ngeles have old oak hardwood floors. If they do, you can refinish them or, depending on the cost, replace them or put some throw rugs down.

After painting and cleaning up the carpet situation, replace all the old knobs and hinges (don't forget to

If you just bought a new home or will be selling your current residence you may be thinking about doing some remodeling. Regardless of whether you bought or are selling you want to keep in mind getting the best return on the dollars you invest in your remodel. A good Realtor with a lot of experience in your area should be pretty good at advising you which remodel will get you the best return on your investment.

The Quickie, 3-5 days - Sometimes it only makes sense to do a quick clean up of the surfaces in a home, I call this the quickie. It should take only a few days to complete. Paint everything-- if you have old seventies cabinets or anything else that dates the property paint them too. Shampoo the carpets. If you can't get the stains out replace them. If you own a property with bad pet smells you will want to seal the cement or plywood floors. Floors like this are porous. If you replace the carpet without sealing the floor the odors will return. Not too many homes on the westside of Los Angeles have old oak hardwood floors. If they do, you can refinish them or, depending on the cost, replace them or put some throw rugs down.

After painting and cleaning up the carpet situation, replace all the old knobs and hinges (don't forget to d

emodel. A good Realtor with a lot of experience in your area should be pretty good at advising you which remodel will get you the best return on your investment.

The Quickie, 3-5 days - Sometimes it only makes sense to do a quick clean up of the surfaces in a home, I call this the quickie. It should take only a few days to complete. Paint everything-- if you have old seventies cabinets or anything else that dates the property paint them too. Shampoo the carpets. If you can't get the stains out replace them. If you own a property with bad pet smells you will want to seal the cement or plywood floors. Floors like this are porous. If you replace the carpet without sealing the floor the odors will return. Not too many homes on the westside of Los Angeles have old oak hardwood floors. If they do, you can refinish them or, depending on the cost, replace them or put some throw rugs down.

After painting and cleaning up the carpet situation, replace all the old knobs and hinges (don't forget to

urfaces in a home, I call this the quickie. It should take only a few days to complete. Paint everything-- if you have old seventies cabinets or anything else that dates the property paint them too. Shampoo the carpets. If you can't get the stains out replace them. If you own a property with bad pet smells you will want to seal the cement or plywood floors. Floors like this are porous. If you replace the carpet without sealing the floor the odors will return. Not too many homes on the westside of Los Angeles have old oak hardwood floors. If they do, you can refinish them or, depending on the cost, replace them or put some throw rugs down.

After painting and cleaning up the carpet situation, replace all the old knobs and hinges (don't forget to

place them. If you own a property with bad pet smells you will want to seal the cement or plywood floors. Floors like this are porous. If you replace the carpet without sealing the floor the odors will return. Not too many homes on the westside of Los Angeles have old oak hardwood floors. If they do, you can refinish them or, depending on the cost, replace them or put some throw rugs down.

After painting and cleaning up the carpet situation, replace all the old knobs and hinges (don't forget to

ngeles have old oak hardwood floors. If they do, you can refinish them or, depending on the cost, replace them or put some throw rugs down.

After painting and cleaning up the carpet situation, replace all the old knobs and hinges (don't forget to do the hinges) with brushed nickel/stainless steel and or chrome hardware. Try not to keep any old hardware that has paint on it. It looks cheap and rental-like. And finally, change out all the old wall sockets and switches to new white plastic ones. It will surprise you by just how much better your property will look. About a month ago I listed a condo that was in terrible shape-- really bad. We did a "quickie" and the place sold in the first few days for about 10% ($60,000) more than what a half dozen other Realtors thought it was worth. People remarked on how well the seller had kept the place up. Cost $2,000-6,000 (with exterior painting it will be more)

The Moderate, 7-12 days - This includes everything I wrote about in the "quickie" with just a few more touches. You keep your cabinets but replace the kitchen counter tops with granite. There are pre-fabricated granite counters that are manufactured in places like China in 8 x 2' pieces with bull-nose edges and six inch back splashes that