Fall is a great time to make Columbia SC home repairs because during the winter months, small problems can become expensive nightmares. The following tips can save you hundreds, if not thousands, in Columbia SC home repairs.
Outdoor Columbia SC Home Repairs
Take advantage of the cooler weather to do home and yard repairs and spruce-ups.
Leaves that have fallen can kill grass when they're matted all winter. Leaf piles can also attract rodents. But using leaf bags means work and waste if they go into a landfill.
Don't overlook your mower's mulching mode. Ground-up leaves feed your lawn and save money. You might need to make a few passes to slice the leaves small enough to decay.
Along with saving the cost of leaf bags, you avoid blisters on your hands and sidestep the stooping and bending of raking and bagging.
Check Your Roof
Leaks can eventually damage the wood sheathing and rafters below the shingles, leading to thousands of dollars in Columbia SC home repairs. Use binoculars to spot cracked, curled, or missing shingles from the ground. Consider having a roofing pro check flashing around chimneys, skylights, and roof valleys for leaks, and the rubber boots near vents for cracks that can let moisture seep in.
Clear Your Gutters
Gutters full of leaves, pine needles, and other debris allows water to spill over the side, pool around your home's foundation, and seep inside. Water that freezes in gutters can force snow and ice into roof shingles, causing damage and leaks. Consider a gutter-guard system to keep debris out and water in.
Close Your Hoses
Pipes can burst when water inside expands as it freezes, creating an expensive mess in your home. Shut off inside valves that control water flow to hose spigots. Then briefly open the spigots to drain any leftover water in pipes and hoses. Also drain water from supply lines for water sprinklers and pools, and shut off inside valves that control them. And help prevent freezing by insulating pipes in unheated areas.
Inside Columbia SC Home Repairs
Your furnace or heat pump will be less likely to fail on a cold day if you just take care of a little maintenance now.
Plug Leaks
The swiftest savings come from sealing air leaks in your home's walls, windows, and especially its ductwork. Duct insulating and sealing are best left to a professional. But you can use a combination of caulk, foam board, expandable sealant, and weather stripping to plug leaks around windows, doors, electrical outlets, and other openings in your home.
Automate Energy Savings
Simply lowering temperatures 10 to 15 degrees while you're at work or asleep can trim 15 percent off your heating bill if you use oil or gas to heat your home. You can lower temperatures manually on any thermostat or install a programmable thermostat (about $40 to $300) to do it for you.
If you use a heat pump, don't be making drastic changes in your thermostat setting. Doing so with a heat pump can actually cost you more when you crank up the temperature and cause your electric back up heat strips to kick in.
Replace Air Filters
A dirty air filter reduces heat and airflow, which can lead to expensive repairs. Check the air filter in the furnace or heat pump each month. Have a pro check the system annually, tightening electrical connections, lubricating moving parts, and checking drains, controls, and connections for oil and gas systems.
Clean Your Chimney
A wood-burning fireplace or stove may be cozy, but creosote buildup can block the flow of smoke and cause chimney fires and carbon-monoxide poisoning. Even unused chimneys can develop cracks that weaken the structure. If your chimney hasn't had a recent inspection, now's the time.
Just going through and making these simple Columbia SC home repairs and checking to make sure things are in order for winter, can save you thousands of dollars later on.
Doing a home repair job yourself can save you a ton of money. But if you're not careful, it can cost you even more than hiring a professional to do the same home repair job for you.
Here are some "Do it Yourself" mistakes you need to avoid if you really want to save money on the project.
To get more DIY tips, along with other Columbia SC home improvement ideas and tips, click on the "Columbia SC Home Improvements" link to your right under Columbia SC Real Estate Categories.
Planning to do some Columbia SC home remodeling and think you have it planned down to the penny what it's going to cost? Better think again.
We've touched on the importance of making sure you have a budget in other articles we've posted on this subject. Even when people make a budget, what they often forget is to factor in for surprises.
It's always a good idea to budget 20 to 30 percent over your remodeling estimate so that you're covered no matter what happens. Here's just a sampling of the surprises you might encounter when tackling a Columbia SC home remodeling job.
Columbia SC Home Remodeling – Hidden Horrors
If demolition reveals a colony of creepy crawlies lurking beneath your drywall, you'll have to call in the pest control folks to evict them before work can proceed. Insects and vermin are just one unpleasant surprise you might discover — you never truly know what's going on behind the walls until you tear them out. Prepare for the possibility of mold, faulty wiring or plumbing, asbestos and other pricey pitfalls.
Columbia SC Home Remodeling – Storage Issues
You'll need to stash your stuff somewhere while work is in progress. If you don't have a garage, attic, basement or a willing friend with a large spare room, you may need to rent an offsite storage unit for the duration of your Columbia SC home remodeling project. Depending on size and other factors, these units can cost anywhere from $20 to a few hundred bucks a month.
Columbia SC Home Remodeling – Higher Utility Bills
Who's electricity powers all those table saws, nail guns, paint sprayers and floor sanders? That's right — yours! In addition, heavy traffic in and out of the house could cause your heating and cooling bills to escalate, especially in hot or cold weather.
Columbia SC Home Remodeling – Eating Out
Does your Columbia SC home remodeling project include a kitchen makeover? You won't be whipping up meals in your brand new kitchen for a while, and you can spend a small fortune on restaurant meals and takeout in the meantime. Even prepared or microwaveable foods cost significantly more than cooking from scratch, so add this cost into your budget.
Columbia SC Home Remodeling – Higher Property Taxes
Major additions or updates, particularly in spaces such as kitchens and baths, can increase your home's assessed value, and that can enlarge your tax bill. Assessors typically get copies of building permit applications, so they'll know about your project and may determine that it warrants upgrading your home's value.
These are just a few of the many costs you may need to factor in when planning the budget for your Columbia SC home remodeling. If you've done a remodeling job and had hidden or unexpected expenses related to the job that we haven't covered here, tell us about them in the comment box below.
After years of decline, it appears that Columbia SC home renovations are on the upswing again. If you're planning a Columbia SC home renovations project of your own, be sure to use an often neglected tool in your planning – a budget!
Establishing a Columbia SC home renovations budget cap and looking for painless ways to reduce your overall cost will stop you from spending more than you can hope to recoup when it's time to sell your home one day.
To figure out what's safe to spend, you'll need to determine how much of your home's value is represented by the room you're planning to redo.
Budgeting Your Columbia SC Home Renovations Project
In general, your kitchen accounts for 10% to 15% of your property's value; bathrooms, 5% to 10%; half-baths, 5%, and a finished basement or attic, 10% to 15%. To calculate your budget cap, multiply that percentage by your property value. So if you're planning, say, a major kitchen renovation on a $400,000 home, you wouldn't want to spend more than $60,000. Of course, budget to spend less than the calculation if that's more than you can afford.
When remodeling existing space, you can trim your costs by minimizing changes to the footprint. Any wall you don't move or remove will save $3,000 to $5,000. Ask your contractor if it's possible to avoid stripping open the walls and ceilings. That could save you another $2,000 to $5,000, even after workers make some temporary holes to snake in new wiring and pipes.
Putting new bathroom or kitchen plumbing fixtures and appliances in the same spot their predecessors were located could slash your project cost by $2,000 to $3,000 because the existing pipes and electrical lines can be reused.
Homeowners doing their own Columbia SC home renovations often tackle things like painting themselves. Doing so can save you up to $1000 per room. If you really want to save, consider doing your own demolition as well. As long as you can do the job correctly and safely, pulling out appliances, plumbing fixtures, cabinets, and tiles could save you $2,000 to $5,000 or more.
If doing a kitchen remodel, look for scratch and dent sales where you might pick up a new appliance with low visibility damage that could save you some serious dollars per appliance. Countertops are another area where you can either save, or spend through the nose. For example, choosing a simple squared-off edge profile (called "eased") rather than a more complex pattern could save $500 to $1,000.
These are just a few of the many ways you could save some dollars on the budget of your Columbia SC home renovations project. For more home improvement tips, visit our Columbia SC Home Improvements section under Columbia SC Real Estate Categories to your right for more articles and information.
Everyone who owns a Columbia SC home must face routine maintenance, such as replacing worn-out plumbing components or staining a deck, but some choose to make improvements with the intention of increasing the home's value.
Certain projects, such as adding a well thought-out family room – or other functional space – can be a wise investment, as they do add to the value of your Columbia SC home. Other projects, however, allow little if any opportunity to recover the costs when it's time to sell.
Things You Think Add Value To Your Columbia SC Home, But Really Don't
Swimming Pool
A swimming pool is one of those things that may be nice to enjoy at your friend's or neighbor's house, but can be a hassle to have at your own Columbia SC home. Many potential homebuyers view swimming pools as dangerous, expensive to maintain and a lawsuit waiting to happen. Families with young children in particular may turn down an otherwise perfect house because of the pool (and the fear of a child going in the pool unsupervised). In fact, a would-be buyer's offer may be contingent on the home seller dismantling an above ground pool or filling in an in-ground pool.
An in-ground pool costs anywhere from $10,000 to more than $100,000, and additional yearly maintenance expenses need to be considered. That's a significant amount of money that might never be recouped if and when the house is sold.
High-End Upgrades
Installing stainless steel appliances in your kitchen or imported tiles in your entryway may do little to increase the value of your Columbia SC home if the bathrooms are still vinyl-flooring and the shag carpeting in the master bedroom is leftover from the '60s. Upgrades should be consistent to maintain a similar style and quality throughout the home. A remodel might not fetch as high a return if the rest of the home is not brought up to the same level. High-quality upgrades generally increase the value of high-end homes, but not necessarily mid-range houses where the upgrade may be inconsistent with the rest of the house.
Wall-to-Wall Carpet
Potential homebuyers today often cringe at the idea of having wall-to-wall carpeting. Carpeting is expensive to purchase and install. In addition, there is growing concern over the healthfulness of carpeting due to the amount of chemicals used in its processing and the potential for allergens (a serious concern for families with children). Add to that the probability that the carpet style and color you thought was absolutely perfect might not be what someone else had in mind.
Overbuilding for the Neighborhood
Homeowners often make improvements to their property that unintentionally makes the home fall outside of the norm for the neighborhood. While a large, expensive remodel, such as adding a second story with two bedrooms and a full bath, might make your Columbia SC home more appealing, it will not add significantly to the resale value if the house is in the midst of a neighborhood of small, one-story homes.
Homebuyers don't want to pay $450,000 for a house in a neighborhood with an average sales price of $250,000; the house will seem overpriced even if it is more desirable than the surrounding homes. The buyers will instead look to spend the $450,000 in a $450,000 neighborhood. Your house with all its improvements might be beautiful, but any money spent on overbuilding might be difficult to recover unless the other homes in the neighborhood are pretty much the same.
Extensive Landscaping
Columbia SC home buyers may appreciate well-maintained or mature landscaping, but don't expect the home's value to increase because of it. A beautiful yard may encourage potential buyers to take a closer look at the property, but will probably not add to the selling price. If a buyer is unable or unwilling to put in the effort to maintain a garden, it will quickly become an eyesore, or the new homeowner might need to pay a qualified gardener to take charge. Either way, many buyers view elaborate landscaping as a burden (even though it might be attractive) and, as a result, are not likely to consider it when placing value on the home.
The Bottom Line
It's hard to imagine spending thousands of dollars on a home-improvement project that will not be reflected in the home's value when it comes time to sell. There is no simple equation for figuring out which projects will bring the highest return, or the most bang for your buck. Some of this depends on the local market and even the age and style of the house.
Homeowners frequently must choose between an improvement they would really love to have (the in-ground swimming pool) and one that would prove to be a better investment. A bit of research, or the advice of a qualified real estate appraiser, can help homeowners avoid costly projects that don't really add value to your Columbia SC home.