landscape architect sydney

I think that you'll be safe if you give yourself a 15 to 25 percent cushion for the unexpected things that pop up. If you know your home pretty well, it's newer and you've already done a lot to it, then I'd go lower end with the reserve. But if it's an old house, and you don't really know what's behind the walls, then use the higher amount.

Thanks for listening – and for reading the blog.

My general comment relates to advising home owners that investing in home improvements, beyond maintenance, should be tempered with knowledge of a realistic return on investment and current market, i.e., the best information regarding equity status for the individual home.
My wife and I sold a home in NY State recently for personal reasons at a loss of more than $100k of equity relative to market value 2 years ago. We were fortunate to have had sufficient equity to walk away with some cash. However, this would not have been the case if we had invested in the improvements on our wish list at the time….

My other comment was that sellers need to be realistic about the market when setting their asking price. We have moved to Virginia to be near family and are looking to buy a house in VA. Given the strong buyers market, limited recent/comparative sales, and no confirmation that the bottom of the market has passed, I have been considering the tax assessment information as one point of reference for determining offering prices. Municipalities here update "market value" assessments annually, but, the data used can be a year or more old. Based on my research for one subcommunity here, the only 2 comparable homes sold in March 2010 for 86 and 87% of the 2010 assessed value. Also, asking prices for foreclosures seem to be at or below 80% of assessed value. Hard to know details, but, given this and the assumption that we are not at the bottom of the market, I chose to begin offering price calculations at 80% of the assessed value. This pleases no one but me…. RE agents and owners are not impressed, but, I am holding out for that one reasonable or desperate seller. I am really trying to minimize our risk of loosing more equity on a house immediately after closing. There are numerous listings that note the asking price is below assessed value, clearly attempting to suggest that the house is offered at a price below market value – while the statement may be true, I consider this practice to be misleading and reflects a more blatant effort to prey on the uninformed buyer.

I understand the limitations of using tax assessment information, but, find that most people don't – perhaps this is a good topic for a blog or article.

Thanks for your insights and service.
– Bill D.

This is a great home furnishing experience.