FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: James Bray 330-491-2700 JBray@CutlerHomes.com How Homeowners Can Increase Their Home's Value in Today's Market CANTON, OH, Aug 20, 2010 - In today’s climate of dwindling home values, many homeowners are wondering if it’s at all possible to increase their home’s value. According to Jim Bray, President of Cutler Real Estate there are steps you can take to build equity despite current market conditions. “To elevate the value of your home, a detailed and specific assessment of your home, and the homes against which it will compete in the market, is necessary,” says Bray. “A professional home inspection-especially for those who are not planning to sell their home soon-can help determine exactly what needs to be done to increase your home’s value and can help you plan for expenses if there is work to be done.” Having your home professionally inspected well before putting it on the market—or when you’re not even planning to put it on the market—has a number of advantages, says Bray: For a relatively minor investment, homeowners will have an opportunity to review an objectively prepared assessment of the condition of their home’s structure, systems and amenities Everything else being equal, the inspection report should be consistent with the report prepared by a buyer’s inspector, virtually eliminating stressful surprises when the home is on the market one day Having an inspection done while their home is not on the market provides owners with an opportunity to decide whether to do the work themselves or to have the work contracted at their convenience and without the pressure of a deadline The greatest value of proactive inspection is that the decision to repair vs. replace will be the homeowner’s alone…not a prospective buyer’s. A buyer may use the replacement of the air conditioner or the roof as a negotiating gambit when a proactive, high-quality repair would have been completely satisfactory. This places homeowners in a much stronger negotiating position in the future “By taking this proactive approach to home inspections, homeowners can increase their home’s value instantly, giving it a strong competitive edge in the market if and when they decide to move,” says Bray. “By addressing major repair/replacement issues now, homeowners diminish competition from newer and better-maintained homes on the market.” For more information on increasing a home’s value, please contact Cutler Real Estate at JBray@CutlerHomes.com, 330-491-2700 or Cutler Real Estate. Cutler Real Estate, founded in 1947, is a full service real estate company serving Stark, Carroll, Tuscarawas, Summit, Medina, Portage and Wayne counties. Cutler Real Estate is the largest locally owned real estate firm in Northeast Ohio and one of the 100 largest in the country. Cutler provides a one-stop shopping approach to the real estate market, and is one of only a few in the state providing in-house consumer resources including relocation, commercial investment, auction, new homes, insurance and mortgage and title services through affiliates Mortgage One and Title One. For more information visit their website at CutlerHomes.com ###