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Home Renovation Old House Restoration: Kitchens & Baths
Article from Baristanet:

The drop in real estate prices and dried up home equity financing has made both owners and buyers unsure where to spend their limited cash today on home renovations. People question what work they should undertake, both to improve their day to day living, and to make smart choices for re-sale and long term property valuation.

Should homeowners add a new addition to gain another bedroom and finish the basement for the kids, or redo their 1950′s kitchen and update all those funky baths?

In today more complex real estate climate, a new kitchen and redone baths are the smarter investment.

Before the market nose-dived in 2008, some new buyers actually looked for older homes with strong bones, but with kitchens and baths needing serious help. Buyers wanted to bring their own creative vision and comforts to all those newly purchased spaces. Money was cheap and easy and the gleam not yet off the rose from multiple ‘anyone can do it’ home renovation TV shows. For many newly motivated home buyers, construction was quick and always finished up in a viewing half-hour. An…………………continues on Baristanet
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$ 4.9 million renovation of Veterans Home proposed
Article from Journal Times:

DOVER — A $ 4.9 million renovation of the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Union Grove is in the works to help house more veterans needing full-time care.  

As part of a bill which is set to be introduced next week by area legislators, Gates Hall, a part of the Veterans Home, would be converted from a 42-bed assisted living facility to a 38-bed skilled nursing facility, according to Carla Vigue, a spokeswoman with the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.

The project is expected to cost $ 4.9 million with 65 percent of the costs coming from federal grants, Vigue said.  

Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, who has been working with the Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs and Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, on the project, said, “We have to make sure we take care of these guys. It’s important.” 

Currently there is a list of approximately 25 veterans in southeastern Wisconsin waiting for these nursing home beds, according to Vigue. 

“This is going to help eliminate the waiting list,” said Wanggaard, who is not a veteran, but whose father served in the Army during World War II and the Korean War and served 18 years in the National…………………continues on Journal Times
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People Prefer Renovation Over Buying New House
Article from Hartford Courant:

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

>> You came through the housing bust and recession far more debt-averse than you were before.

>> You’ve been reluctant to consider selling your house because you don’t believe you’ll get what it’s really worth.

>> Buying a new home is out of the question, even with today’s low interest rates, because it’s so difficult to qualify for a mortgage.

>> You’ve gradually come to the conclusion that it’s smarter to improve the house you already own — spend some money on making it more comfortable, more up to date — and just stay put for a while.

Whether you share them or not, sentiments like these are having profound effects on real estate markets across the country, fueling post-recession interest in remodeling. In fact, according to federal estimates, by late last year the annualized dollar va…………………continues on Hartford Courant
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Wells Fargo Donates 18 Homes, Renovation Money to Tulsa-Area Nonprofit Groups …
Article from LoanSafe:

(Source: Mike Averill Tulsa World, Okla.) – The nonprofit groups received $ 7,500 for each of the properties, for a total of $ 135,000.

State Rep. Jabar Shumate, D-Tulsa, said the bank’s donations should have a major impact on the area.

“North Tulsa has a high foreclosure rate and a high rate of unemployment. This is going to be a spark,” he said. “When you increase home ownership, businesses then want to move in.

“Wells Fargo actually put meaning behind their words, and that’s what is going to have to happen if we’re going to turn north Tulsa around.”

Shumate also thanked the bank for helping out the north Tulsa community, “because it’s the right thing to do, not because it helps their bottom line.”

“The only way we can get through this crisis we’re in is to all pull together, not point fingers,” he said. “At a time when banks are getting su…………………continues on LoanSafe
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Get your house in order
Article from Edmonton Journal:

Redirect Notice

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Renovation slump hits building supplier
Article from The Canberra Times:
Building products distributor Alesco has warned its full-year profit could fall by more than a third because of the downturn in home renovations.

The construction, mining and home products provider said trading activity in December and January had been difficult and it does not expect an improvement in the detached housing and renovation sectors in the short term.

As a result Alesco fears its net profit, excluding significant items, will be 30 to 35per cent lower than the $ 15.3million it posted in 2010-11.

The warning came as the company, which makes garage doors, cabinets and window products, unveiled a lift in first-half profit yesterday.

Its net profit rose to $ 7.2million in the six months to November 30, from $ 1.8million in the previous corresponding period.

But revenue fell 5.1per cent to $ 274.6million.

Chief executive Peter Boyd said home renovation activity slowed significantly in the first half compared with the same period in 2010. ”This was particularly evident in the new detached housing segment which we estimate was down approximately 10per cent for the six month period ended November 30, 2011,” he said.

Alesco’s reven…………………continues on The Canberra Times
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In the Home

In the Home
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Hen House renovation
Article from FOX Toledo Online:
Updated: Friday, 13 Jan 2012, 12:27 AM EST
Published : Friday, 13 Jan 2012, 12:27 AM EST

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This Old House® Goes Coastal in First-Ever Rhode Island Renovation
Article from Sacramento Bee:

NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2012 – /PRNewswire/ — Everybody loves the idea of beachfront property, but proximity to the ocean can bring its share of construction challenges. Tune in as experts from the Emmy® Award-winning television series This Old House head to the Ocean State to transform a weathered Cape into a weatherproof masterpiece in the series’ first-ever renovation on open water – The Barrington Project.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please visit: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/54022-this-old-house-goes-costal-barrington-project

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120112/MM33432 )

Located 10 miles southeast of Providence, the 1925 modified Cape overlooks Barrington Beach, boasting spectacular views of Narragansett Bay. The original 1500 sqft. home was not as ideal as the views, however, with cramped spaces, outdated features, and a lack of modern amenities. Yet, with the hel…………………continues on Sacramento Bee
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