It would be nice to be able to trust your contractor’s word when you’re having work done on your home, but a written contract really is the only way to go. Having everything in writing can ensure that every party involved fully and clearly understands what is expected of them. It keeps the job running smoothly and ensures that everyone agrees on what should be done and when.

A written contract with all pertinent details will also protect you should you ever have to seek compensation for a job that was not done as promised. Be sure that your contract includes all of the following elements before you sign on the dotted line.

1. Detailed Description of the Job

Before any contract becomes binding, make sure that it lists in detail all of the specific tasks involved in the project, the materials that will be required, and the associated costs with each.

The contract should also specify that the contractor will apply for and obtain all of the required building permits to legally and safely carry out all the tasks, and that all debris from the demolition will be disposed of appropriately. In addition, make sure the contract specifies that all workers involved are covered by liability and workman’s compensation insurance.

2. How Payments Will Be Made

Obviously, the contract should include the total price for the work involved. But it should also detail exactly when increment payments should be made, how much each payment should be, and how you should be paying the contractor. Usually, an initial deposit is required, which should not be any more than 10% of the entire cost of the project.

Then, further installments will be paid after each milestone has been reached, such as after the drywall has been installed, after the flooring has been laid, and after the kitchen cabinets have gone up. The last portion of the final payment should only be provided after the job has been fully completed to your discretion.

3. Start and End Dates of the Project

You’ll both want to know when the job will be started and roughly when it will be completed in order for you to fit it into your schedules. The end date shouldn’t exactly be written in stone to allow for certain unexpected circumstances; however, it shouldn’t be so far off the original completion date, either. Be sure that these dates are written into the contract.

4. How Changes to the Project Will Be Dealt With

It’s common for home renovation projects to encounter unforeseen situations that can warrant some changes to the original plan. It’s important to anticipate such scenarios, and have a plan in place on how to deal with them.

It should be noted that no changes should take place until the contractor has received written approval from you. Only then should a “change order” take place, which outlines what changes need to be made and any associated costs. 

5. Lien Waivers

Various workers who come onto your property to do work – including plumbers, electricians, drywall tapers, painters, etc – can claim that any work they did on your home was never paid for, even if your contractor did indeed receive payment for the work.

Having a “lien waiver” written into your contract for every installment payment made can protect you from these individuals placing a lien on your property. Every invoice for every payment made should include a signed statement proving that any payments you made to your contractor were in fact used to pay off all the workers involved.   

6. Written Notice of Your Right to Cancel Without Penalty

You may have entered a contract with a contractor to have certain work done on your home, but what if you change your mind at the last minute? What if something comes up that derails your plans for a home renovation?

Luckily, you can back out of your contract without any penalty within three business days of signing it. Having an “escape clause” included in the contact means you can cancel the deal within three days without losing your deposit.

7. Warranty

Having a warranty for all the work done in your home will provide you with reimbursement should something go wrong with the workmanship. Usually, these warranties are for no less than one year. Make sure the name and address of the person or company who will honor the warranty are included in the contract, along with the exact date that the warranty starts and ends. 

8. Signatures

This may sound obvious, but make sure both you and the contractor sign the contract. It won’t be legally binding without these signatures. 

The Bottom Line

Your contract is a crucial element to any home renovation job. It makes sure that each party holds up their ends of the bargain, and protects all parties involved, especially you. Make sure your contract includes all of these elements in order to protect you from any shady behavior from your contractor, and provide you with some recourse should you be defrauded in any way.

The goal of every seller is to sell their home quickly, and for top dollar. Nobody wants to have to pay carrying costs while waiting for the right buyer to come along. The home has to be presented in the most attractive light possible, which is why home staging can work wonders. But a vacant home will do little to showcase the house in a positive light. And the less interest it garners, the longer it will linger on the market.

Here are 5 reasons why leaving your home vacant without having it staged before it hits the market can be a costly mistake.

1. There is Zero Emotional Connection With the Home

An empty house seems cold and barren. It’s not welcoming and inviting in the way that fully furnished and decorated homes are. It echoes, and can even give off a creepy feeling, especially if all the walls are white.

People aren’t just looking for a house – they’re buying into a lifestyle. Buying real estate is most likely the biggest expense anyone will ever make in life. It’s a huge decision that people won’t just jump into right away without some careful thought and consideration. It’s got to feel right to them; they need to essentially fall in love with the house, which is precisely what the goal of home staging is.

It’s crucial for sellers to get the buyers to establish an emotional connection with the home to boost their motivation to buy. A vacant house just doesn’t do that. It’s lifeless and dull, and does nothing to tap into a buyer’s emotions.

2. The Imperfections of the Home Are Magnified 

Furniture and decor have an amazing way of covering up or distracting attention away from any flaws of a home. These decorative elements keep the buyer’s eyes too busy to catch any defects that might exist. When a home is furnished, buyers will able to focus on the positive features of the home and visualize how they can use the space. If all they’re able to look at is bare walls, floors and ceilings, any flaws will actually be magnified instead of camouflaged.

Any scuff marks on the wall, stains on the carpet, scratches on the hardwood floor, outdated light fixtures, gaps between floor tiles, and even ugly switch plates will be noticed. In addition, all the rooms in the house can appear smaller than they actually are without the presence of properly positioned furniture to show how to maximize the space.

3. Buyers Won’t Have a Clear Vision for the Space

Most buyers aren’t able to visualize how a space can be used without it being presented to them on a silver platter. Having a vacant home on the market leaves you with a lot of potential interest lost. If the home isn’t furnished to show exactly what each room’s purpose is, buyers will more likely go home and totally forget whether or not the house had all the specific rooms they need (a third bedroom, a den, a dining room, a home office, etc), or if the home had the necessary amount of space needed for all their furniture and belongings.

It can take a lot longer to sell a vacant home because buyers are often unsure if they can perform their regular routines and activities in the house. This problem is even further magnified if the house is small or has awkward layouts that make furnishing more challenging. Without furniture and decor, buyers will not be able to visualize how the space can work for them.

4. Buyers Can’t Judge the Room’s Size Without Furniture

Buyers will only be able to get a sense of the size of the space if the rooms are furnished. Otherwise, they’ll just be asking themselves a bunch of questions that should have already been answered for them through the home’s furniture arrangement.

Where will the TV go? Will our corner sofa fit in here? Where is the dining area? Is this a bedroom or an office? Buyers will be asking themselves these questions – and more – when they’re staring at vacant rooms. Instead, when the home is properly staged, these queries won’t have to be pondered.

5. The House Won’t Show Well in Photos

One of the most important factors that go into effectively marketing a home for sale is the appeal of the photos. After all, photos online or in print are often the first visual that buyers will get of your home, so you want to make a good first impression to get them to actually book a showing.

But a vacant home doesn’t show nearly as well in photos compared to homes that are staged. You have to make your home stand out and shine. You’ve got to give it a nice packaging to catch a buyer’s attention. Otherwise, you risk having your home linger on the market with minimal interest, while other homes in the area that are staged and furnished get snatched up.

Bottom Line

The longer your home sits on the market, the more carrying costs you’ll have to flip the bill for. And the longer it lingers, the more ‘stale’ the listing will get. If your home is vacant, do yourself a favor and speak with a realtor who can recommend a reputable and professional home stager who can temporarily furnish the place to make it look as visually appealing as possible, and thereby attract the masses.

Stats have proven that staged homes sell faster and for more money, so why wouldn’t you want to benefit from that yourself?

If you’re planning on selling your home and moving some time in the near future, you should think about the features in your house, and whether or not buyers want what you’ve got. Yet a lot of home buyers might be hesitant to blow money on upgrades if they don’t plan on taking advantage of them for long.

Think about it, the cost you incur to make these upgrades might be a lot less compared to the loss you’ll take upon the sale of your home if you don’t include certain features that buyers in your area desire. It really can mean the difference between getting the price you want, and letting the listing go stale.

Here are a few popular features that will most likely help you sell your home faster.

Gourmet Kitchen

The kitchen is always a huge selling point for homes. Buyers love it when they walk into a home and see a kitchen masterfully outfitted with updated features and appliances. Kitchen makeovers are always at the top of the list when it comes to the biggest ROI.

What exactly sets a typical kitchen update apart from a gourmet kitchen?

Three features are a part of this equation:

1) Cutting-edge appliances

2) Gorgeous surfaces

3) Tons of storage

You can’t call a kitchen ‘gourmet’ if it’s not equipped with a top-of-the-line gas range and deep refrigerator. Don’t forget the convection double oven, warming oven, and microwave drawer – gourmet cooks appreciate having these features in their kitchens. At the very least, consider installing stainless steel appliances, which are always sharp-looking and make a statement.

When it comes to the surface that cooks like to work on, consider stainless steel or stone counters. If these aren’t in the budget, you can mimic the look with a laminate. People who watch all those home improvement or cooking shows expect kitchen to look like the ones on TV.

Potential buyers will definitely be going through all the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. Those with ample space will always score big points.

Energy Efficient Appliances, Windows and HVAC Systems

Buyers are savvy these days, and they are increasingly expecting homes to feature energy-efficient windows and appliances to help shave the cost off their monthly utility bills.

Energy Star windows come with an invisible glass coating, vacuum-sealed gaps with inert gaps, durable weather stripping, and high quality framing materials – all of which can help to cut down energy costs by as much as 15%.

‘Green’ HVAC systems can cut 20% off your annual utility bills, and can provide efficiency even in extreme hot or cold weather conditions. The cutting-edge technology used to adjust heating or cooling can manage the air temperature in the home for the ultimate in comfort, while using the least amount of energy possible.

Refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers are all energy-suckers, which is why making the switch to energy-efficient models makes sense. You can save a few hundred bucks at the end of the year by opting for appliances that use less energy to complete the same tasks as their non-energy-efficient counterparts. And the government might even pitch in with incentives if you choose to make the switch.

Knowing that your home is easy on the environment and affordable to operate is a huge feature that buyers look for.

Backyard Deck

After checking out all the rooms in the home, buyers love ending off their tour by walking out to an expansive and well maintained deck in the backyard. Millennials in particular have come to expect this feature, so give them what they want and build one if you haven’t already got one.

Even if you’ve got a teeny tiny yard, that doesn’t mean you can’t install one. A deck that fits a couple of chairs and a little table is just enough to provide an outdoor living space. Aside from pressure-treated pine (which is a common material used in building home decks), there are other materials you can consider using, including concrete or composite materials that require less maintenance than wood.

Throw in a few built-in pot lights and you’ll thoroughly impress buyers.

Open Concept

Plenty of homeowners with a separate formal dining room rarely use the space. Actually, scratch that. It is used, but more often for storing junk than for actual sit-down dinners.

These days, millennials prefer an open floor plan with minimal walls that cut off the space. Instead of a separate dining room, living room and kitchen, consider knocking down a few walls to open up the space and bring in more light.

Not only is an open floor plan brighter and more functional, it’s also more conducive to interaction among everyone in the home. Parents can keep tabs on their kids better, and guests can socialize amongst each other regardless if one is in the kitchen and the other is in the living room.

Storage Space in the Garage

Garages aren’t just for storing vehicles – they’re also hugely depended on by homeowners to store things. This is especially true for young couples with growing families. In addition to the basement, the garage tends to be depended on to store all those big items, like strollers, bikes, patio chairs, boxes of old toys, and other things that you’d rather not lug up the stairs from the basement.

Additional storage in the garage allows homeowners to ensure that the inside of their homes is not cluttered and much more organized. After all, the less stuff you have in the house, the less organizing and tidying up is necessary.

Adding this extra storage is easy, and you don’t need a massive garage to make it happen either. All you need is some cabinetry, a peg wallboard to hang your tools, and some lighting to make finding your items a cinch.

Not only should you eliminate features in your home that are considered outdated and unattractive (popcorn ceilings and peeling vinyl floor tiles, that means you!), you should seriously consider incorporating some of the above features to attract the masses of buyers. In addition to these features, there are plenty others that can do the trick to bring in the offers. Consult with your real estate agent for more tips and ideas to get your home sold quickly.

The kitchen is the place where we cook, entertain, do homework, and even surf the web. We want it to be functional, but we also want it to be stylish, too. Luckily there are some easy ways to tweak your kitchen to breathe new life into it. Consider the following simple projects to enhance your kitchen space.

1. Reface the Kitchen Cabinets

Building new cabinets from can be an expensive and labor-intensive endeavor. You can make just as much of a difference by sanding and repainting the surface of your cabinets to breathe new life into them.

2. Change the Cabinet Hardware

Replace all those dated knobs and pulls with brand new ones. There are so many variations on the market these days that you can create a completely unique look to your kitchen with the simple change of your cabinets’ hardware.

3. Install a Backsplash

You don’t have to be an expert to have an amazing backsplash. Consider peel-and-stick variations, or simply paint the space to change up the look.

4. Add Storage to the Backsplash

If you don’t like the thought of leaving your backsplash bare, consider using that valuable space for storage. Add a system that allows you to hang your pots, pans and utensils to maximize your wall space and expand your storage options. 

5. Choose a New Kitchen Sink

Out of all the components in the kitchen, your sink is likely used the most. There are so many options available as far as style, size, width, depth, color, and material.

6. Swap the Kitchen Faucet

A faucet is very practical in nature, but it can also work wonders at enhancing the esthetics of your kitchen. Modern faucets have more features that make washing the dishes a lot more efficient while improving the looks of the space at the same time.

7. Change the Countertops

Granite, marble, laminate, concrete, quartz, butcher block . . . the options are vast. A new countertop can make a huge difference.

8. Install New Lighting

Hang pendant lamps over an island, line the cabinets with under-mounted LED light strips, and swap old fixtures with more impressive ones.

9. Add Seating

If you’ve got an island or a ‘peninsula’ in your kitchen, add some bar stools if space permits. It’ll make a great place for quick snacks and great conversations.

10. Create Charging Station

Everyone in the home has their own digital device these days. Instead of leaving a tangled mess of wires in the corner, come up with a creative way to house your devices while hiding their associated wires for a cleaner, clutter-free look.

Just because you’re not filthy rich, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to have a home that you can call “luxurious.” Sure, celebrities may spend over seven figures building and designing homes that are over the top, but there are plenty of subtle ways that you can achieve a sense of opulence in your home, affordably.

1. Add Molding and Trim

One of the most effective ways to add a classy and sophisticated feel to a space the affordable way is by adding molding and trim around the room. These elements provide an esthetically appealing framework for any space, and show that every detail has been taken into consideration throughout the decorating process.

You can add trim and molding in a variety of ways, including:

Baseboards – These begin at the floor and extend around the room’s perimeter.

Crown molding – This runs along the ceiling of a room, and should roughly be about one inch thicker than the baseboards.

Casing – This is found around widows and doorways, and is usually added to provide a transitional cue from one room to the next.

Be sure to take proper measurements, and use matching paint or stain on all of your molding and trim to get a united look.

2. Layer Your Floor Coverings

To add a charming and cozy feeling to your rooms, make sure not to skimp on the floor layering. Not only will layering your floor coverings provide more comfort as you walk around the space, it also adds a sense of luxury to the room.

Start off with a basic layer – hardwood is usually your best bet when it comes to adding a rich flavor to the room. Wood – or faux wood – complements a number of colors and textures quite nicely. Then add your personal touch with area rugs. While you can add just about any color or pattern you like to suit your tastes, Oriental designs have a natural capacity to add a luxurious feel to a room.

3. Create Ambience With Lighting

The ambience of a room can often be achieved with small elements, such as light fixtures. Rather than adding only one type of lighting to a room, consider adding a variety of types of fixtures to the space.

Lighting is key to creating a classic and comfortable ambience. Mix it up with pot lights, table lamps, wall sconces and pendant lighting with bulbs that are soft and diffused. You can even mix soft colors for added effect – for instance, white and pink complement each other well to create a subtle hue. For overhead light fixtures, install dimmer switches so you can control their brightness.

4. Add an Antique Element to the Space

Nothing adds more grandiosity to a room more than antique pieces. While filling the space with such decor can be expensive, sometimes all you need is one antique piece. Adding elements like these can provide visual interest while still keeping the space modern with more conventional pieces.

Antique mirrors are a great choice, as they will add depth and weight to any room. You can even anchor the room with an armchair or armoire. Sometimes even a decorative antique vase or lamp can do the trick if you’re a little hesitant about going the antique route.

5. Add Warm Colors to the Space

All luxurious spaces have one thing in common – they offer a welcoming and cozy aura. And one of the most effective and easiest ways to achieve this feeling is with the use of warm color palettes. There’s something to be said about using the right paint color.

For decades, psychologists have studied how specific colors evoke certain feelings and emotions in people, so there’s a real science to it. To create a luxurious feel in your home, stick to warm colors like yellow, orange and red, which are typically perceived as cozy and intimate. Tan hues also serve as an excellent neutral base that can help you build brighter, bolder colors.

6. Add a Focal Point

Every room that evokes a sense of grandeur has a focal point – be it a fireplace, a great piece of art work, or even a table and chair set. With a clearly defined focal point, everyone who walks in the room will immediately be drawn to that element.

The best way to choose your room’s focal point is to highlight an existing detail. If you’ve got a gorgeous, old fireplace, for instance, use that. You can add a new mantle to revamp it and add more character to it.

If the room has an oversized window that allows a ton of natural light in, you could effectively use that as a focal point too. Simply add a decorative chair under it to emphasize its magnificence.

7. Add Plush Throw Pillows

It’s impossible to envision a luxurious home without visualizing plush, comfortable seating in the space. But rather than splurge on a completely new set of extra cushiony sofas and chairs, just adding a few plush throw pillows into the mix can be enough to achieve that feeling.

Opt for rich fabrics and gorgeous colors to maximize this effect, and use textures and patterns that will bring more depth into the space. No matter what your style is, include pillows in various sizes and colors to add depth.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a home that looks and feels like it could be featured in a magazine? The good news is, you don’t have to break the bank to achieve this look. With a few simple and creative touches, you can effectively create a luxurious feel in your home that you and your guests will adore.