Home Improvement

My husband and I have been busy recently working on projects in our back yard and helping some friends do a surprise update on their daughter's bedroom.  I love to see the immediate results of this type of hard work.  When I start one project my mind starts jumping ahead to the other projects I might like to do...swimming pool, hot tub, fire pit, pizza oven, etc.  As a homeowner and a Realtor I always consider the return on investment of these projects.  It is great to be able to maximize your financial investment when choosing to make changes to your property.  But that isn't the only consideration.  Your quality of life, the enjoyment you get from your home, are important too. 

The notion of a pool keeps coming back to me.  When I start thinking I'm going to push ahead I get into a cycle of analysis paralysis.  In ground or above ground?  How much should I spend?  How much would we actually use it? How much do they cost to maintain?  How will this impact my homeowner's insurance?  What safety features do I need to implement?  Where would I put it?  Can we do the work ourselves or would we need to hire someone? 

I felt this was a good article to help prioritize some of the pool issues:

http://www.zillow.com/blog/above-ground-swimming-pool-guide-155527/

Now I'm going to go look for fire pit plans.  And maybe some info about apple trees.  Did someone say "horseshoes"?!

www.sparksrenohomesearch.com