Credit Union Blog

Smoke detector maker First Alert is offering these home safety tips:      Practice a fire escape plan. According to a recent study conducted by First Alert, only 43 percent of Americans report having a home escape plan in place. However, only a quarter (26 percent) have ever practiced it. After planning an emergency escape route, practice it at least twice a year.

Homeowners decide to improve their homes for many reasons. Some want to make their houses more comfortable or to add market value when they decide to sell. Others may seek improvements that will improve efficiency and safety. No matter why you decide that it's time to invest in home improvements, you should compare financing options to decide which one works best in your situation.

When considering investing money in home improvements for resale, you should have two primary goals: improving your home's appeal and increasing property value. Expenses which do neither, aren't worth the money or the time. Consider the following renovations, upgrades and repairs that will help you sell your house more quickly for more money.

When it comes to increasing the value of your home, you should not spend home improvement dollars willy-nilly; some upgrades and renovations are considered more valuable than others.  Rather than putting your hard-earned cash down the garbage disposal in unnecessary expenses, consider the following checklist of home improvement items that are worth every penny.

At its core, the concept behind home equity is a simple one.  It’s a term that describes the market value of the “unencumbered interest” in your home – meaning, the difference between the fair market or “appraised” value and the outstanding balance of any and all loans that you may still owe.

Whether you're about to list your house for sale or you've just moved in and plan to stay a while, you should make the most of the money you invest into your home in the form of upgrades, repairs and remodels. To be sure you see a return on these types of investments, you must spend your money wisely, making not just the upgrades that you would enjoy having in your home, but also those that will increase your home's value from the perspective of potential buyers and future appraisers. Consider the following tips before you decide which upgrades are worth it and which renovations can wait for the next owner's bank account.