Easy Home Improvement Projects with the Best Return on Investment

Looking to make some updates to your home without breaking the bank? Many people are putting their homes on the market right now and making improvements to make their homes more attractive to buyers, but even if you aren’t planning to sell in the immediate future, it can still pay off to make some of the cost-effective, easy home updates suggested in the recent Equifax Finance blog article “Inexpensive Ways to Increase Your Home Value.”

• Update the bathroom: Buyers today expect updated bathrooms, both master baths and powder rooms. Creating the true spa experience by installing a steam shower or built-in sauna is probably out of the budget, but you can easily update the bathroom with new tile. Choose a large tile for the floor (small floor tiles are outdated). Small tiles do work in the shower. Many home improvement retailers offer how-to classes on tile setting, so this is something you could save money on by doing yourself after getting some experience in a DIY class. Then, paint the bathroom walls to give the room a pop. If you do the tile installation yourself, you could do new paint and tile in a powder room for less than $200 and in a standard sized bathroom for less than $400.  The article suggests finding substitutes for popular, expensive tiles like Carrera marble with tiles that look like the more expensive types but are half the cost.   
• Update the basement: Buyers are looking for basements that they can use for more than just storage – they want a gathering space for children, friends and family members that they can be comfortable in. Warm up your basement with wood-look tile or luxury vinyl plank flooring, which both start at under $2 per square foot. These too could be done yourself after taking a DIY class. Then, finish off the update with a new coat of paint, new lighting fixtures and attractive furnishings.

Get the rest of the cost-effective home improvement tips on the Equifax Finance blog, where you can find more advice on real estate and personal finance, from saving money, budgeting, investment, insurance, taxes, credit rating know-how and tips for preventing identity theft.

Home Builder Uses Pinterest to Attract Female Buyers

With women making the majority of all home buying decisions, it should come as no surprise that more home builders are concentrating their efforts on attracting the female demographic to their doorstep. In fact, Pennsylvania homebuilder Keystone Custom Homes is taking a female-centric approach to marketing with their latest Pin-N-Win sweepstakes.

While Pinterest's users are 30 percent male, we can all agree that the site predominately appeals to women. And, along the same line, 11 percent of all Pinterest boards are in the home decor category, making it the number one category for pinboards overall.

These factors are just a few reasons why Keystone Custom Homes has seen such great success with their sweepstakes. Since launching on May 29, the builder has attracted nearly 100 entrants, 140 new followers and more than 500 Facebook likes.

Now through July 5, you too can enter to win a $500 Pottery Barn gift card from Keystone Custom Homes. To enter, follow these simple steps:

• Follow Keystone Custom Homes on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kchhomes.

• Name a new pin board “My KCH Dream Home.”

• Re-pin the sweepstakes image located at www.pinterest.com/kchomes/my-kch-dream-home to the board.

• Repin at least five images from Keystone Custom Homes’ boards. Images should vary and include exteriors, kitchens, family rooms and master bedrooms.

•  Include #mykchdreamhome in the description of each pin.

• Once the “My KCH Dream Home” board is complete, post a comment with the link to it under the pin located at www.pinterest.com/kchomes/my-kch-dream-home.

To learn more, visit www.KeystoneCustomHome.com or call 877-513-0385.

Traton Homes Opens Model Home at Great Oaks Estates

Traton Homes recently opened the new model home at their Great Oaks Estates community in Acworth. Featuring the popular Glenstone floor plan, the full-furnished model home provides buyers with firsthand look into life at Great Oaks Estates.

The Orchards Group Maintains Customer Service for Atlanta Active Adult Homes

The Orchards Group, an active adult homebuilder in Atlanta, prides themselves on maintaining top-notch customer service and high quality. One of the primary ways that they have continued to achieve a 99.4 percent satisfaction score is through continually using many of the same key subcontractors, including the framing crew, foundation and concrete team, drywall team, and paint and trim teams, that have been working with the company since its founding in 1998.

The loyalty both to and from the subcontractors that The Orchards Group works with has enabled them to maintain a level of quality and service that cannot be matched in the market. This has also meant that even though they are sometimes light on inventory, they will not hire any more contractors just to build more homes.

"We may have lost a few possible sales due to our sometimes not having quite enough inventory, but we are willing to take that chance, as it has taken us many years to build up our brand name; we have no intention of letting a few extra sales potentially degrade our reputation," said Mitch Block, Director of Sales & Marketing for the company.

The Orchards Group is currently building two active adult communities with wonderful homes that you will enjoy for years to come, The Orchards of Brannon Oak Farm in Cumming and The Orchards of East Cherokee in Woodstock.

The Orchards of Brannon Oak Farm features zero-to-low maintenance single-family detached homes with ranch or master on the main plans, master on the main villas and ranch condominiums. All of these plans are priced from the mid $200,000s, and include ample living space, entertaining space and multiple amenities. The community showcases two large swimming pools, fire pit, barbecue grilling area and a grand clubhouse. Brannon Oak Farm also has regular community activities planned by the Activities Director, as well as neighbor-friendly streetscapes.

Homeowners at Brannon Oak Farm will also benefit from a location that is central to Lake Lanier, shops, restaurants, recreation, entertainment, healthcare facilities, and more.

The second community, The Orchards of East Cherokee, features two villages with either ranch condominiums plans or single-family homes. All of the homes in East Cherokee are zero-to-low maintenance, and have large covered porches and beautiful master suites. Community amenities include a large swimming pool; waterfall with sitting plaza; barbeque grilling area; planned resident activities and  a grand clubhouse with fitness center, game and card rooms, gourmet kitchen and a fireplace.

East Cherokee is located in historic Hickory Flat, provides convenient access to Roswell, Canton and Woodstock. It is also offers plenty of retail, entertainment, recreation and healthcare options nearby.

For more information on both communities, please visit www.OrchardsGroup.com.  

Noteworthy Changes in Mortgage Standards

Poorly documented mortgages were key players in the housing crash of 2006 and 2007. Many of those mortgages should not have been approved and led to four million foreclosures, devastating families and lowering value by over 50 percent in some communities. Since then, the loaning protocols have seen drastically increasing standards for credit, abilities to repay and better documentation. The Equifax Finance Blog explores how this can affect you in the new article, "Buying a Home? Mortgage Standards You’ll Need to Consider."

These changes threw the market for a loop - many who could once qualify for a mortgage could no longer do so. Approximately 40 percent of residential loans went to homebuyers with credit scores over 740. According to Economists at the National Association of Realtors, 500,000 to 700,000 home sales could be made if credit conditions would return to the prior levels. These statistics serve as reason for many who believe the new standards have been set too high.

Popular Hidden Creek Community Offers New Homes in Augusta from Wilson Parker

Those seeking new homes in Augusta in one of Columbia County's premier planned communities will be delighted to know that Wilson Parker Homes is building their final phase of traditional and Craftsman style homes in the Grovetown community of Hidden Creek.

Homebuyers can select any of their 25-plus floor plans priced from the $180,000s. Whether you are looking for one, two or three-story living, there is a home designed just for you. You'll enjoy spacious floor plans with 2,200 to more than 6,000 square feet with sun rooms, in-law suites, additional bedrooms, bonus rooms, basements and three-car garages.

Outside your home, the fun continues at the community's wealth of amenities including a two-story clubhouse, walking loop, playground and junior Olympic pool with water feature.

At Hidden Creek, you'll never be far from work, school or play. The community is centrally located just minutes from Fort Gordon, I-20, Patriot's Park, the new Steiner Branch YMCA and more.

Children attend top schools all located on the same street as the community including the state-of-the-art Grovetown High, new Middle School to open for the 2013 school year and one-year-old Bakers Place Elementary.

The final phase of homes from Wilson Parker is now underway in this community of homes near Fort Gordon, so stop by today for a tour. The sales office and model homes are open daily. For more information, call 706-863-8438.

Cobb County Home Builder Announces New Community Coming Soon

Traton Homes is excited to announce that they will soon offer luxury townhomes at Village Walk in Smyrna. A Cobb County home builder for more than 40 years, Traton Homes is known for building beautiful homes in the best locations. Homes at Village Walk will be priced from the mid-$200,000s.