Guide 1 — Hiring a Contractor

The highest-stakes negotiation in a house you already own. How to scope the job, compare three quotes properly, and keep a renovation near the number you agreed to. The highest-stakes negotiation in a house you already own, and the one nobody prepares you for.

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Guide 3 — What Work Returns Value

Work the house needs, work you want, and work that returns at sale. Knowing which of the three you're doing is most of the skill — and most of the money people regret. Three kinds of renovation, and only one of them comes back.

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Guide 2 — The Maintenance Year

Deferred maintenance is the most expensive thing about owning a house, and it never feels like a decision. Here's the year, season by season, with the deadlines that matter. What to do, when, and what to stop paying someone else to do.

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