From painting the den to remodeling the bathroom, many an ambitious homeowner will be embarking on a DIY home improvement project in the coming months. In fact, according to the recently released Coinstar® Do It Yourself (DIY) Home Improvement Survey, 65 percent are tackling a home improvement project on their own in order to save money, and nearly three in five respondents believe it will increase the value of their home.
 
Projects homeowners plan to take on range from painting a room to a major remodel of a bathroom or kitchen. Regardless of the type and magnitude of the project, nearly nine out of 10 homeowners agree that they feel a sense of pride when completing a DIY activity, and three in four see their home as an extension of their personality. What’s more, nearly half said fulfillment in doing it themselves was the main motivating factor in initiating the project.

If you’re among the ranks taking on a project yourself, follow the example of the majority of survey respondents, 70 percent of whom will create a budget and use cash on hand to pay for projects, as opposed to the 30 percent who say they've left a project incomplete due to running out of money. According to the survey, 61 percent of respondents plan to spend $500 or more on a home-improvement project this year.

More than two-thirds of homeowners typically perform DIY projects with someone else in the household, like a family member or significant other. If you’re also teaming up with a partner, beware—65 percent of respondents say they got into a disagreement related to the project.

Maybe those disagreements arise over how to get the job done—more than one quarter of homeowners surveyed consider themselves unskilled or under-skilled when it comes to home improvement projects. Regardless of skill level, the majority of DIYers learn how to tackle a project by learning online through YouTube videos and using search engines to locate how-to answers. Nearly half (45 percent) report they teach themselves through trial and error, and owner's manuals are still a viable tool with nearly 60 percent of homeowners saying they always read the manual.

Before you embark on your home improvement project, make sure you’ve budgeted correctly and you’re well prepared on the ins and outs of your project.
 
If you need more real estate information, feel free to contact me.