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Weather you're an investor, searching to check out the neighborhood, or actively shopping for a new home on the Internet, you may have to do a bit more searching to find the property that really blows your skirt up. A new rule approved by the National Association of Realtors last week allows members to leave out listings from other brokers, especially discount brokers, from their company web sites. This practice has occurred for a while, but the policy revision allows brokers to continue the practice as long as they use objective criteria in the screening. Now, when a new listing comes across the MLS data feed, the brokers can set some standards to have it excluded from customer searches performed from their sites.

The practice of excluding listings from appearing on real estate websites such as Realtor.com have been challenged recently by the FTC. The agency has recently come to terms with agencies in the states of Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Virginia, and Wisconsin that allow them to avoid additional FTC action if they cease the exclusionary practices. The rule revision by the NAR is different in that it deals with Realtors keeping listings off their own web sites.

So, the next time you're shopping for a new home, or searching for an investment property, you should know that just because the property is for sale, it may not appear on your search site of choice. You may have to check multiple broker's web sites to find that choice property.

If you're looking to do a little home improvement before you list your home, here are some quick home remodeling tips:

According to Remodeling Magazine, the 3 best remodeling projects in terms of investment were:

1- midrange kitchen remodeling

2- siding replacement

3- midrange bath remodeling

4- deck addition

It may seem surprising that you actually recoup more of your investment by fixing up an existing bathroom than by adding an additional bath, but that reflects the much higher cost of adding a bath versus remodeling an existing one. One other point noted in the magazine is that, if your home lags behind others in the neighborhood in certain features, bringing it up to the standards of the rest of the neighborhood may actually provide a much better investment return than the 4 improvements listed above. So, if yours is the only 3 bedroom home in a neighborhood of 4 and 5 bedroom homes, you may be wise to plan on adding an additional bedroom.

Keep in mind that if you put so much into your home that it is nicer than the other homes in your neighborhood, you may have actually done yourself a disservice when it comes time to sell. If your home is substantially nicer than other homes in the neighborhood, you may have a hard time getting your remodeling dollars back.

Proposed EPA Regs Could Cost You Remodeling Dollars

New regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency could help keep you safe, but add to the price of your remodel. If your home was built before 1978, the proposed rules would make contractors use special procedures to deal with the lead toxicity hazard. Remodeling contractors would be required to have EPA certifications or have a subcontractor on site who is. Special lead abatement rules would have to be followed during construction.

The rule is aimed at reducing lead poising, especially in children. According to the CDC, approximately 300,000 children in the U.S. have what is termed “elevated” levels of lead in their blood, or greater than 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. Although the rule changes could increase the average consumer's remodel cost by around 25%, according to the National Association of Homebuilders, that seems a small price to pay to prevent children from experiencing the problems associated with lead toxicity. And no, I'm not one of those “It's all about the children” liberals, either. Sometimes you need to look at what's important, though. You can check your home for lead now by getting a home test kit at just about any hardware or home improvement store. It's fast, easy, and inexpensive.