Home improvements are great ways to increase the value of your home.  Increasing the value of your home will help you get a larger home equity loan or line of credit in the long run.  Home improvement projects can easily become larger and more expensive than intended but simple projects can be completed yourself in one or two weekends. 

Start your improvements by making a game plan.  Figure out what you need and what you are going to do.  Also figure out how much of a budget you are willing to give yourself or spend.  Projects that are great for weekends are minor landscaping projects in both the front and backyard and interior painting.  Installing shelves and storage will help you organize your belongings while adding storage space that will make you home more valuable.  Your backyard can benefit greatly from privacy fencing, decks, and other backyard renovations.  If you have a large dogs, sprucing up the backyard and fixing any animal damages will also help to increase the value of your home. 

Saving major renovations for professionals is essential.  Do not try to renovate your kitchen or bathrooms without the help of a contractor.  If you really want to be a part of the job, they may have some small duties that you can help them out with.  Kitchens and bathrooms contain large amounts of plumbing and electrical areas that only a professional should handle.  You don’t want to get started on a large expensive project and have to hire a professional to fix your mess-ups. 

Do-It-Yourself projects will increase your home’s value little by little and they can be worked on little by little, which is all that most people have time for anyway.  You will be excited to see what you can do in one weekend.

A new option in home equity is becoming available, largely with seniors, but not limited only to families who are free and clear of their mortgages: a reverse mortgage.

With the reverse mortgage, owners pull equity out of their homes without having a house payment, with loans that aren’t due until they sell the house or pass on.  Instead, their lenders are paying them.

The benefits follow: the money is tax free, as it is still considered a loan, there is more cash available for vacations or health needs, there aren’t restrictions on how the money is spent, and it can be received in payments or one lump sum.

The caveats are that they usually come with high interest rates and upfront fees.    The loan is still open to be charged mortgage insurance as well as loan origination fees and other closing costs.

The amount available depends on where the borrowers live and how much equity they have in their house.