shown, in terms of being spruced, staged and clutter-free. But when a buyer comes to see your home, they don’t turn off the rest of their senses. And there is nothing that can turn a buyer off from a home, they’d otherwise like, quicker than a powerfully bad odor - in particular, cigarette and pet odors in a house that seems to have been well-cleaned create the concern that they might be permanent and that the buyer might not be able to get rid of them without dropping some serious cash on cleaning or even removing wall, window and floor coverings.

If you are a seller and you know that someone has been habitually smoking in your home or that you have had a “challenge,” let’s say, with pet accidents, do not ignore the problem. And do not think that because you had the carpet shampooed or the drapes cleaned, or because YOU can’t smell anything, that the problem is gone.  The fact is that the human sense of smell very quickly gets used to smells that it lives with or is surrounded with on a regular basis.  So it’s critical to get your agent, stager or even your friends and family members - who don’t live with you and love you enough to be honest! - to help you detect bad smells and odors, and make sure they are eradicated by any means necessary, before you place your home on the market.

House Hater Complaint #2:  Glaringly extreme overpricing. There’s the kind of overpricing that makes a buyer say, “Hmmm - seems a bit high. Let’s go see it, but we might have to offer a little less than the asking price if we like it.”  Then there’s the kind of overpricing that makes buyer say “I’ll wait until a price reduction” or worse, hold their sides from laughing. 

When overpricing is glaring, many buyers and buyer’s brokers will comment on it or inquire about it. What they are less likely to do is actually come out and see the place - especially if they weed it out online after comparing its specs to all the other homes in the area and the price range.  Often, homes this severely overpriced simply don’t sell, or not until after they’ve had some serious price cuts or have been on the market so long buyers begin to feel confident about making lowball offers.

In fact, the goal is the opposite - you want your home to stand out as a property that is not dirt cheap, but does present a good value for the money - that’s what motivates buyers to get out of their chairs and into the property for a viewing.

Here’s how to hater-proof your home’s listing against this issue: fixate on the comps. Smart sellers deactivate their emotional attachment and very human tendency to overvalue their precious homes by poring over the sales prices (not list prices) of similar, nearby homes that have recently sold. Your agent will be happy to help you walk through this data and will almost certainly recommend a list price, but ultimately you make the decision about the price point to list your home at.

Also, consider using your broker’s first Open House as an additional hater-proof measure: if the agents overwhelmingly comment that they think the home is significantly overpriced, listen.

House Hater Complaint #3:  Dirt and messes. Possibly the single largest source of House Hater Complaints I’ve ever heard are the dirt, messes, piles and personal belongings that buyers find so distracting, when they walk into a home for a viewing or Open House. Obviously, homes that are filthy from floor to ceiling are fertile fodder for haters, but often those homes are bank-owned or otherwise distressed so that the sellers aren’t likely to do much.  What is underestimated is how often even savvy home buyers are distracted (and disgusted) by relatively clean homes that just have a few outstanding messes, like piles of dirty dishes in the sink, piles of dog poo in the yard or even piles of papers, mail, books or clothes lying out in plain view.  

Will one or two such items ruin the sale of your home? Perhaps not. But a few of them (or more) can certainly distract a buyer enough that they fixate on your messes and, in the process, fail to see what is so great about your property.  And as I see it, cleaning up, meticulously, before every single showing is free - so it makes no sense to even run the risk of turning off a prospective buyer by letting messes get in the way of their ability to visualize themselves and their families flourishing in your home.

  

House Hater Complaint #4:  Lots of little malfunctions.  All of us tend to think our homes are in fantastic condition.  After all, you have the furnace maintained regularly, you’ve got granite and dual paned windows - maybe you even had the floors refinished or the walls painted in preparation for putting your place on the market. 

That’s all fantastic - all the non-cosmetic work you’ve done to maintain and improve your home should be trumpeted in your marketing materials, and the cosmetic items will (or should) speak for themselves. But here’s the thing: buyers who visit your home won’t be running your dishwasher or testing the furnace (at least not until inspections).  What they will do - almost unconsciously - is:

    •    flick light and fan switches

    •    open or close window coverings, closet, room and entry doors, 

    •    open and close drawers, cupboards, gates and fences and

    •    hold the handrails as they walk up and down the stairs.  

They will hear leaky faucets and point out water spots from long-ago repaired leaks, and they will notice (or potentially trip on) uneven exterior tiles, paths and walkways. And even though these items might be vastly less expensive to fix than the roof or sewer line you had replaced, they are much more visible and noticeable to a buyer.  In fact, buyers don’t always even know that the little malfunctions and repairs that need doing are little or inexpensive. And when they notice a bunch of these sorts of things in a single property, they can jump to the conclusion that the whole place is rickety. 

Since these little fixes are inexpensive to make, have them completed before you list, if at all possible. You might even ask your agent to walk through the property with you and to give you a handyperson reference for someone they know works efficiently.

Finding the Perfect Neighborhood: As Important as Finding the Perfect Home

Children

Do you have children or are you planning to have them in the future? If children are a factor, be sure to learn about the schools in your neighborhood. Even if you don't have children, buying a home in a neighborhood with good schools and a child-friendly atmosphere will give your home price a boost. 
Location

The old real estate adage "location, location, location" is important for several reasons. 
Do you want to be able to walk or ride your bike to work? Or do you not mind commuting further to be able to live in an area where you can escape from the hustle and bustle? 
Do you want to be able to walk to restaurants and shops? Or do you not mind having to drive to go out or go shopping? 
Access to public transportation or freeways is important to consider when choosing a neighborhood that accommodates your lifestyle preferences. 
Type of Home

Do you want a large house with a yard to accommodate guests and children? Or do you want a condo where most maintenance is taken care of for you (and you don't mind paying HOA fees)? Drive through the neighborhood and take note of the patterns in the layout of the homes, for example, bungalow, ranch, Tudor or Victorian. Does the type of home offer the amount of space and storage you will need? 
Do you like the character of old homes and neighborhoods, or do you want a brand new home? An old home can have more charm, but may also require more maintenance. In addition to the age of the home, investigating the demographics of the neighborhood may also offer insight about the average age of your neighbors. Your new community may end up better fitting your lifestyle if you know you'll be surrounded by families of similar ages to your own. 
Noise

Do you not mind noise or do you want peace and quiet? If you want a lower-key neighborhood, avoid living near a college or an area with a hopping nightlife. When visiting neighborhoods you are interested in, take note of the amount of traffic and how close it might be to a major thoroughfare; both factors would impact volume levels, even during non-peak traffic hours. 
Safety

In most cities, safety is also a factor. Evaluate whether a transitional neighborhood where you can get more bang for your buck is an option for you, or if a secure, established community is more your style. Local police departments will be able to provide you with information on recent crime rates in the area you are considering. 
Economy

Find out how long homes are on the market and if sellers are forced to reduce their price to find a buyer. Also look around to make sure the retail isn't struggling. If you see abandoned buildings and "for rent" signs, you may want to keep looking. On the other hand, if you think the neighborhood is about to turn around, you may be able to get a great deal. 
Hit the Pavement

Once you've identified several neighborhoods that are up to your standards, go investigate them. Hang out at the coffee shop or knock on some doors, and ask current residents why they love where they live. Walk around the neighborhood during the day to see what people are up to. Similarly, be sure to check out the neighborhood at night, and make sure you feel safe and secure about where you are. 
Finally, if there is a neighborhood association, check if there are any construction restrictions or other similar guidelines that could hinder future plans for your home.

California Dual-Tracking Ban Leads to Spike in Cancelled Foreclosures

A specific provision in California’s Homeowner Bill of Rights may have led to a surge in foreclosure cancellations, according to a report from ForeclosureRadar.

Foreclosure cancellations in California spiked 62.1 percent from September to October and 36.7 percent over a one-year period, data from ForeclosureRadar revealed.

The jump from September to October is the largest monthly increase since the data provider began tracking foreclosures in September 2006.

ForeclosureRadar observed the increase may be due to a particular provision in the Homeowner Bill of Rights that places a ban on dual-tracking. Dual-tracking occurs when a loan is being pushed through the foreclosure process while also being considered for a mortgage modification or short sale.

Even though the Homeowner Bill of Rights doesn’t take effect until the start of next year, ForeclosureRadar says it appears lenders have begun the process of canceling foreclosures that are being considered for short sales or modifications.

“The California Homeowner Bill of Rights that takes effect in January 2013 is beginning to impact foreclosure trends,” said Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of Foreclosure Radar. “This is another example of where changes in foreclosure trends are driven by government intervention, and not necessarily economic recovery.”

The impact of dual-tracking is still uncertain, but O’Toole speculated, “the elimination of dual tracking may avoid some unnecessary foreclosures, but will lengthen the foreclosure process and delay ultimate recovery. Expect further impacts to foreclosure trends in the months ahead.”

In addition, the $25 billion mortgage settlement placed a ban on dual tracking, which took effect October 3, but the restrictions were for the five largest servicers involved—Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally.

“Much of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights codifies for California what was in the National Mortgage Settlement, but it applies to all lenders,” Susan Sierota, chief marketing officer at ForeclosureRadar, added.

Fewer California properties also entered the foreclosure process last month. In October, foreclosure starts fell 8 percent month-over-month. Foreclosure sales increased monthly by 9.3 percent, but fell 38.9 percent from last year.

Two other states in the West saw monthly declines in foreclosure starts during the same time period. In Arizona and Washington, October foreclosure starts fell 15 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.

Two other West coast states, Nevada and Oregon, saw foreclosure starts increase 32.2 percent and 58.5 percent, respectively.

Foreclosure sales in Nevada came close to matching starts, increasing 33.8 percent, while foreclosure sales in Oregon fell 55.3 percent.

In September, all five Western states saw monthly declines in foreclosures starts.

Many Real Estates markets have seen the bottom

A new report finds that 183 of 252 markets recently surveyed have “hit bottom” and are on their way up. AOL Real Estate recently highlighted housing markets where prices are projected to rise the most next year, based on a new housing report from Zillow. Some of those “hot” housing markets on their list include:

Los Angeles
Projected bottom in home value: First quarter of 2012

Third quarter 2012 home price: $397,000

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Projected bottom in home value: Fourth quarter of 2011

Third quarter 2012 home price: $149,700

San Francisco
Projected bottom in home value: First quarter of 2012

Third quarter 2012 home price: $497,600

San Jose, Calif.
Projected bottom in home value: Second quarter of 2009

Third quarter 2012 home price: $599,800

Sacramento, Calif.
Projected bottom in home value: First quarter of 2012

Third quarter 2012 home price: $210,900

To see the full list of “hot” housing markets, visit AOL Real Estate.

September sees Biggest Yearly Price Gain Since 2006

Home prices in September posted their biggest yearly gain in more than 6 years, but prices displayed a typical seasonal slowdown and fell month-over-month, according to the Home Price Index (HPI) report from Core logic.

When including distressed sales, the report showed home prices moved higher by 5 percent from September 2011, the seventh straight month of yearly increases and the biggest annual gain since July 2006.

From August to September, prices decreased by 0.3 percent.

CoreLogic’s pending HPI projects continued yearly gains into October, with prices expected to rise by 5.7 percent from October 2011. As the winter season sets in, prices are expected to continue moving downward and drop 0.5 percent month-over-month.

“While prices on a month-over-month basis are declining, as expected in the housing off-season, most states are exhibiting price increases. Gains are particularly large in former housing bubble states and energy-industry concentrated states,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, in a release.

Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic added, “Home prices are responding to better market fundamentals, such as reduced inventories and improved buyer demand.”

Out of the 50 states, all but seven saw prices increase over a one-year period.

The five states that led with the biggest yearly increases in home prices were Arizona (+18.7 percent), Idaho (+13.1 percent), Nevada (+11.0 percent), Hawaii (+8.9 percent) and Utah (+8.7 percent).

The five states that saw prices fall the furthest during the same period were Rhode Island (-3.5 percent), Illinois (-2.3 percent), New Jersey (-1.8 percent), Alabama (-1.3 percent) and Delaware (-0.5 percent).

Among the largest metros, Phoenix held a huge lead compared to others with its 22.1 percent year-over-year gain. The next top four metros posted single digit gains. Houston’s 6.6 percent increase made it second, followed by Riverside (5.2 percent), Los Angeles (4.8 percent), and Washington D.C. (4.8 percent).

Industry Weighs in on the Shadow Inventory Debate

After raising the question of how the election might impact the housing market’s shadow inventory, it was obvious to see we had touched on a key issue near and dear to many voters’ hearts, minds, and wallets. Responses to the initial installment of our special election series poured in, and while we can only share some of the reactions here, we’d like to thank all of you who took the time to put your perspectives into words and join in the conversation.

One REO broker from Indiana issued a markedly pro-Romney proclamation, stating, “I feel strongly that Mitt Romney is the best choice by far. His leadership will inspire greater confidence on the part of both buyers and sellers, lenders, and other professionals in the industry.”

This particular broker went on to address the question of shadow inventory specifically. “I feel that if a new administration is elected, the shadow inventory will hit the markets because we will see the banks feel some relief from the pressure [caused by] this administration.”

Barbara Mancovsky, division manager for Nationwide REO Brokers, Inc. in Massachusetts, said, “I couldn’t disagree more with the premise that the inventory has somehow been affected by the presidential campaign.”

Mancovsky explained, “The reality is that banks and servicers have been dealing with a lot of change since the crisis began, including the AG settlement which left the field open for future lawsuits. In addition to the changes, default professionals are trying to catch up on the backlog since the pipeline locked in August of 2010. Add to that the challenges associated with new regulations, which seem to come out faster than adjustments can be made and the never-ending list of potential risks associated with foreclosure, and it starts to get slightly more complicated. It’s getting harder and harder to move anything to REO, especially if you are one of the bigger banks.”

She added, “If we see inventory post election, it’s just reflective of the timeline it took to get there and not based on the fact that an election happened to be scheduled at the same time.”

Beth Acton, a licensed Realtor for ERA Colonial Real Estate in Texas, also chimed in, saying, “My hope is that Mitt Romney will be elected and he will loosen the constraints the government has put on the banks and lenders which will allow them to release their backlog of inventory.”

Acton further described what she’s seen result from the previous election. “I have been in the REO business for the last five years and I have seen a steady decline in inventory since Obama was elected,” she said.

Tackling the issue of employment was Rob, a mortgage lender from Northern California. Rob made the distinction between the two candidates, saying, “Romney’s focus is on supporting growth in the private sector, while the president’s focus for new jobs is in the public sector.”

Rob further explained, “Although a Romney presidency will probably result in a short-term pause in our recovery and possibly quicker turn to inflationary measures, that is what we need to see the recovery take a long-term foothold and turn us onto the path of true prosperity once again.”

Tony Youngs, a full-time real estate investor in the Atlanta area, thinks the shadow inventory is probably bigger than we realize. “I feel the market is appearing to get better because the administration does not want anyone to know about the shadow inventory,” he said. “[T]here are millions of people behind on their payments and some have not made a payment in over two years but foreclosure has not been started yet. The back payments to bring these loans current are so high it would be impossible to catch up. ... The current president had come up with all sorts of plans and programs to help, but lenders would not cooperate so all these plans failed.”

Ron Sullivan, an REO agent with Sully and Associates Realty, Inc., in Bakersfield, California, addressed the market’s foreclosure crisis, first and foremost. “I have done REO for the past six years and seen the inventory drop drastically year-to-year, but yet on every street there is a vacant home, or three or four, underwater mortgages. I can’t help to think that the Obama administration has been a big influence on the [slowing of the] foreclosure process.”

Toni Moss, founder and CEO of EuroCatalyst BV, called attention to what she sees as the real issue at hand. “Comparisons between conservative and liberal parties’ future plans to remediate the housing market are impossible because one candidate is unwilling or unable to offer any specifics on his economic plan overall, including plans for the housing market,” Moss said.

“Romney has basically said, ‘Let’s have a fight—and if I’m not there in 5 minutes, go ahead and start without me!’ What Romney has discussed about the housing market is very broad and simplistic, with potential remedies that everyone already agrees on, i.e., let’s streamline foreclosures and restructure the GSEs. As we say in Texas, it’s all hat, and no cattle,” according to Moss. “Therefore, there is really nothing to compare or contrast between potential administrations, just a lot of political rhetoric and aspirational hypothesizing.

10 High impact home improvements you can do for $10K or less

For all the focus we put on transactions – buying and selling – the truth is that for most of your life as a real estate consumer, you’ll be a homeowner.  And because your home is so much more than just a transactional asset, a widget to be traded and tweaked only for financial reasons, it makes sense to spend some portion of your time, energy and money making it really work for you.
Unfortunately, what too many of us do is wait until we can save up or pull out tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to make a major move: build on an addition, gut and remodel the kitchen, turn the basement into a media room extraordinaire.  And many times, that means we never do the project, or we only do it when it’s time to sell and move.
The fact is, there are numerous remodeling projects that can crank up your enjoyment factor at home, for the much more accessible sum of $10,000.  Here’s my hit list of the top 10 things you can do for 10K, if you’re in your home and planning to stay put for a while:

1.      Crank up the curb appeal.   We usually talk about curb appeal in the context of sprucing your home up to prep it for sale, but I say that it’s also one of the most cost-effective home improvement projects for homeowners who are staying put in terms of life-improving bang for the home improvement buck. There’s just something about loving the way your home looks when you drive up to it day after day, or when you have people over, that dramatically increases your enjoyment of home. 

Depending on which projects you’d like to do and whether you’re interested in doing any of the work yourself, you can crank up your curb appeal for just a few hundred dollars or a few thousand. Here are a few vision-starting curb appeal-boosting projects to consider:

• Exterior paint or power wash
• Paint or install a new garage door
• Paint or install a new front door
• Paint or install new trims (shutters, eaves, etc.)
• New exterior hardware (door kickplate, mailbox, house numbers, etc.)
• Exterior or landscape lighting
• Front yard landscaping spruce-up or makeover

 2.     Get rid of a wall. You might be a homeowner now, but hearken back to your days as a house hunter.  You might remember seeing homes and wishing for what is easily the #1 remodel fantasy of homeowners to be: knocking down a wall.  In my experience the wall home buyers-cum-owners love to hate the most is the one between kitchen and dining room, far and away.  Opening a kitchen and dining room into one larger, brighter space holds particular appeal for those who enjoy gathering family and friends to entertain at their homes, without isolating the cook/host.

The next most common wall people crave to eliminate is a wall between two small bedrooms. 

Now, agents and appraisers will tell you that turning two small bedrooms into one poses the potential to decrease the resale value of a home – and that’s true. But if you’re not planning to sell anytime soon, it might be worthwhile doing it anyway, especially if it renders two barely usable rooms into one user-friendly space.  And in fact, this wall is often relatively inexpensive to remove – and to replace, if you decide to do so.

In fact, removing walls, even structural walls, is highly feasible and much less expensive than many home owners assume.  (If a load-bearing wall is removed, the structural component can often be preserved and finished, by simple leaving a beam at the ceiling.) What can jack the price up is the relocation of plumbing or wiring contained in the wall being removed. Reconnecting interruptions in flooring and adding in things like an island or the other remodeling line items that can go along with opening a kitchen up (e.g., adding an island, new cabinets and counters, etc.) can also add up. Check with a reputable local contractor to consult on how such a project can be planned and executed efficiently.

 3.    Swap out the old windows for dual-paned.  This is one of those $10K-ish projects that actually can pay for itself over time. Switching out your old single paned windows for new dual-paned ones might make your home look better, but it will definitely make your home operate more efficiently – and more comfortably.  Dual-paned windows minimize heat-loss in the winter and keep the cool air in, in the summer, so you’re not trying to heat up and cool down the whole outdoors through the leaks in your windows. They’re also a must if you have street noise or other noise challenges around your home; the extra insulation traps noise before it can get to you, inside your home.

As with everything, costs vary by location and by the quality of window you choose, but you can use $200-300/window, installed, as a rough rule of thumb.  Some older homes can require wood repair of rotted out window frames, in the course of switching to dual-paned, which can increase the project cost significantly. Also, many cities and states offer rebates for installing dual paned windows (and making other energy-efficient upgrades, by the by), which can dramatically defray the costs of this particular remodeling project. 

4.      Extend your living areas outdoors. The National Outdoor Kitchen and Fireplace Association pegs the average cost of an outdoor kitchen at $12,000 to $15,000 on average – so, if you can cut costs, find appliances on sale or do some of the work yourself,  you might just be able to get one in your own backyard for the $10,000 price point. Outdoor kitchens can be as simple as a table and grill, or as complex as having wood-burning ovens, refrigerators and big-screen televisions.  Whatever route you go, the appliances are likely to be the single most expensive line-item of an outdoor kitchen. If you can tolerate the high-class problem of bringing your food from indoors, you can very cost-effectively create an outdoor living room complete with weather-proof furniture and lighting, in your backyard instead.

The major remodeling return-on-investment indices don’t track the return on outdoor living spaces, but experience tells me that well-executed outdoor kitchen and living rooms are both extremely fun to live with – and extremely desirable to the buyers to whom you will eventually be marketing your home.

5.      New kitchen appliances.  In terms of sheer functionality, new kitchen appliances can create an overwhelming upgrade to your family’s everyday life. A new fridge will run you anywhere from $350 to $2,000 on average (though French door, custom and commercial versions can cost upwards of $10,000 or more); a new stove/oven range can run anywhere from $300 to $6,000 (with the commercial, 40-inch ranges running from $9,000 to $20,000+) and an appliance store dishwasher will cost you somewhere around $250 to $1,600.

 6.    Swap out your carpet.  Listen, you might LOVE carpet.  And if you do, that’s fantastic.  But many Americans are living with carpet they really, really dislike, whether because of its color, its condition or the upkeep and maintenance it requires.  If you have $10K and you can’t stand your carpet, you can estimate that it’ll run you about $300-$500 per room to replace it with new carpet, or $1500-$2000 per room to replace it with hardwood, depending – obviously – on where you live, how large your rooms are and what specific materials you choose in terms of the replacement floors. 

 7.     Bring a bathroom into this millennium.  The average cost of a bathroom remodel in America is right around $16,000, according to Remodeling Magazine, but that lumps master bathrooms in with powder rooms and the like. I say there are dozens of things you can do to your hall or other bathrooms to bring them into the 21st century for well under the $10,000 mark.  For example, my Jacuzzi tubs are probably the most-used “appliances” in my home – homewyse.com pegs the average cost of swapping your tub for a jetted one at somewhere between $1500 and $3500.

And last year, I traded up my hall bathroom sink and faucet for top-of-the-line versions for right around $1,000, installed.

In fact, there are a number of thousand-dollar-or-less bathroom power-tweaks suggested by Consumer Reports – if you’re committed and smart, you can group a number of them into a bathroom that feels like new for well under $10,000:

• Replace the vanity with a new wood model that has a stone counter.
• Add a new mirror and faucet. Alternatively, keep your current vanity but replace your toilet and faucet and add a new vinyl floor.
• Improve lighting and ventilation with a new combination light and exhaust fan. One with a heat setting will keep you from getting chilled when you get out of the shower.
• Add a set of sconces on either side of the mirror or medicine cabinet.
• Update towel bars, hooks, toothbrush and toilet paper holders, and cabinet hardware. Add matching shelves for your towels and toiletries.
• Switch your standard showerhead to one with multiple settings, including a pulsating or massage setting.
• Keep your towels toasty with a heated towel bar, some of which cost $100 or less.

 8.     Build in organizing systems.  Clutter is an energy vampire – there’s nothing like having a place for everything and everything in its place to create the sense that your life is in control. And one of the most significant advantages to owning your own home is that you can customize it to manage your stuff and your activities, rather than being forced to fit your things into someone else’s system. If you have $10K in hand to make your home more ‘you,’ consider having custom organizing systems built into your closet, office, pantry or garage, tailored to your family’s stuff and needs. 

The range of pricing here is vast, depending on whether you buy an off-the-shelf closet organizer at the home improvement store and install it yourself or call California Closets out to measure your shoes and sporting goods and input them into a custom design, complete with hydraulics. 

 9.    Paint.  A few years back, there was a study on what home improvements actually could be linked to an increase in happiness and well-being.  One of the most affordable was to simply paint the rooms of your home in colors that fostered the target emotions that map to the function of the room. For instance, painting a bedroom a soft blue or green fosters tranquility and rest, while painting a kitchen or dining room a warmer shade might promote the cozy fuzzy feelings of family togetherness.  Painting can be very affordable, depending on your home’s size and details, and is a great starter do-it-yourself project, to boot.

My personal cost-cutting tip: pick your colors from the designer paint swatches, but have the paint department staff use more affordable paint when they custom-mix the colors to mix.

 10.  Connect your home. When so-called “smart home” systems first came out, they were the stuff of an MTV Cribs episode, costing tens of thousands of dollars to put various home systems on a remote control.  But as with all technologies, costs of connecting your home have come down – a lot. For anywhere from $200 to $2,000, you might be able to have your home’s systems wired so that you can:

• Control lighting, heating and AC remotely
• Have your HVAC systems and window coverings, for example, work in sync
• Monitor your home via video and sensors for security and other home crises (e.g., flood, etc.), no matter where you are.

The best part? Even the least expensive of these systems now is able to be run via a smartphone app.  Home security providers are increasingly offering these options, and even some home internet/telephone providers have also gotten into the business of affordably connecting your home.

If you’re considering making a modest investment in a home you plan to own for a while, you’re increasingly in the norm. Studies show that over 50% of homeowners are now focusing on smaller home improvement projects that increase their enjoyment of their homes - even if they don't increase its value. 
All:  Do you fall into this group? What $10,000-or-less projects have you done at home that boosted your enjoyment?