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You are here: Home / Our Tips / Building Your Backyard Oasis – Great Idea or Poor Investment

Building Your Backyard Oasis – Great Idea or Poor Investment

October 27, 2021 By Ralph Gates

When you love your home, it’s important to build a space that you enjoy spending time in. Make your home a destination for you, your family, and your friends. Consider changes that will benefit you throughout the year, and look for opportunities to add value to your home. If you have thought about building a backyard oasis, there are a number of benefits to upgrading your space.

The Return On Investment

You can’t always measure a return on your investment in dollars. Your ROI can mean you spend hours as a family in the pool, or you now have a great entertainment space where friends can gather. Some updates will add value to your home, but you can’t simply look at every update as purely a financial move. It will cost money to update your property, and you don’t always get this back when it comes time to sell your home. Think about what matters most to you, and consider how much you are going to use your new space.

Current Trends To Create a Backyard Oasis

There are a number of ways to update your existing space and make it more enjoyable. One trend is to have less lawn so that you don’t have as much lawn to care for during the year. Outdoor rooms are popular, and you can set up an outdoor kitchen and dining area if you love to entertain guests. Other popular outdoor features include:

  • Patios to create usable outdoor space for furniture
  • Play areas for children or pets
  • Water features such as installing a new pool, pond, or hot tub
  • Lighting, especially along walkways and near sitting areas
  • Landscaping that offers variety throughout the year, trees, shrubs, and plants that offer color in each season

When you take the time to create an outdoor oasis, you will love your space. You will enjoy coming home and entertaining friends, and it is possible that you will increase the value of your home at the same time.

Spending more time outdoors will lead to more family time, exercise, and recreation opportunities. Your outdoor space will be improved, and you won’t have to worry about as much mowing each week. You will get to bond and laugh with your children, and the payoff is less sitting and staring at a phone.

In a time when more people are working in front of a computer and people are not getting the fresh air they need, investing in your backyard can have a positive impact. With a new pool, you will get your kids off of their devices and into the water. You can have a great time at your home, and get all the health benefits of spending time outside. Have fun with your family, and add value to your home.

Understanding the Work Involved

It’s important to understand what will need to be done to complete your project and to maintain it. You will want to consider any safety concerns with installing a pool, outdoor kitchen, or fountain if you have small children. In addition to any safety concerns, you will need to think about:

  • Installation costs associated with your new backyard features
  • The time and cost of any regular maintenance
  • How the project is going to be financed
  • If you have enough space for the design elements you want

Time spent with family and friends is priceless, and it is important to create a space where you can make memories throughout the year. A backyard oasis can become the entertainment center of your neighborhood, providing you with years of enjoyment. Updating your backyard is an investment and one that will pay off in a number of ways. Invest in the happiness of your family when you take the time to create a backyard you love. If you need to pull equity out of your home to accomplish your back your Oasis give Mid America Mortgage a call to discuss your best options.

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Filed Under: Our Tips

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Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc, NMLS #1142067
200 E Walnut St.
Columbia, MO 65203

Phone: (573) 875-1100

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"I’m a very loyal customer at Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc. I have an addiction to building houses and designing them, and they are always right there with me every step of the way helping me get the best loan product and the best rates whenever I am ready to build. They make sure you don’t get a loan that you can’t afford. The whole process was very smooth. I would recommend Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc to anyone because they are always there to teach you, help you, and make it easy for you every step of the way."

Kate

"One of the main things that I loved about Michelle was she was so organized. She would meet us at any location she needed to, and to be honest she had the absolute lowest interest rate. They were always very transparent with fees so there were no surprises. Michelle was always super easy and we would always run in talk to her even it was for a few minutes. The best thing was the process was very, very smooth."

Chris and Jamie

Michelle, I want to thank you for all of your efforts on the loan. I never knew how much information the needed! I appreciate your personal nature and ease of working together. Thank you for making this happen! :)

Amy

"My wife and I have moved around quite a bit with my job so we have been through the process before, but we have never had anybody help us as much as Michelle West Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc did. We needed a loan for a new construction home and they were able to help us out with all of our needs and make us feel comfortable with what we were doing moving forward. They did a good job of walking us through the paperwork to make sure that we were pre-approved for a certain amount."

Jason

Selling our home of 17 years and building a new home was a very emotional time for our family. We were ready for the next adventure in our lives but knew there were numerous steps involved. The search for a mortgage officer was simple, Michelle was our choice. Her guidance and knowledge made the process as easy as possible. When we had questions, she was always there to give us an answer and discuss our options. The employees of Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc like Michelle will keep us returning for our mortgage needs.

Chad and Julee

"I knew Jeanie Byland for a long time. She made the process so easy. One of the things I probably appreciated the most was that she didn't want to spoil the excitement of closing on a new house by showing up on closing day finding out that we owe a lot more than we thought. They were upfront with that information right from the get-go, and that’s because it’s just like they say, ‘They wouldn’t put you in a loan that they would be comfortable taking themselves.’”

Jamie

"I have had mortgages since 2004 in Columbia and have gone through a couple of banks, but over the last several years, the last couple of houses have been with Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc. Michelle has told us many times, 'I am not going to put you in a situation I am not comfortable with you being in, regardless of what it means for our company'.

Heidi always has a smile on her face and when you walk through the door, they recognize you and say “Hi”. I definitely recommend anyone who is in the home buying, purchasing, refinancing, upgrading business to go to Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc, ask for Michelle because they are going to be the best person you can work with."

John

"When we were 18 and 19 years old no one wanted to help us get started. But Michelle took us under her wing 6 years ago next month. There is a lot of people out there that could of taken advantage of us many of times because we had no idea what was going on. For Michelle to stand beside us and walk us through, and not let us get into something that could get us in a lot of trouble means the world. We thank Michelle and we are extremely blessed to be able to work with her and her team. I have never even thought about talking to another lender and will always be loyal to Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc."

Cody and Morgan

"My family owns Tiger Ice Company. My experience with Ralph at Mid America started with Tiger Ice because we needed to expand our facility. When we went in to talk to Ralph at Mid America, he pretty much was straight up with us and told us we needed to go back to the drawing board. We came back with new numbers and a new plan, and we built the facility and everything was fine. Our dream of that would not have been possible at all without Mid America Mortgage Services, Inc and Ralph. They don’t tell you what you want to hear, they tell you the truth and that's what we weren't getting from other banks."

Andy

"They really explained the process to us very well and made us feel very comfortable, specifically Jeanie Byland. I have never asked a question that I felt dumb about. They really wanted to educate us and have been fantastic. The interest rates changed one day and they called me to say, ‘Hey we might ought to look into refinancing your loan’. I really felt like they had our best interest at heart."

Steve


Phone: (573) 875-1100
200 E Walnut St, Columbia, MO 65203

 

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