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The Secret to Getting the Best Price on Home Improvements

Mon 02 Jun 2008 - 15:21

The Secret to Getting the Best Price on Home Improvements
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Raynor_James]Raynor James

One of the time tested strategies in real estate is to buy the "ugly duckling" on the block and then improve it to reap appreciation gains. The key to maximizing your gain, of course, is to minimize your cost. This means you need to know the secret to getting the best price on home improvements.

Supply and demand. They are the basis of our economic system in many ways. When there is a big demand, a product or service will be very profitable. When there is little or no demand, prices drop like a rocket. One need only consider the current real estate market to see this concept in action.

The early part of this decade saw one of the hottest real estate markets in history. You could borrow money cheap and without much of any credit check. All the free money caused housing demand to skyrocket. Prices went up like mad. Developers started building like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, there was. The market crashed and now there are close to 460,000 new, empty homes sitting on the market. This inventory glut is one reason prices are crashing across the country.

So, what does this all have to do with getting the best price on home improvements? Well, the answer comes back to supply and demand. The secret to getting the best price on home improvements is to do them off season. Let's look at a few examples.

My home is 20 years old. I've take care of it, but there are some definite problems. The biggest is my asphalt shingle roof. It's failing and needs to be replaced. I am going to bite the bullet and do it, but how can I minimize my cost? Well, I need to give some thought to roofers. When is their business slow? Generally, it is in the winter. Roofers are looking for work and will compete for your business. This means they lower their prices.

What about something less obvious? Let's assume I am going to need to get an air conditioner. When would the worst possible time be to deal with it from an expense point of view? You guessed it - late spring. When would be the time to get a great deal on both the conditioner and the installation? Winter!

You can use this approach on just about any home improvement. Just like traveling, you will always get a better deal off season then during the busy period.

Raynor James writes about issues surrounding [http://www.fsboamerica.org]FSBO property for FSBOAmerica.org where you can list your land for sale by owner for free for 1 month.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raynor_James http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Secret-to-Getting-the-Best-Price-on-Home-Improvements&id=1211995


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