Friday

Ten Bathroom Renovation Tips

Most bathroom remodeling articles focus on the same things over and over again. A lot of it is common sense. I did manage to find an article on renovating the bathroom with some really unique tips that I wanted to share with you.

Here are ten tips from Style at Home.com, which is billed as Canada's decorating magazine:

1 Choose Elegant Fixtures.
A pedestal sink with graceful lines is more attractive than a blocky cabinet vanity. A classic claw-foot tub is like bathroom sculpture. Even enclosed in a deck, the simple lines of the lip have an inherent beauty that surpasses most acrylic versions.

2 Sit in a Bathtub before Buying it.
Bigger isn't always better. A 60-inch tub is fine for most people. It offers enough room to stretch out and provides a secure foothold, so you don't float into oblivion when the tub is full. Assess the angled back and lip for comfort and neck support -- a tub for two people slants at either end and has taps in the middle. If you only have enough space for a small tub, buy an extra-deep one.

3 Select Durable Flooring.
Ceramic, marble and stone tiles are all excellent durable and water-resistant choices for a bathroom. Subfloor heating coils will make these hard surfaces warm. Well-sealed hardwood floors offer natural warmth and act as a foil for the other hard, cold surfaces in a bathroom.

4 Hang a Stylish Mirror.
One beautifully framed mirror over a sink is more attractive than many surfaces covered with mirror. Supplement it with a wall-mounted adjustable makeup mirror, and consider installing a lighted, mirrored shaving niche in your shower stall.

5 Use Found Space.
Take advantage of space between wall studs by recessing a tall storage cabinet into the wall to maximize vertical storage while saving floor space. The cabinet should have an interior depth of at least three inches and a door flush with the wall.

6 Build a Shower Area.
Consider building an open-concept shower area that doesn't need a curtain or door and is less confining than a standard shower stall. In addition to well-designed drainage, a ceiling-mounted rain showerhead and/or a high wall-mounted showerhead that splashes less water will keep the area outside the shower drier.

7 Share Space for Added Function.
In homes with back-to-back bathrooms, a shared shower with access doors to each of the bathrooms maximizes limited space. Or turn a closet located next to a bathroom into a small ensuite with access to the neighboring bath.

8 Design Lighting that Works.
Good lighting is imperative. Combine halogen pot lights with wall sconces beside or over the mirror for lighting with no shadows. Always install dimmers.

9 Buy a Quality Toilet.
When buying a toilet, it's not necessary for you to spend big bucks, but you don't want to scrimp too much, either. You can get a good-quality one-piece toilet for about $400. Models with elongated bowls and seats are usually most comfortable.

10 Incorporate Luxury into Your Room.
If you're fortunate enough to have lots of space to work with, indulge yourself with an expanded spa-like bathroom that includes a dressing room -- a haven for privacy and relaxation. Outfit it with a television, fireplace, exercise equipment, makeup vanity and even a large comfortable occasional chair upholstered in thick white terry-cloth.

If you need to talk to a bathroom designer for ideas for your space, or you know what you'd like to do and want to find a bathroom remodeling service, consider using ConstructionDeal.com. We'll help you find local professionals who will call you, instead of spending time looking up companies only to call and leave messages or repeat yourself over and over.

Simply post your bathroom renovation project and you'll get multiple quotes from several companies. This saves you time and money. And... it's all free for you.

RELATED POSTS:
Bathroom Remodeling Options
More on Bathroom Remodeling
Interior Design Trends for 2007


Monday

Flipping Houses: 10 Things To Look for in Investment Properties

I watch the show Property Ladder on TLC and it drives me crazy. You see the house flippers buy a house to renovate as investment property and they always ignore sound advice, spend too much, and take way too long - - and they usually make a boatload of money doing it.

Even in these tough times, with the housing market crashing back to Earth, they're still able to turn a profit. But not everyone is so lucky. Investors and speculators have fled the real estate market in droves. The national inventory of homes for sale is well over a million and a half and rising.

However, in each state, each city, and even each neighborhood there may be an opportunity for you to buy a house, fix it up, and sell it and make a little money.

If you're still interested in flipping a house, here are some tips from Inman News:

TEN ATTRIBUTES OF PROFITABLE FIX-UP HOUSES:
by Robert J. Bruss

1. Basically sound condition without major structural defects. In most communities, this means looking for three- or four-bedroom houses with good foundations and without a major need for renovation other than cosmetic fix-up. Avoid two-bedroom houses unless your town has a strong renter or buyer demand for these smaller homes.

2. Good location with a low crime rate. No matter how enticing a run-down, profit-potential house might be, if it has a poor location there's little or nothing you can do to cure that.

For example, houses next to a noisy freeway or on a very busy street won't appeal to most other buyers except at bargain prices so there is little you can do to raise values in an undesirable location. If most of the nearby houses are run-down and poorly maintained, they will drag down the value of your house. However, if you buy a run-down house in a good neighborhood of well-maintained homes, they will drag the market value of your home up after it is renovated.

3. Good-quality school district. Even when a house is in sound condition in a good location, if the public schools are of poor quality, that greatly hurts the resale value for fixer-upper houses. Always look for houses with school test scores at or above the median for the area where families with children are attracted.

4. Need for profitable cosmetic fix-up work, but not major unprofitable repairs. Examples of profitable cosmetic improvements include fresh paint inside and outside (the most profitable improvement you can make), new light fixtures, new carpets and flooring, and fresh landscaping.

But stay way from fixer-upper houses that need unprofitable work such as new wiring, new plumbing, foundation repairs, major kitchen and bathroom renovation, room additions, and a new roof. These expensive, unprofitable improvements rarely add more than their cost to the market value of the home.

5. Purchase price at least 30 percent below the market value of nearby comparable homes in good condition. "Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood" is a sound motto to follow. Another good motto is: "Your first profit is earned when buying at the right price."

If the seller won't heavily discount the sales price to compensate for a home's run-down condition, keep looking until you find a house with profit potential meeting the criteria explained here.

6. Purchase from a motivated seller who is anxious to sell. Motivating reasons for selling a home include job transfer, pending foreclosure, divorce, health reasons, family birth or death, and unemployment.

If the home has been listed for sale at least 60 to 90 days with no offers, even if the asking price is too high, that is another indication of possible sales motivation so it may be time to make a "lowball" purchase offer.

7. Affordable low-down-payment financing. Taking over an existing mortgage (called buying "subject to"); a lease with option to buy; seller carryback financing; or a combination of these methods indicates probably easy financing.

If the house is in bad shape, avoid obtaining a new mortgage unless it is approved by the lender on an after-fix-up, market-value appraisal. After your fix-up work is completed, that's the time to get a new mortgage, based on the home's increased market value.

8. Seller or tenant will vacate immediately upon transfer of title. The best way to profit from a fixer-upper house is to work on a vacant structure. Attempting to make improvements while the seller or a tenant lives in the property makes the upgrading work doubly difficult.

9. Within a 60-minute drive from your current residence. During renovation of a fix-up house, it pays to visit the property nearly every day to be certain the work is getting done correctly.

When the owner doesn't inspect frequently, the workers often don't show up or they slack off. Incidentally, never pay contractors by the hour (except for minor work) and always pay by the job after it is finished to your satisfaction.

10. Good demand from renters and/or buyers. Unless you plan to live in the fixed-up house, it pays to consider the current demand for houses from renters and buyers. If local employment and economic conditions are good, chances are home values are stable.

However, if more people are moving out than are moving into the community, maybe it's not the right time to invest in a fixer-upper house there unless it can be bought for a 40-50 percent discount off the market value of nearby homes in excellent condition.

RELATED POSTS:
Flipping Houses: A Real Estate Investing Update
How Not to Beat the Bursting Housing Bubble
Ways to Improve Your Homes Value

If you're going to be flipping property - consider bookmarking ConstructionDeal.com! You can use our no cost service to find local contractors and service professionals to fix up anything from the floors, to the roof, to remodeling the entire house.

Here is a full list of our residential categories!

* photo courtesy of TLC network