Page Title

Updating Versus Maintenance

Home jargon is a funny thing. So many of the terms used are subjective.
For example, what I consider 'cozy' could be considered 'spacious' by
someone else. A statement heard frequently is "my home has been
updated, so it's worth more than other homes on my street..."   Perhaps.
The answer really lies with what a buyer considers to be updated! Let's
analyze the difference between Update and Maintenance.

When a buyer tells me they want an updated home in North Dallas, that
usually means they are looking for a home in a well-established
neighborhood that was built in the 1960's or 1970's that LOOKS like it was
built last year. Translate that into a bright, open home with amenities such
as solid-surface floors, granite counters, current appliances, and natural
landscaping. Updated to them means remodeled to current design trends.

Sellers, on the other hand, sometimes believe that their 1972 home with
berber carpeting installed in 1998 and a roof that was replaced after the
big hail storm of 2000 has been 'updated'. It is certainly important to make
repairs to maintain your home's value, but repairs do not necessarily
increase the market value of your home, no matter how much they cost.
In most cases, a home should be well maintained and incorporate updated
design trends that are currently in vogue to get top dollar per square foot.

Here are some examples:                            Maintenance or Update?

Air conditioner that was replaced in 2004:   Maintenance
Vinyl kitchen flooring replaced with wood:    Update
Gutters replaced in 1999:                            Maintenance
Replaced pool pump in 2005:                      Maintenance
Resurfaced pool with Pebble Tec Finish:     Update
Lift trees:                                                      Maintenance
Professional landscape redesign:                Update

Just because a homeowner spent $50,000 on home repairs, it doesn't
automatically translate into a $50,000 increase in the home's market
value. Those repairs could have been necessary just to bring the home
up to average condition for the neighborhood. On the other hand, if
demand in the neighborhood exceeds the inventory of homes for sale, a
home could appreciate tremendously even without costly repairs (location,
location, location!).

This is why a current market analysis from a trusted REALTOR is so
important when considering placing your home for sale or even when
considering major improvements to your home. I also recommend touring
other homes for sale in your neighborhood regularly to see how your home
compares in condition and price.

If you're thinking of remodeling with a future sale in mind, review the list of
projects below that studies show bring the most bang for your buck at
selling time. I can also provide a free current market analysis report for
your home at your request~just contact me.

Remodeling That Pays

According to the National Association of REALTORS, here are some of the
remodeling projects that provide the highest return on investment. The
percentage, is the amount of project cost that the homeowner might expect
to see when selling within one year of the project's completion (national
average).

Minor Kitchen Remodel:                94%
Bathroom Addition:                       89%
Major Kitchen Remodel:                87%
Family Room Addition:                  84%
Second Story Addition:                 84%
Bathroom Remodel:                      73%
Window Replacement:                  64%
Home Office:                                 64%

Second Home Trend: Meet the Splitters

A fairly new segment of home owners — people who own two or more
primary residences and travel between them — is pushing the real estate
industry in new ways.
BY MICHELLE HOFMANN

An emerging generation of buyers is splitting off from the traditional
snowbird flock and changing the definition of home away from home.

Taking advantage of low-cost travel corridors with multiple daily flights,
advances in technology, and virtual work spaces, “splitters” choose to split
their time between a primary residence and a second home. Some super-
splitters split their time among three or more homes.

According to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 36 percent
of all homes purchased in 2004 were second homes.

Other than mortgage-interest deduction, there may not be any additional
tax advantages to owning a second home.

However, Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder says the
alternative minimum tax, a federal tax that some taxpayers have to pay on
top of the regular income tax, has raised incentives to migrate.

"In the East, there is a huge number of people who spend 183 days of the
year in Florida to declare Florida residency," Vedder says. "Florida has no
state income tax or any state death taxes either."

In addition to Florida, other states that don’t have a state income tax
include Nevada, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.

Kyle Reinson, a spokesperson for WCI, which conducted a study on
splitters last year, says the niche has been part of the firm’s core business
since 2000.

Professionals, consultants, business owners, CEOs, and well-to-dos with
solid investment portfolios comprise the market segment. Splitters with
travel-based jobs can have lower incomes. And Ray says cities with good
airport connections and low-cost airlines such as JetBlue, which offers
about 40 flights daily between New York and South Florida, and Southwest
Airlines, which provides a transportation corridor between California and
neighboring states, are prime splitter territories and make it easy for
people to regularly visit their second home.

On average, Reinson says splitters visit their second home about 18 times
each year, for about one to three days in most cases.

Americans commute longer, farther than ever
By Ellen Wulfhorst

Studies show Americans spend more time than ever commuting and for a
growing number, getting to work takes more than an hour. In the most
recent Census Bureau study, 2.8 million people have so-called extreme
commutes, topping 90 minutes.

Dave Givens, a 46-year-old electrical engineer, has an extreme commute
between home in Mariposa, California, and his job in San Jose. He leaves
home before dawn and returns after dark as part of his 370 mile, seven-
hour daily trek.

But as harrowing or tedious as Givens' trip may sound, he says it's the way
to keep the home and job he loves. "I have the balance right now," Givens
told Reuters. "I could do similar jobs closer, but not with the work reward
and job satisfaction I have. And I could live closer, but I wouldn't have the
lifestyle that I desire.

"To me, this is not that long a commute," he added. "It's just something I do
to go to work."

SUBURB-TO-SUBURB COMMUTING

Longer commutes frequently involve people who live in one suburb and
work in another, said Alan Pisarski, author of "Commuting in America."

Such a pattern tends to begin with companies moving out of a city to a
suburb, enticing workers to move to less-expensive outer suburbs, he told
Reuters. "People see this as an opportunity to go farther away," he said.

Such a move may provide more affordable housing or better schools. Even
high fuel costs -- Givens spends about $185 a week on gasoline -- can
pay off in a better quality of life, Pisarski said.

Doreen DeJesus rides a bus from her home in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania,
across New Jersey to her job in Manhattan.

The payoff is a house in the country, she said.

"It's a matter of getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city," said
DeJesus, 37. "It's not an easy thing, but most days it's really worth it.

"My boss thinks I'm nuts," she added.

Studies show 7.6 percent of U.S. commuters traveled more than an hour to
work in 2004, the most recent data available, up from 6 percent in 1990.
The average one-way commute grew by 13 percent to 25.5 minutes
between 1990 and 2000.

In 1990, only in New York state did more than 10 percent of workers spend
more than an hour to get to work, Pisarski said. Now that situation can be
found in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois and California as well, he said.

CONGESTION WORSENS

Added to long commutes is increased congestion, according to the Texas
Transportation Institute's 2005 Urban Mobility Report. Commuters typically
spent 47 hours a year in traffic jams, up from 40 hours a decade earlier,
the study showed.

"That's the time wasted above and beyond just being able to make the
trip," said David Schrank, co-author of the report.

But the trips can be worthwhile, said Kay Phillips who works in Chapel Hill,
North Carolina, 164 miles from her home in Granite Falls.

"I really love what I do, so I don't mind," she said.

.