When looking to purchase a home, the design is an important factor. You want a home that is well built. An important factor is the type of foundation that the home is built on. While there are many different types of foundations, three of the most common are a slab foundation, crawl space and basement.

The type of foundation in a home depends mostly on geography and climatic conditions. Basements are more common in the northern latitude, as many building codes require a greater distance between the foundation and the home in the colder climate. A 2013 survey by National Association of Home Builders found that 84% of homes built in the upper Midwest had a full or partial [...]

You started batting renovation ideas around the moment you realized your current living space wouldn’t satisfy the growing needs of your family. After a lot of research and internal debate, you’ve finally settled on a plan. What you have in mind requires a big financial commitment, and an even bigger emotional one if you take into account timing and relative inconvenience — but in the end, you’re convinced it’ll ease both cost of living and spatial flow issues.

First, you need to hire a contractor. Ideally, you’d like someone with marked experience who displays both innovation and hard-line completion skills. How can qualities such as these be [...]

When it comes to building a new home, everyone has an opinion on what should be done and how. And there’s always the person who chimes in with the cliché: “You need to spend money to make money.” While the advice does apply to new home upgrades, some home improvements offer a more attractive ROI than others.

Depending on the size of your budget, it’s smart to make upgrades with a higher ROI a priority. When looking at your list of to-dos, tackle the projects that will attract future buyers, so you can attain the top price for your listing when it comes time to sell your home.

One study compared the [...]

Millions of homeowners hire contractors every year, and are thrilled with the results they get, but it’s “practically the norm of homeowners who get a horror story about their contractor instead,” said Jody Costello, a San Diego resident and “pre-renovation coach.” Costello runs a website dedicated to providing information and resources on the dos and don’ts of home remodeling, hiring contractors, and homeowner’s rights. “It’s the homeowner’s responsibility to ensure that their rights are protected and not violated by unethical contractors,” Costello said. “The contractors have rights and the homeowners have [...]

I knew a couple who bought a new home and, after a few years, decided they wanted to make some upgrades to the kitchen and dining room floors, as well as upgrade the existing fireplace with some tile. They found a contractor who promised he could do both jobs. Impressed, no doubt, with his expertise and pricing, the couple hired him. And it was a disaster. The flooring work was shoddy and the tile work had some serious flaws. And, come to find out, the contractor wasn’t licensed to do the work that he did.

These are the kind of horror stories all homeowners hope to avoid; nobody wants to lose out on thousands of dollars and a much-needed upgrade because they chose a [...]