Realty Insights for Home Buying, Home Selling, and Indy Info

Thinking about remodeling but worried that you won't get your money out of the project when you sell? How do you decide what to remodel and how much to spend? Well, the return for remodeling depends first on what part of the country you live in. In the December 2006 issue of REALTOR magazine, they outlined four different, common remodeling projects. They described the cost involved, the resale value and the cost recouped for the projects in different areas of the country. For more information, check out the full article at http://www.realtor.org/rmomag.NSF/pages/2006CostvsValue?OpenDocument In Indianapolis, the averages are as follows: Kitchen Job cost--$17,945 Resale value--$13,019 Cost recouped--72.5% Bathroom Job cost--$12,894 Resale value--$8,393 Cost recouped--65.1% Home office Job cost--$20,181 Resale value--$9,643 Cost recouped--47.8% Basement Job cost--$58,923 Resale value--$39,200 Cost recouped--66.5%

Hi, I trust your New Year is off to a great start. One of my resolutions is to make this blog even more relevant to my readers. One way I want to do that is to share more local information that may not be readily available to everyone. This post will highlight Zionsville, Indiana , a charming colonial village just west of Carmel and northwest of Indianapolis. Zionsville features a brick Main Street filled with antique shops, restaurants, both ladies and men's clothiers, gift stores, a wide variety of bridal salons and wedding planners, and even an antique Toy Museum--opening in 2007. The charm of Zionsville extends to the surrounding homes in an area called The Village. This inviting area is highlighted by homes built in the late 1800's and early 1900's with architectural styles such as Victorian, Italianate, Federal, Colonial, Greek Revival. Perhaps the most endearing part of Zionsville, however, is the people themselves. People truly care about their community, their scho...

Did you make a New Year's Resolution to update your home's interior? Need some ideas for what's in in color this year? The trends in colors for your home in 2007 will be browns, blues, burnt orange and green. Brown can be both feminine and masculine, depending on what its paired with. Add splashes of pink to brown to bring out its feminity, or pair brown with blues and greens for a more masculine look. Preppy blues like sky blue and aquamarine brighten up any room. Burnt orange shows sophistication and feels earthy and peaceful. Green is pyschologically calming and compliments many other colors. This year, resolve to try a new color in your home, even if its just as an accent color. Happy Painting! Lindsey