Invest For You

The average US home is 32 years old (hard to believe if you live in an area full of new construction), requiring constant maintenance and upgrading. Despite recent tensions in the market, house prices have increased significantly in the last decade, giving owners both an incentive to protect their housing investments and the equity to finance those improvements.

A home is one of the best long-term investments you can make, so don’t cut corners or think about resale, says Janice Anne Costa. “Think about what you will use. When you buy a house, you spend more money than you can possibly imagine. Why are you going to keep it safe for the next owner? Live in it.” Costa says she believes that people who are happy in their kitchens are happier in their relationships. “If so, you are investing in your lifestyle, your happiness and your relationships—you’re investing in your house for you. It’s the best investment of anything that you can do in the last 100 years or the next.”