Product Description
Every year, millions of Americans spend varying degrees of time and money on home improvements. Which improvements are likely to add the greatest value on resale? What kinds of small, inexpensive projects can really make a difference? How do homeowners get started on the project of their dreams? Real estate expert Steve Berges draws on his more than 25 years of experience to provide homeowners with the advice and guidance they crave, as they mull over their home imp... More >>
101 Cost-Effective Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home
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I see many negative reviews – I am confused because I think that this book has so much valuable information to offer to readers. When I used to appraise residential properties, I was always shocked just how clueless homeowners were about increasing the value of their homes. They would make improvements convinced that they were increasing the value of their houses by more than the cost of the improvements. Unfortunately, they usually increased the values by less than the costs. They would either over-improve the properties or concentrate on improvements that added nothing to the values.
If you think you know it all, then you definitely need this book, because I know more than the average person and I still found it useful. The author shows many different improvements that you can make to your house ranging from painting to replacing windows to finishing basements. I think the best part is that he tells you which improvements are likely to add the greatest value in order to get the highest resale price.
- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market
Rating: 5 / 5
I was disappointed to read the (less than enthusiastic) reviews of this book. As a real estate agent, I’ve taken it out of the library so often that I’m finally going to break down and buy it. There may be some saavy home sellers who have a handle on the information in this book, but it’s unusual when they follow through. Making these improvements may seem obvious, but nine times out of ten, sellers don’t think about how they are exactly the same things they notice when they become buyers.
If Berges repeats himself, it’s because his suggestions can’t be repeated often enough. Some sellers don’t want to bother with his advice, and that’s fine, but then it’s important to be realistic about pricing. Home selling is like any retail–if the product is shopworn, damaged or has defects, the store takes a markdown.
This book is a tool to help all home sellers prepare their property to sell with the maximum amount of showings and the best possible price. It offers sellers accurate information about what they need to do to maximize the sale of their home, and this one has the best, most realistic, most important information that they need. It’s my secret weapon when it comes to multiple offers and quick property sales.
Rating: 5 / 5
Mr. Berges purports to offer ways to increase home values, but there’s hardly any aspect of home improvement he doesn’t rate as a worthwhile imvestment. Even a swimming pool gets a “moderate” rating, and most markets in the U.S. consider a pool a real albatross.
Mr. Berges also includes a worksheet that should let the reader calculate almost any aspect of home improvement and its impact on value — nice, but he implies it’s available online at “valueplay.com” when it isn’t.
All in all, a generally OK guideline book, but it misleads.
Rating: 3 / 5
too common sense; I expected things like advice on whether to do carpet verses hardwood floor or tile
Rating: 2 / 5
They kinda cheat a little. There are only 75 ways listed (they start numbering with chapters like “how to work with your subcontractor,” in order to get a total of 101 chapters.
Further, it’s on a five-star rating system: only four star and five star items are considered cost beneficial. It would be a lot nicer to focus on the four and five star stuff, and leave the excess out. I don’t want to read about things it costs me more money to do than I’ll get back in selling: I just want to know what those things are, so I don’t concentrate on them.
Rating: 3 / 5