The last few years have been tough on the real estate market and this has led to an increase in home improvement projects in some areas. If your family is growing, you may not be able to just flip into a bigger home and if you are looking at selling your home, their may be things you can do to maximize the value of the house. This is especially true for those areas that have been hardest hit such as southern California and Florida. Whether you are just looking to try and maximize your properties value or need to increase the livability of your house, home improvements can often accomplish your goal. To fund these projects many homeowners are turning to home improvement loans.

Since the current rates on mortgages are still very low, using your home equity to fund most improvements can often be a wise decision. There also may be some tax advantages to using your mortgage instead of another source of credit. For this reason you will want to speak with you tax attorney or accountant before making a final decision.

Are Home Improvement Loans Right for Me

Properly planned home improvements can often have positive impacts on your homes value. If you pick your projects wisely the increase in home value can often be greater than its cost to complete. When deciding on a home addition or remodel you should ask yourself a few questions:

- Will this project greatly improve your comfort level as you live in the home?
- If remodeling, is it a high traffic area such as a kitchen to maximize usage?
- Will this be something prospective buyers in your area desire in a home?

After you have decided on what the home improvement will be you will need to find the best funding option available. While you should always start with your local banker or mortgage broker that should be just a start. Finding the best rates on a loan will take a little legwork on your part but it could save your thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. Thanks to the internet, that legwork has gotten much easier. There are many quality mortgage resources online that can instantly match you with local lenders. By taking the time to compare rates, terms and closing costs from a few different lenders finding the best home improvement loan is easier than ever.

Are you thinking of remodeling your home? Do you plan to manage the project yourself? DIY (do-it-yourself) remodelers can save money doing things themselves but there is a catch. What if you miss something? What you don't know could hurt you.
 
"But, I'm a DIYer, I can't afford to hire someone to help me manage this!"
 
Too often in life we focus on the cost of services over their benefits. We bemoan the cost of an accountant when we should value the tax savings and time freedom we are gaining. The question really should be: What is this expense going to save me in the long run? For most people, the truth is, they can't afford not to hire a coach.
 
What Is a Home Remodeling Coach?
 
Before I get into the benefits that a coach provides, I should explain what one is. Other articles go into more detail and I encourage you to seek them out. Briefly, a coach guides you in every process from planning through completion.
 
The home remodeling coach is the same as a home building coach. They are trained and experienced industry professionals who work along side you while you remain in charge. You pay a coach (or Custom Home Coach) a flat fee based upon the length and scope of your project.
 
Three Ways Custom Home Coaches Save You Money
 
I should advise that hiring a coach is not needed for a simple home improvement like painting, replacing a carpet, or adding shelves. We're talking about a major improvement here, like doing a kitchen remodel or adding a room and bathroom. Here are just three of the many ways a Custom Home Coach can help you in your major remodeling project.
 
#1 Planning, costs, and strategies: Getting a project off the ground is tedious and confusing. A coach will provide tremendous help through the preparation process showing you what to do and when, how much things will cost, and how to implement your ideas. The coach will steer you away from disaster before you veer into it.
 
#2 Keeping the project moving forward: No one likes to live in a house that's constantly under construction or renovation. The experience of a coach will help you keep workers showing up and solve issues as they arise. Delays cost money and ruin the experience.
 
#3 Avoiding a major mistake: This one speaks for itself. You don't want to make an expensive mistake! This is the one big reason most professional builders say that people should not manage their own projects alone. I agree. Your remodel coach could save you thousands of dollars by helping you avoid one crucial mistake.
 
Each of these three benefits of hiring a Custom Home Coach could stand on their own. Getting all three is just a bonus. So don't miss the forest for the trees. Don't focus on the small expenditure of hiring a coach when in the long run, you'll end up dollars and sanity ahead.

While it might be hyperbole to claim that it keeps people up at night, most people would still prefer to protect their homes in whatever way they can. With home security systems, homeowners can protect their homes against a variety of threats and provide automatic support from third party companies.

Protection Away From Home

Many home security companies provide a level of automatic protection for customers. With a subscription, customers get technology installed in their homes that automatically scan and sense. Sparing all the details about how these various technologies work together, it suffices to say that they automatically detect any intruders. If intruders are detected, then the companies can place a call to your home to make sure that things are all right, and they can also dispatch the necessary emergency services to your house in the case that there are intruders in your home. With these technologies, home security systems help to ensure that your home is protected from burglars at all hours of the day.

If you're looking for a more private form of home security, then you can install a number of electronics such as motion sensors that can alarm you but not a third party company. These might include home security cameras, which record a days' worth of footage and can be useful if your home gets burglarized, and you're more likely to be able to help police find out who committed the crime. These come in a variety of models to suit many different individual needs, such as with night vision and automatically turning on with infrared sensors. Other models wirelessly transmit data to some type of recorder, be it to videotape or a hard drive on a digital video recorder (DVR). All of this home security technology helps to protect your home, and in the case that it is trespassed upon, you can more easily identify the assailants and help police.

However, home security systems can also help protect against other more natural, dangers, such as fires. Smoke alarms are just one basic form of fire protection, but newer systems may automatically alert the fire department and help to dispatch emergency services to your house. Even a precious few minutes can mean the difference between some relatively minor smoke damage and irreparable damage to your home. Be it burglars or fires, home security protects your home against any dangers that it may face. Not only does it protect your home, but it also defends you and your family as well.

My first woodwork project was a wooden storage shed. I needed to get my lawnmower and other garden tools out of the garage so that I could use it for parking my wife's car. I had no idea how to build one, but soon after pricing them at the local hardware store, I decided I could build one for a lot less than buying one.

First I needed a plan for my shed, so I scoured the hardware store, and found that the books they had only had 1 or 2 plans each, and none that were appealing. I went to local library, and found some books from the 1950?s and 1960?s on woodworking, but the projects they had were kind of dated. They didn't really match the style I was looking for in my backyard. So, I turned to the internet. I found tons of sites offering me all kinds of different sheds. Some were made of plastic, others of steel or aluminum, and even some made of wood. Again I was back to buying something for more money than I thought I could build it for. I wanted a project, that I (a beginner) could complete, without the high cost of buying a shed.

Then I found it. Or rather, my neighbor Jim did. A site that had thousands of woodworking projects to choose from. I signed up and got access to shed bases (I learned I needed one of these as well), Amish sheds, garden sheds, storage sheds, workshops, and decks. The selection is amazing. The plans were easy to follow and gave a complete shopping list for each woodwork project. All I had to do was print it out and go to the hardware store.

My first weekend was spent in gathering my materials, and getting organized. On the following weekend, I invited my neighbor Jim and his brother over to help me raise a shed. On Sunday, we finished and I made some BBQ ribs to repay my friends for their help. Anyway, that was the beginning of my love affair with woodworking.

Are you someone who enjoys working with wood? If yes, then I have great news for you. I have discovered a site that can give you instant access to over 12,000 shed plans and other great woodworking projects. It has everything from birdhouses and porch swings, to decks and wooden storage sheds to help you make your house an inviting home.

Remodeling your living room or kitchen or any other part of your house can mean another penny to spend. However, redecorating and remodeling don't necessarily entail high cost of materials and services from a trained person or professional. Buying new furniture is not important. All you need is to repaint and reuse materials.

Like for example your kitchen cabinets; if you want the cabinet to look different try to remove the doors and cut out a square portion on it and replace it with a glass. This will expose the contents of the cabinets adding more class to your kitchen. Compare the amount you spend when you buy a new set with just this simple makeover? Buying a new set is much expensive, right? So, just be creative in doing your home improvement ideas and you will still get the same satisfaction.

If you are planning to have a mini garden in front of your house or you already have one but you want to rearrange and remodel the landscape, you can still do it without spending too much. Take advantage of sales and promos offered by nursery stores that sell plants for your garden. Or you can search online and order some cheap packed seeds which you can grow in your garden. The trick really here is to be resourceful and creative in everything.

There is always a new and fresh idea that you can apply in your home. By replacing what is worn out already is a good start. DIY projects now are very common. Replace your old flooring with new tiles and apply DIY. You can save hundreds of dollars already with this concept. Besides, there are guides and references which you can always use when performing the tiling.

Inspect your doorknobs, faucets and locks if they are still in good condition. Replace any broken part. Prompt action can prevent any further damage. Don't wait for the whole bathroom sink to collapse before replacing or tightening any loosened nut.

Another tip is to add touches to your interior that can highlight the room. A good painting on the wall can entirely change the look of your room. Try to invest on good curtains too. If you used to hang plain ones try the printed fabrics this time. Sometimes a change of course can make things look better than sticking with the norm. Table top decors in bright colors like yellow and orange are also good add-ons in making your home anew.

Improving your home can be an extremely rewarding venture, but it can also be an expensive project. You want to ensure you get the best contractor at the best price. In this economy, not everyone can afford a lawyer or professional to look over the contracts and the fine print. For that reason, we have created a list of the top five lessons to learn before entering a home improvement project.

1. Research: Learn about basic construction practices and projects. Unless you do some research, you will be less confident as to what you're looking for once the project begins.

2. Planning: Have a solid plan and don't allow the contractor to "make the calls." The way to ensure this is to know exactly what you want before getting started. Advice may be given from a contractor, but do not confuse advice with your own desires for your project.

3. Warranties: Read the fine print and ask questions before hiring the contractor. Remember that you are the one paying for the project and hiring the contractor. The contractor is only responsible for carrying out the project. Do not be afraid to ask questions about your project. If you don't fully understand something, ask them to explain it again.

4. Contracting: Become educated on creating spec sheets and reading bids carefully by line items. Become involved as much as possible. This means understanding what the contractor is looking at when reviewing the above items.

5. Deposit-Installments and Payments: Keep control of your money and your project while keeping in line with your State's laws. Probably the most important lesson is to understand how much the entire project is going to cost, how much you are putting down in the beginning and when further payments are to be dispersed.