However, what if you find a beautiful piece of coal that just needs some polishing to become a diamond? It takes cash to mine diamonds and you probably don't want to plunk down everything out of pocket. That's where the FHA 203k loan program comes in handy!

There are other rehab loans on the market but generally they require two loans with relatively high interest rates that can eventually be refinanced at a lower rate when the property is brought back to good condition. For many buyers, this financing is prohibitive because it has very stringent borrower requirements.

Like other FHA loans, HUD requires the property to be single family which in the government's eyes actually means 1-4 units. Generally speaking, average homes and many condos will qualify for the 203k program -- even moving a home to a new lot is sometimes eligible!

Here are three common ways to use a 203k loan:

• To demolish a home or move a home to a new lot.
• To purchase a home and roll rehab costs into the loan.
• To refinance an existing loan and get more money out to finance repairs.

Officially, you can't finance "luxury items" with loan proceeds. You can finance all costs of necessary improvements though, including but not limited to additions, painting and trim work, decks, and energy related improvements.

Overall, the FHA's 203k loan program is a great way to buy a fixer upper, with minimum cash out of pocket, and earn some sweet equity buy doing repairs on your own. I highly recommend looking into it if you're considering purchasing a home that needs more than a few repairs.

This guest post was written by Brandon Laughridge of Mortgage Loan Place. MLP specializes in educating consumers about every type of home loan. Check out the Mortgage Loan blog for up-to-date commentary on the mortgage market.

Photo Credits: Hammer51012

Originally posted 2009-06-24 19:35:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• 6 Great Home Uses for Power Pressure Washers Power pressure washers are handy pieces of equipment for home use, and some models are made for commercial use, as well. Unless you plan on running a pressure washing business, however, you can get away with a relatively inexpensive piece of equipment that can you use to do a large......
• Review: Welcome Home: A Home Improvement and Decorating Organizer by Christina Poggi and Nick Beilenson Welcome Home: A Home Improvement and Decorating Organizer is released as a three ring binder, with each of its many pages ready to store information about your home. Included are pages for placing contact information for your realtor, repair people, utilities, and other important contact information. It will also help......
• Home Maintenance Given that buying a home is the biggest investment that people make, home maintenance is an important part of owning a home. One hopes that their investment is worth as much as it can be, and to ensure that maintenance has to be done. Preventative maintenance avoids very costly repairs......
• 3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Home There are a wide variety of different things that you can do to improve your home. There are probably dozens of small steps that could be taken today to enrich the quality of your home. Here are three simple ways to improve your home, which can be accomplished in as......
• How to Get a Higher Appraisal For Your Home If you’re trying to sell your home in today’s market, you may be faced with a lowball appraisal that could threaten a loan. Even the nicest houses are being downgraded, and if your area has had a lot of foreclosures, getting a good appraisal may be next to impossible. However,......

• Commercial Real Estate Opportunities
• Timeshares for Sale Real Estate Opportunities
• Real Estate Opportunities
• Land Real Estate Opportunities
• Cash Registers Banks, Registers Vending Collectibles

For starters, you can always purchase material through the internet. Discount home improvement retailers exist all over the internet and many of them are willing to part with materials of certain types for prices that are a lot cheaper than you would ever be able to get at your local home improvement retailer. Now it is worth noting that a lot of the time these lower prices are because the quality of the materials is actually lower. However, this is something that you should come to expect since it is no different between two grades of wood in the brick and mortar retailer. One is cheaper because it is of an inferior quality. When you compare two types of material of the same make and quality however, what you will find is that the online version is cheaper than the offline version due to a smaller mark-up on the base price.

The internet is not your only source for discount home improvement though. You can also go and purchase materials second hand. There are many people out there that overbuy materials and then have to get rid of those materials in one way or another. They might take them to junkyards or they might try to sell them back to the people they bought them from. Scoping out these areas for second hand materials might just allow you to save enough money in the long run that you can use all of that money to pay for an entire project later on. This is just one example of how saving money can add up over the long term.

Another way in which you can save money with discount home improvement is by taking bits of materials and stitching them together. For example, it is possible to take scraps of wood and then put those scraps together in order to create the planks that you need for your different projects. If you paint over the planks it is quite possible to create them such that nobody would ever know that they started out as multiple pieces of scrap wood. This is advanced handyman style, but if you adopt it you can certainly use it as one tactic in an arsenal to save as much money on your home improvement actions as possible.

Photo Credits: andreas hagerman

Originally posted 2009-09-11 09:16:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• The Easiest Home Improvement Projects Some home improvement projects are simply easier than others, but they all make a powerful impact when it comes to increasing the value of your home. Whether you are increasing the monetary value of your home to sell it, or the aesthetic value for the sake of your own family,......
• Easy Home Improvement Projects Fixing up your very own home with some easy home improvement projects can be enjoyable as well as profitable, even when you are only making a few easy home improvement changes in your space. There are several different touches that you can implement to your bathroom or your kitchen in......
• When to Use Home Improvement Services Nobody likes to admit defeat, but when it comes to the DIY industry there are going to be times when you might need to do so. The project might turn out to be more than you anticipated. You might hit an unforeseen circumstance that is beyond your current skills. The......
• Some Good Home Improvement Advice There are many points of view from which you can take a look at home improvement advice.  When we discuss the different home improvement options, our tendency is to do so from the point of view of most of the people that become handy-capable around the house.  That point of......
• Using Home Improvement Centers Effectively Home improvement centers are all over the place these days. Even if you don’t contract them to do any work at your house, chances are very good that you are going to end up purchasing at least some of your raw materials from them. Depending on where in the country......

• Saws Hand Tools Tools Home Improvement
• Single Pliers Pliers Hand Tools Tools Home Improvement
• Planes Hand Tools Tools Home Improvement
• Pry Bars Hand Tools Tools Home Improvement
• Screwdriver Sets Screwdrivers Hand Tools Tools Home Improvement

Before you can judge the home improvement cost of a project and determine whether that cost is something that you would like to incur, you need to understand how to actually put together the cost of a project.  You need to understand what goes into the cost of a project and be able to add all of those disparate elements together in order to form the end cost estimate that you will then use to judge the worth of a particular project.

The two most obvious sources of cost are materials and labor.  When you are dealing with the home improvement cost of materials, you will find that you need to include everything that you would use in the project.  This means that if you need to purchase some extra tools in order to help you with the project, the cost of the tools need to be at least partially factored into the materials cost.  The more you suspect you will use the tools for future projects, the less of a percentage you need to include.  Aside from that, pricing the different materials should be relatively straightforward.

The next cost source that you need to think about is labor.  If you are doing the home improvement cost of a project that will be done at home, the good news is obviously that labor costs are going to be free.  If you are getting anyone to help you in any way, shape or form however, you definitely need to make sure that you factor those costs in as well.

Once you have completed the home improvement cost assessment of a particular project, you are going to be in the position of having a pretty good idea of how much a particular project might cost.  This is something that you should get into the habit of doing for all of your projects so that you always have a good idea of the ballpark cost of a project before you start on it.  If at any point you start to realize that the work you do on your own is starting to cost more than hiring an expert, you should definitely think about switching.

This is rare however, because most people tend to get better at this type of work as they do more of it.  If that is the case with you, one thing that you should definitely notice is that the materials home improvement cost of each successive project drops a little bit.

Photo Credits: The Consortium

Originally posted 2009-09-04 09:45:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Kitchen Remodeling Ideas Under $1000 If you've spent much time looking through magazine or home improvements stores, you might not realize that some of the best kitchen remodeling ideas are small ones. In most areas, a high-end, completely top to bottom kitchen overhaul is less likely to give you a return on your investment when......
• It Might Be Time to Consider DIY for Home Improvement When insurance deductibles become so high that it becomes impossible to make claims to repair blown down fences and make routine home improvements, or when the waiting list for contractor help becomes impossibly long, it might be time to consider getting things done yourself. In the age of big box......
• Using a Home Improvement Company for Best Results The best thing that you can do with a home improvement company is actually use their expertise. This is something that many people are afraid of doing because they fear that they might get sucked into paying an extra amount of money for the services of a company. This would......
• Using a Home Improvement Video to Guide Your Project Home improvement handymen these days get a lot of their information from the internet. There is nothing wrong with this as there are many sites just like this one that exists to provide people with useful information on the different aspects of home improvement. However, one thing that you need......
• Book Review: No-Fear Home Improvement: 100 Projects Anyone Can Do by Creative Homeowners The Creative Homeowner is one of today’s hottest resources for home improvement and this latest book produced by their editors addresses one of the biggest concerns that homeowners have. They want to start making improvements around their home, but they are too worried that they may mess something up. Considering......

• 18V Batteries Chargers Power Tools Tools Home Improvement
• Calipers Measuring Tools Hand Tools Tools Home Improvement
• 18 volt Cordless Drills Power Tools Tools Home Improvement
• Wrench Sets Wrenches Hand Tools Tools Home Improvement
• Spring C-Clamps Clamps Vises Hand Tools Tools Home Improvement

One of the most truly crucial elements of planning for home improvement is budgeting, because it will stop you from constantly spending money, even at the very end of the project when spending additional money is not necessary. You should be investing as much of your budget for home improvements costs as you can on the actual materials, but you need to keep from being too foolish with your money because you are going to get what you pay for when it comes to your home improvement materials and costs. Good materials for home improvement are not going to be cheap, and cheap ones are never going to be good.

Budgeting is absolutely essential when it comes to any project for the improvement of your home. You should absolutely always be budgeting for unforeseen home improvement costs that may end up coming up in the future when you least expect them. If you do not budget for these unforeseen and unplanned home improvement costs, then you could potentially end up spending a lot more than you initially anticipated. If you do not have a budget then you are more than likely going to continue spending all throughout your project, and your home improvement costs may amount to as much as 30% additional spending that you were not anticipating nor planning for.

There are a lot of different ways that you can cut down on your home improvement costs simply by making sure that you are only buying what you need. There is no point in purchasing something that you do not actually plan on using. This is something that you can eliminate through proper planning of your home improvement costs. The material costs are a very significant aspect of your overall expensive in total, and sometimes they are the most important aspect of your home improvement project. Basically, you are going to want to be able to budget enough for home improvement costs that you are going to get the job done without allowing yourself to spend entirely too much money in the process.

If you are going to be working with a professional or a contractor, then budgeting is going to mean getting different estimates of home improvement costs. Do not simply choose the first estimate that you receive, but rather weigh your options in such a way that you can cut down on your home improvement costs. When all is said and done, you'll be happy to have saved money on your home improvement costs.

Photo credits: ben pollard

Originally posted 2009-09-04 12:59:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Using a Home Improvement Video to Guide Your Project Home improvement handymen these days get a lot of their information from the internet. There is nothing wrong with this as there are many sites just like this one that exists to provide people with useful information on the different aspects of home improvement. However, one thing that you need......
• Using Home Improvement Centers Effectively Home improvement centers are all over the place these days. Even if you don’t contract them to do any work at your house, chances are very good that you are going to end up purchasing at least some of your raw materials from them. Depending on where in the country......
• Easy Home Improvement Projects Fixing up your very own home with some easy home improvement projects can be enjoyable as well as profitable, even when you are only making a few easy home improvement changes in your space. There are several different touches that you can implement to your bathroom or your kitchen in......
• Using a Home Improvement Company for Best Results The best thing that you can do with a home improvement company is actually use their expertise. This is something that many people are afraid of doing because they fear that they might get sucked into paying an extra amount of money for the services of a company. This would......
• Saving Money with Discount Home Improvement When you are purchasing materials for your various home improvement projects, where do you actually go? If you are like most people, chances are that you pay a visit to your local home improvement retailer and purchase the materials from them. If you need a particular tool for that project,......

• Cutting Boards Kitchen Tools & Gadgets Kitchen, Dining & Bar Home Store

Why is establishing remodel cost one of your most important remodeling tools?  Determining your budget at the beginning of your project helps in the following ways:

• Prevents wasting time and money on a project that turns out too expensive for your current budget.
• Allows you to more carefully analyze bids from general contractors.
• Forces you to decide emphatically on what you want and what you can afford.
• Puts you in charge of the project costs, not the general contractor or subcontractors.
• Provide your designer (if needed) with cost parameters that help keep costs reasonable.

Establishing remodel cost is a four step process.  Follow these guidelines, and you will save yourself time, money and a heart attack when the final bills arrive!

1. Establish Project Scope - Your first step is taking an educated guess on the "scope," or definition, of the project.  Are you looking for a complete kitchen remodel, or just some new paint and cabinet hardware?  Are you going to replace a few shrubs in the yard or install a complete outdoor wildlife conservatory?  Use a bunch of different sources (books, magazines, websites, design professionals, etc.) to write out a few bullet points of each component of your remodel, its current condition, and what you want the end product to be.  For example:  Kitchen Cabinets:  Existing - Natural wood, yellowing finish, no door hardware.  After Remodel - Paint-grade cabinets, white, all new hinges and door pulls.  Follow this formula for each piece of the project.

2.  Quantify Units - Now that you have a general idea of the project scope, assess quantities of materials you will need.  Pull out your tape measure and go to town, identifying critical measurements like square footage, lineal footage, etc.  Back to our cabinet example:  Kitchen Cabinets - 20 standard cabinet doors and 6 drawers, 38 lineal foot of uppers and lower cabinet faces and frames,  26 door pulls, 20 pairs of hinges, etc.  Do this quantity analysis for each piece of your remodel.  Take it one at a time.  Trust me, it is not too much.  Carefully analyzing your measurements and units forces you to think logically through the remodel process piece by piece.

3.  Research Prices - This is my favorite part of any remodel project.  It gives me an excuse to visit every hardware store and material supplier that relates to my scope of work.  Take your list established in step one combined with the quantities establishes in step two, and tour the vendors in your area one-by-one.  Carefully research different options, what you like and don't like, and most importantly, unit cost.  You will quickly discover whether or not your remodel dreams are feasible and within your budget.  And believe me, it is better to confirm this sooner rather than later.  You will also quickly gauge which suppliers and employees know their business, and which are just there to fill space and look helpful.  This information is critical once you begin purchasing material.  (I will cover effective purchasing in a subsequent posting).

4.  Create Spreadsheet - Now you are ready to "estimate" you remodel.  I suggest creating a spreadsheet on the computer, as it reduces the chances of a calculation error.  Begin by listing each piece of your project.  You can either use some industry standard construction cost codes (Google "Construction Cost Codes") or just think through your project from floor to ceiling or ceiling to floor.  Once you formulate a list, put your units from step two in a column next to each item.  Then use the third column to input your cost per unit for each item.  Lastly, multiply the unit column by the cost column and discover your material cost for each item.  Labor is a bit more complex to estimate, but a few quick calls to knowledgeable subcontractors in your area will give you a general idea of labor costs.  Once the material and labor costs are totaled, I suggest adding a mark-up if you are going to use a general contractor (10-20%), and an owner contingency cost (5-10%) to the project for those items that inevitable come up in the course of construction.

I encourage you to analyze costs for any remodel project long before you commit to the time, effort and money it takes to complete such a project.  For a sample cost spreadsheet, email me at admin@cheapkitchenremodel.com, and I will send you a document I personally created to analyze kitchen remodel costs.  It can be easily manipulated for different project types.

Deren S. Monday has spent over a decade in the residential and commercial construction industry, and is a graduate of the Construction Management Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.  He is also the author of Your Cheap Kitchen Remodel: A Guide to Your Affordable Dream Kitchen. More information on this book can be found at www.cheapkitchenremodel.com.

Photo Credits: thekitchendesigner.org

Originally posted 2009-09-03 19:42:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• More on How to Winterize Your Home Winter is just around the corner and this means getting your home ready. While this is mainly important for those that live in colder climates, many of these tips are useful even if you have a house in the desert. Getting your home ready for winter is actually quite easy......
• 9 Home Improvement Ideas A great way to save money around the home is to make use of home DIY projects. These projects are typically an exchange of money and time; for putting in a little time and effort, the homeowner will save money in the long run. Listed are nine projects that are......
• If I Had a Hammer: More Than 100 Easy Fixes and Weekend Projects by Andrea Ridout Andrea Ridout is a very well known expert on home repair who instructs millions on her radio show, Ask Andrea. She’s now distilled all of that wonderful knowledge into a home repair book that literally covers everything you could ever do to your house on your own, from A to......
• How to Refinish Kitchen Cabinets If you choose to refinish kitchen cabinets instead of replace them, you'll save thousands of dollars on this improvement. From replacing cabinets at a cost of $3,000 to $5,000 to refinishing them for a few hundred, it's easy to see why this is a popular remodeling decision. Of course, you......
• Kitchen Remodeling Basics Remodeling your kitchen can dramatically increase the value of your home. Whether you are trying to sell your home or you just want it to look nicer, there are a lot of options you can use when remodeling your kitchen. Before you get started, you're going to want to come......

• Keyed Locks Doors Door Hardware Building Hardware Home Improvement
• Complete Bicycles Bicycles Transportation Collectibles
• Handles Pulls Doors Door Hardware Building Hardware Home Improvement
• Keyless Locks Doors Door Hardware Building Hardware Home Improvement
• Knobs Cabinets Cabinet Hardware Building Hardware Home Improvement