360renos - Home Improvement & Decor

How to make your home stand out when selling

We can help your house sell quickly and at a good price -- even in a slow market.

It takes a lot more than sparkling windows, scented candles and chocolate-chip cookies to sell a home in today's market.

Improvements should be made so that the property shows well, is consistent with the neighborhood and does not involve capital investments.

Beyond any doubt, the best investment you can make is new paint. Painting can make a room or an exterior façade look brand-new, and totally transform the look and feel of a room or the entire residence. It is always wise to be somewhat restrained when choosing colors for a home-staging paint project. Avoid choosing colors that are too individual or flashy and favor neutral colors and schemes. This does not mean painting everything white, however.

Use subtle color schemes to accentuate the home's strengths and minimize weaknesses. Dark colors, for example, tend to make a room feel smaller, while lighter colors and pastels can make a room feel bigger.

There is another benefit to painting as well: the process of preparing the interior or exterior surfaces of a home for painting automatically allows us to go over the entire area receiving paint in great detail, and this can often expose items or areas requiring repair. It seems you always discover where the caulking has let go, where the wall is dinged.

It is always preferable that we discover and deal with these items before the real estate agent (or worse, the prospective buyer) points them out to you!

Dave - 360renos




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Monday, October 12, 2009

Ways to get Government Incentives and Save Part III

Home Renovation Tax Credit

The proposed HRTC is a non-refundable tax credit for work performed or goods acquired in respect of an eligible dwelling.
The credit will only be available for the 2009 tax year and applies to eligible expenditures of more than $1,000, but not more than $10,000, resulting in a maximum credit of $1,350 ($9,000 x 15%).

To be eligible, expenditures incurred in relation to a renovation or alteration to an eligible dwelling (or the land that forms part of the eligible dwelling) must be of an enduring nature and integral to the dwelling, and includes the cost of labour and professional services, building materials, fixtures, rentals, and permits. Eligible expenditures must be supported by acceptable documentation.

Some examples of eligible expenditures: Renovating a kitchen, bathroom or basement; New carpet or hardwood floors; Building an addition, garage, deck, garden/storage shed, fence; Re-shingling a roof; A new furnace, woodstove, boiler, fireplace, water softener or water heater; A new driveway or resurfacing a driveway; Painting of interior or exterior of a house; Window coverings directly attached to the window frame and whose removal would alter the nature of the dwelling; Laying new sod; Swimming Pools (Permanent – in ground and above ground); Fixtures – lights, fans, etc.; Associated costs such as permits, professional services, equipment rentals and incidental expenses.

A new line will be incorporated in the 2009 personal income tax return allowing to claim the credit.
For more information go to
Home Renovation Tax Credit

Courtesy of BestBiddy

Dave - 360renos

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