There are only a few guarantees in life: death, taxes and home improvement projects as a homeowner. Improvement projects may be planned like kitchen remodels or unannounced like leaky roof repairs or flooding basement issues; no matter their cause, home repairs and upgrades can be expensive but necessary if you wish to keep up with current standards. According to the American Housing Survey conducted every other year, homeowners spent an estimated $522 billion in two years on an estimated 115 million projects ranging from installing new toilets and building additions, all the way to replacing toilets entirely. But are all projects worth doing? Certain renovations could add significant value while…

Real estate, which includes land and anything permanently attached to it, differs significantly from personal properties such as jewelry and cars in that real estate includes both natural resources such as water or minerals present on it as well as any manmade structures built therein. Real estate investments should be purchased judiciously with full payments being made and reasonable management being implemented. Real estate can serve many functions for its inhabitants, and residential properties are an increasingly popular choice. Residential property values tend to appreciate over time, yielding an excellent return on initial investments. Another way to invest in real estate is buying and renting out buildings; investors can collect…