With the stock market being where it is and the recession eating away at the economy, it’s become harder than ever to sell a home on the market today. Let’s face it, so many people have defaulted on their home loans that the market is flooded with cheap homes, making it hard to get anything done!  One way to make your home stand out from the rest is to fix it up…but you have to do it the right way! Fixing up the things I’m going to discuss in this article today should add value to your home allowing you to sell it easier or get more money out of a refinance with the bank.  When it comes to renovations that add value to your home, you want to stick to the trends of the day. Whatever is trendy, whatever is popular, that’s what you want focus on. Today some of the main trends revolve around energy-saving appliances, green is in, as well as European stylings.  Designer laminates are very popular for kitchen renovations but wood is still very popular too when it comes to counter tops as well as beams and trim treatments.  Lighting is important too and sometimes very inexpensive to do. These sort of things can include high-tech fixtures that focus on lighting up specific work areas all the way to dimmer switches.  One important trend that seems to be in high demand is the idea of having open kitchens that are integrated into living areas. This is most likely going to include removing a wall or two so it’s not to be done by the lighthearted!  Bathrooms are another area that it can pay to remodel. When it comes to this sort of thing, you usually have two main options and those are to either renovate a current bathroom or add on a new bathroom. Many times additions make the most sense from an economic point of view especially if your house only has one or two bathrooms to begin with.  It may only cost between five and $10,000 to add a new second bathroom, but that can often translate into 100% or 140% increases over the cost you paid for the renovation.  If you choose to renovate an old bathroom you need to be very careful because quite often piecemeal renovation can get carried away with itself and end up costing more than it would’ve cost you to add a new addition! So you really need to be careful. You want to spend as little money as possible on that sort of thing.  Finally replacing windows, doors, and skylights that are not energy-efficient with new energy-efficient models can do wonders for resale value as well.  So there you have several home renovation ideas that can increase the value of your home if you’re trying to sell and can add value to your home and allow you to refinance at a higher rate as well.

Whether you’re doing home renovations in Vancouver or anywhere in the country, the basics are the same. Home renovation projects are typically controlled by a general contractor. He will estimate the scope of your job, determine what trades are involved and draw up the appropriate plans. This would include hiring all sub-trades, getting the proper permits and supervising on site operations.

General contractors take care of functions that tradesmen like plumbers can’t do. They control the project, overseeing everything to completion. You might try to do this yourself but end up with problems that no specific trade could fix. Amateurs attempting a full scale job will run into trouble. So at the very least, meet with a professional to see what jobs you will be competent performing if you want to get involved in the work.

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