Ways To Make Money With Your Home

You may not have known it but you may be sitting on some extra income. Your home can be monetized if you're willing to use a little elbow grease and ingenuity. BankRate.Com has an article with "12 Ways to make your house a cash cow." Here are some of the highlights:

"Fire up a bakery or production kitchen 

Do you have an unused mother-in-law apartment or an industrial-size kitchen that sits vacant all day? Rent it out as a food production facility.
“Food-oriented businesses tend to be very successful.”
Custom cookies and cupcakes, delivered gourmet meals and birthday-party catering are popular services that don't require a storefront but may need additional ovens and kitchen space.
"Food-oriented businesses tend to be very successful," Jones says. 

Share your garage 

If you have a garage you never use -- or an extra spot in a three-car garage -- consider renting out that unused space.
A weekend mechanic who lives in an apartment may pay for the chance to work on his or her ride in your garage. Others may be looking to store a motorcycle, boat, trailer or recreational vehicle.
Still others may prefer the location or convenience of your garage to the local self-storage options, especially if the price is right. If your home is out in the country, you might even discover the next U2 by renting your garage to a local rock band. 

Grow your own money 

If you've got a green thumb and a bit of tillable land, consider growing a cash crop.
Although commodities, such as wheat and cattle, are well beyond the scope of most backyards, berries, flower bulbs, vegetables, grapes, florist products and landscape plants can be cultivated and sold to wholesalers, at farmer's markets or on your front porch.
In the Northeast, you can even tap your maple trees and sell the sap to a sugaring operation.
If you didn't get the green-thumb gene, take a slightly different approach.
For example, enterprising Princeton classmates Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer started their own worm gin, which produces a potent organic fertilizer from worm waste.
Their company, TerraCycle, now sells its products to Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Although Szaky and Beyer started their worm gin in the basement of an office building, you could start a similar venture from the comfort of your home."

To read more tips and ideas click here.

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10 Cheap Repairs to Increase the Value of Your Home

Whether you need a professional contractor or you will make other arrangements there are some repairs that aren't too costly that increase your home's value. An awesome article over at Bankrate.com has some great suggestions and I'll give you some highlights:

2. Give Your Appliances A Face Lift  

When Persley called the dishwasher manufacturer to see about ordering a new, black face panel, the customer service representative clued her in on a big secret: Many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other.
"All I had to do was unscrew two screws, slide out the panel and flip it around. Sure enough -- it was black on the other side!" 

4. Step Up Your Storage.  

Old houses, particularly, are notorious for their lack of closet space. If you have cramped storage areas, Realtor Moe Viessi of Miami suggests adding do-it-yourself wire and laminate closet systems to bedrooms, pantries and entry closets.
Firms like ClosetMaid allow you to measure and redesign your closets online. You can also get design details and parts for these systems at many large home-improvement stores. Most closets can be updated in a weekend or less.
In the end, your closets will be more functional while you're living in the house and will make your home look more customized to potential buyers when you're ready to sell. 

5. Add A Room In A Week or Less.  

"If you have a three-bedroom house with a den, the only reason the den can't be considered a bedroom may be because it doesn't have a closet," says Persley. "If you add a closet to that room, you've now got a four-bedroom house. That adds a lot of value."
Persley says it's usually possible to add a custom closet system and drywall it in for less than $1,500.

To read the rest of the story click here.

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How To Get Rid of Old Furniture or Equipment?

If you are relocating whether commercially or residential and you find yourself asking what can you do with all this stuff you don't need in a month or less. I've compiled a list of 5 things you can consider to get rid of that stuff:

1. Craigslist
You could simply picture the items put up a quick description and price and hope someone wants your stuff. It takes 5 minutes to list. Worse case scenario a lot of times you can put things on the curb and list it for free on the site and someone may come pick it up.

2. eBay
You can list your item on eBay if it has a decent value. Factor in shipping costs they can drastically change a profitable transaction into a disaster.

3. Garage Sale / Liquidation
Host a garage sale, if you're a business then contact liquidation companies.

4. Goodwill / Thrift Store
Donate your items to a thrift store. Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, Humane Society, and many other options exist.

5. Blood Hound
If you are really a blood hound you will find someone to take your stuff. Whether it requires you posting on all kinds of websites, dialing numbers, and asking around.

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Some Home Improvements You Shouldn't Do

A great article over at HomeSessive.com has some great tips on some home improvements you could live without. Even if you have a professional contractor or some other arrangement some home projects just aren't worth the effort or cost. Here are some highlights:

2.  Putting in a poolIn many areas a pool is a detriment and turns people away from your home. 

4. Adding a new roofWhat the studies have shown is that people don't really care much more about the roof than whether or not it leaks. 

9. Replacing kitchen cabinetsTry to give them a little love by painting or refacing before you spend the money completely replacing them.

To read the entire list click here.

Home Repairs You Shouldn't Put Off

A great article over at About.Com details some home repairs that you shouldn't put off. Some of these are simple but important things to handle. If you find yourself in over your head on any of these you may need to call a professional residential contractor or another qualified professional. Some of the more complicated ones are:

Roof Repairs:
High risk in many ways but can be equally dangerous if left unattended. It may be worth the extra money to let an experienced handyman or professional to handle any roof repairs.

Plumbing Leaks:
This is one that should be addressed immediately after discovering. It can lead to horrible water, mold, and structure damage.

To read more of the list click here.

How To Hire or Choose a Reliable Contractor

If you are trying to make sure that you aren't hiring a spotty contractor or handyman it is helpful to follow a few guidelines.

A great post over at LifeHacker.com has some wonderful tips. The first one was probably the most true and important. Be prepared by inspecting your home early and often. This way you can budget for and anticipate work ahead of time. This also gives you time to have several people come in and bid on the job. If finding a professional residential contractor is your goal then starting early is your best bet. To read the rest of the tips click here.

Thinking About Jumping Into The Housing Market

If you're thinking about buying, selling, or even renting a home this seems to be a good time to get moving. There is a general consensus that the housing market is really recovering. An article on the Huffington Post gives some predictions that are worth looking at if you plan to get involved with real estate sometime soon. To read the list click here.