HOME IMPROVEMENT, HOME SELLERS, CURB APPEAL, TRANSACTION ADVICE
Does Outdoor Improvement Bring Happiness?
Would you be happier if your outdoor space was remodeled with a fireplace, a swimming pool, or a new wood deck? In the 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features, the National Association of REALTORS® found that nearly all homeowners reported increased happiness with their completed outdoor projects – 9.7 out of a possible “Joy Score” of 10.
Using Census data for the average-sized U.S. home – 2,500 sq. ft., built after 1978, and situated on a 14,000 sq. ft. lot – NAR collaborated with the National Association of Landscape Professionals to learn the results of 11 landscaping projects, plus their costs, estimated return on investment for homeowners, and homeowner happiness.
Among the outdoor projects included were: fire feature ($9,000), in-ground pool addition ($90,000), irrigation system installation ($6,000), landscape lighting ($6,800), landscape maintenance ($4,800), new patio ($10,500), new wood deck ($16,900), outdoor kitchen ($15,000), overall landscape upgrade ($9,000), tree care ($2,875) and standard lawn care service ($415).
Interestingly, homeowner happiness was not tied to the highest cost recovery. Homeowners reported the highest Joy Scores for in-ground pool additions (10), landscape lighting (10), and new patios (9.9). Standard lawn care service, the least expensive of the 11 projects, had the highest cost recovery (217%), followed by landscape maintenance (104%), an overall landscape upgrade (100%) and an outdoor kitchen (100%).
Consumers remodel to add features, improve livability, upgrade worn-out materials, or simply to make a change. Another benefit to outdoor remodeling is curb appeal, which is important to homebuyers, says 97% of NAR members.
FINANCE, HOMEBUYING, CREDIT SCORES
How Do Credit Utilization Ratios Affect Credit Scores?
Credit scores from FICO and VantageScore, the two most prominent U.S. credit scoring companies rely on calculations based on a range of data, including payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%).
The total amount you owe, the number and types of accounts you have, and the amount of money owed compared to how much credit you have available compose the “amounts owed” ratio. One of the ways this figure is calculated is through credit utilization, a measure of how much available credit you’re using as it applies to revolving credit accounts, including credit cards, personal lines of credit and home equity lines of credit. These accounts are separate from mortgages or car loans which have fixed terms for repayment.
Most sources say that no revolving line of credit should be utilized more than 30% at a time, so if you have a credit line limit on a bank card of $5,000, having a balance due above $1,500 on that card will lower your credit scores. New loans that don’t have a payment history can also lower your scores, while small balances or balances that were paid off over time can raise your scores.
To calculate your credit utilization ratio, add up all the balances and then the credit limits you have on all your accounts. Then divide the total of the balances by the total of your credit limits. Multiply the result by 100 to see your percentage.
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