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Pacificpavingstone.com: Home Values, Curb Appeal, And Your Neighbor's Driveway
It's no news that the housing market is in trouble. What is good news, and it's not something you hear about from the media, is that Southern California home prices have pretty much stabilized. They didn't crash, the bottom didn't fall out of the market as some doomsayers predicted, and although prices are a few percent below their 2005 peak, things are nowhere near as grim as the news would have you believe.
Most homeowners are doing the sensible thing and staying put. Why put your home on the market when mortgages are temporarily more difficult to get, it will probably take a long time to sell, and you might not get the price you want? You can accumulate equity while you enjoy the security of owning your own home, and you can plan ahead to when the market (as it always does) moves back into its long uptrend. But there are plenty of things you can do right now to increase the asset value of your home so that when the time comes, you get top dollar for your home.
Making an Investment
A good investment is when you put money into something that gives back more value than you put in. Interest from the bank is one way to do that, but it's a slow process and the return isn't great. The stock market is a risk, even if you're an expert. Real estate has been and still is the only long term "sure thing," so it just makes sense to invest in your home.
What makes a good investment in a home? It's the same thing that makes a good investment anywhere: add more dollar value to your home than the cost of the upgrade.
A roof or windows that aren't in sound condition can be fixed or replaced and will usually at least break even as an investment. The hidden things that can lead to problems or damage, such as the plumbing, air conditioning or electrical systems, are obvious targets for home improvement, but the best investments, as any real estate professional will tell you, are the things that add "curb appeal" to the home.
Curb appeal is a combination of factors, like the front yard, fence, driveway and exterior paint. If any of these are in bad shape, they reduce the perceived value of your home; and perceived value is everything in selling a home. Two of the most important "curb appeal killers" are cracked or deteriorated driveways and an overgrown front yard.
Concrete and asphalt deteriorate quite rapidly once installed.
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cracks (concrete contractors often joke that the only thing you can guarantee about is that it will crack), asphalt cracks and degrades through the action of heat and sunlight. Both stain easily and are hard to clean. Any repairs are visible forever unless the entire surface is replaced. Stamped and colored can look exceptional when first installed, but suffer from the same problems as any other kind of concrete.
Paving stones, by contrast, are guaranteed for life against cracking and are individually replaceable, so severe stains, paint spills or other problems (such as when junior discovers that Dad's tools can be used to carve names into the driveway) are easily and invisibly remedied. Add to that the fact that a well designed paving stone driveway, walkway or deck is drop-dead beautiful and will last longer than the house, and you have superb "curb appeal" and one of the strongest investments you can make in your home.
The Pacific Pavingstone division of Pacific Outdoor Living is famous for the quality of our work, attention to detail, and thousands of delighted customers. What's not talked about much is the increase in home value that comes from replacing an old, worn-out driveway, patio, or walkway with the beauty and lasting value of paving stones.
And the one thing that is never mentioned (except when real estate people get together) is the fact that when your neighbors do the same thing, the value of the whole neighborhood goes up. Every additional piece of "curb appeal" on a street increases the value of ALL the homes: a beautiful neighborhood is more desirable than one that doesn't look like it's being cared for.
So don't underestimate the value of getting your friend down the street to replace that cracked driveway with new paving stone. It could make a big difference to your home's value, when it comes time to sell.
Terry Morrill is President of Pacific Pavingstone (http://www.pacificpavingstone.com), a company that installs paving stone driveways, patios and pool decks in Southern California. He also owns California Waterscapes (http://www.californiawaterscapes.com), specializing in designing and installing ecologically balanced ponds, streams and waterfalls, and Pacific Outdoor Living Pro Division (http://www.propondswest.com), a nationwide distributor of Aquascape pond products.
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