Now is a great time to do home improvements

If you have been planning to do home improvements, this could be the perfect time to do so. With the economy hurting, it's a great time to bargain with contractors to get work done since most have plenty of extra time on their hands these days. Just make sure that if you are doing the home improvements, you pick projects that will increase the value of you house at the same time.

After you make the improvements your house should increase in value. So, if your loan is just under what your house is worth now then in 3 years it should be worth considerably more than it is now plus you will have paid on the loan in that time and you will owe less. A hint to paying it down faster is to pay one extra payment per year. The easiest way to do this is to take your monthly payment amount and divide it by 12, then add that amount to each month's payment. By the end of the year, you will have paid one extra payment. If you can't afford to add that much each month, anything you add extra will go toward principal and bring down the balance on your loan.

To chip in, the winter time is a particularly good time to do work on the interior of your home, since so many contractors are hurting for work (the exception, of course, is HVAC guys).
The trick is to negotiate VERY aggressively, and to make contractors aware that you're getting other quotes.
If you're looking for work that will increase your home's value, updating your kitchen and bathrooms is a great place to start. Ceramic tile isn't too expensive, and new fixtures can make a world of difference without costing you an arm and a leg.
Best of luck!
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Brian
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