Increasing Your Home's Value with an Outdoor Kitchen

A growing number of people are choosing to expand their living space outdoors. In fact, according to the Property and Environment Research Center, 43% of homeowners in the Northeast have some sort of outdoor room. 32 to 34% of those living in the west, Midwest and the south also have an outdoor living space. So, if your home doesn't have any type of outdoor living space, you might want to consider adding an outdoor kitchen.

Increasing the Value of Your Home with an Outdoor Kitchen

By adding an outdoor kitchen to your home, you can potentially increase the value of your home by a significant amount. This is because an outdoor kitchen offers the future homeowner a wide variety of benefits, including:

Providing a great space for social gatherings that helps keep the crowd outdoors
Offering the perfect place for cooking without heating up the house, which helps keep the air conditioning bill down
Keeping all of your cooking in one, easy-to-clean area

So, if you are planning to move soon, you might want to consider adding an outdoor kitchen to your property before you put the property on the market.

Exploring Types of Outdoor Kitchens

You may be surprised to learn that there are actually several different types of outdoor kitchens that you can add to your property without having to spend a great deal of money. In fact, you can easily add on a simple outdoor kitchen for less than $3,000 and you can complete the project in a matter of a couple of weekends if you do the work yourself.

If you have a little more money available for the project, you might want to consider creating a patio addition on your home. With this type of home improvement, you might add a patio cover, a barbeque island, tiling and even a small fireplace. In addition, a patio provides you with plenty of opportunities for landscaping and other décor that can help make your home look more visually appealing. Although a patio addition could cost over $10,000, you can recoup all of the money you invest while also making your home a faster sell.

If money is no object, you might add a luxury outdoor kitchen to your home. With this addition, you would install outdoor ovens, special lighting, fire pits and more. If you are adding an outdoor living area in an effort to increase the value of your home, however, you probably should not create such an elaborate outdoor living space because you are not likely to recoup the cost right away. If you plan on living in the home for a few years before selling it, on the other hand, this type of project will help make your home even more enjoyable while increasing its value when you do put it on the market.


About the Author:
Shannon Kietzman is a well known author and trusted resource. Shannon regularly writes for http://www.byownermls.com/, a For Sale By Owner MLS service, the leading real estate search engine of homes for sale by owner (FSBO). For more information, please visit http://www.byownermls.com/.

Creating a Contract with Your Contractor

Are you getting ready to hire a contractor to perform some work on your home before you put it on the market? If so, it is essential for you to have a contract in place before any money exchanges hands. But, do you know what kind of information should be included in your contract? Although every situation is different, there are a few essentials that you should insist upon being included in your contract before you sign it and allow work to begin.

Some Basic Information

It may sound obvious, but many homeowners proceed with a contractor without having some of the most basic information included in the contract. Some of the basics that should be covered regardless of the project include:

· Contractor's name
· Contractor's mailing address
· Contractor's physical address
· Contractor's phone number
· Your name
· The location of the job site
· Your address
· The current date
· Estimated start and completion date

By including these basics, it is clear where and when the job should start and how each party can get in contact with the other whenever necessary.

Covering the Costs

In addition to including information about the basics, your contract should also include plenty of information regarding how and when the contractor will be paid. Namely, the contract should include:

Estimated cost of the job
Payment schedule

The payment schedule included within the contract should be a schedule that you have discussed with the contractor and you have both agreed upon. In addition, this section should be quite detailed and clear. For example, you may agree to pay 1/3 of the cost before the job is started, 1/3 halfway through completion and another 1/3 when the job is complete. Regardless of how your payment schedule is set up, however, be certain to keep track of the payments you have made and never pay in cash. In addition, never make the final payment until after you have inspected the work and are satisfied with the end result.

Keeping Yourself Protected

There are also several things that should be included in your contract in order to keep yourself protected. Some of these include:

Release of lien clauses - provides you with copies of lien releases after the subcontractors get paid
Written warranty - provides names and addresses of those providing warranty coverage as well as the limitations and the length of the warranty
Dispute resolution clause - provides information regarding how problems will be resolved when they occur
Right of rescission - makes note of the Federal Trade Commission's right of rescission clause, which allows homeowners to back out of a contract within three days after signing without any repercussions
Inspection failure clause - stipulates that the contractor must make any necessary corrections at no cost to the homeowner if the work does not pass inspection
Proof of insurance - your contractor should have personal liability, automobile and workman's compensation insurance in place and should provide you with proof of this coverage

In addition to having these legal documents in place, your contract should also clearly state the duties the contractor is expected to perform as well as include a list of materials that are to be used on the job. The list should be very specific in order to ensure the materials you have requested and utilized. Remember, the more specifics you include in your contract, the better protected you will be!


About the Author:
Shannon Kietzman is a well known author and trusted resource. Shannon regularly writes for http://www.byownermls.com/, a For Sale By Owner MLS service, the leading real estate search engine of homes for sale by owner (FSBO). For more information, please visit http://www.byownermls.com/.

For Sale By Owner - December 2008 Trends

For Sale By Owner Real Estate Trends

Most Popular*

Top Cities 1. Brooklyn, NY 2. Houston, TX 3. Louisville, KY 4. Philadelphia, PA 5. Knoxville, TN 6. Plano, TX 7. San Antonio, TX 8. Kansas City, MO 9. Tampa, FL 10. San Dallas, TX		Top States 1. Florida 2. Texas 3. New York   4. North Carolina   5. Georgia 6. Pennsylvania 7. Tennessee 8. Illinois 9. Missouri 10. Louisanna		Most Viewed Properties 1. Duplex/Triplex- $329,900 Philadelphia, PA 2. Log Cabin - $195,800 - Cuba, NY 3. Condo/Townhome - $369,000 - Wildwood, NJ 4. Duplex/Triplex - $128,000 - Denton, TX 5. Single/Family - $650,000 - Normandy Park, WA 6. Condo/Townhome - $424,000 - Seattle, WA 7. Single Family - $384,000 - Edison, NJ 8. Single Family - $510,000 - Rhinelander, WI 9. Single Family - $839,000 - Mokena, IL 10. Condo/Townhome - $224,900 - Houston, TX
*Based on property views on ByOwnerMLS.com in December 2008.

About the Author:

Greg Sullivan is the President of www.ByOwnerMLS.com, a For Sale By Owner MLS service, the leading real estate search engine of homes for sale by owner (FSBO). For more information, please visit www.byownermls.com.