Moving Your Pets

Moving Your Pets

As you prepare for your move, you should plan on preliminary preparation for your pet so they too can be well prepared. There are many things you can to do make the move less stressful for your pet. This guide will help make your pet's transition into a new home much easier.


Get the Facts
•Once you've made the decision to move to a new home, you will need to do some research. Certain localities may have stringent requirements or restrictions regarding pet ownership. You may need permits or registrations.

•Don't forget to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. Your pet should have a check-up before moving. Be sure to attain your pet's veterinary records so that they can be forwarded to your new veterinarian.

A Short Move
•For local moves, it probably makes the most sense to transport your pet in the car with you on moving day.

•Remember to make sure that your pet is safe. Keep your pet in an unused room, or perhaps even outside. And of course, as always, your pet should have plenty of fresh water, and enough toys to occupy their time.   Moving Pets by Car •Many dogs and cats may find car travel extremely distressing. Some may even get car sick. You will have to be ready to make many stops along the way. Several small pets (such as birds, guinea pigs, birds, etc.) can be easily transported via automobile. A good, simple way of keeping them calm and quiet is to cover their cage with a cloth.

•Long distance moves may required an overnight stop. Remember to call hotels in advance to make sure that they will allow your pet to stay in the hotel.

Moving Fish
It's wise to visit your local Aquarium or Pet Shop and ask for special fish containers to safely transport your fish. They should be able to offer suggestions on what's best for different types of fish.

Creating A Pet Pack
If you're moving your pet by car, there are several things you should plan on taking with you on moving day:

•An old bed sheet or blanket will protect your car upholstery.

•A favorite toy or two, and an old T-shirt or rag with your scent on it.

•Two plastic containers - one should have fresh water, the other should have food and treats.

•Medications that your pet may need.

•A leash for when you make rest stops with your pet.

•Even if your pet doesn't typically get car sick, it is better to be safe than sorry…bring paper towels, a sponge, and plenty of plastic bags.

Pet Transport
Depending on the temperament and size of your pet, as well as the distance you're moving, it may be make sense to enlist the help of a pet transporter. Reputable pet transporters can organize every aspect of moving your pet from beginning to end. Services provided may include the following:

•Sensible advice on preparing your pet for the trip

•Specific details about requirements or restrictions on pet ownership in your new locality

•Collecting your pet at the airport

•Boarding your pet until you arrive

•Delivery of your pet to your new home.

If you will be transporting your dog or cat by air, you must have the following details in order:

•A recent health certificate provided by your veterinarian

•A pet carrier that complies with airline regulations

•Don't forget to confirm rules and regulations with your pet transporter so that you can purchase any pet products that may be needed.

Trip Tips
•Always take your dog for a long walk before the trip.

•Remember to advise your pet transporter of any specific requirements for your pet.

•You should keep your cat indoors for at least 24 hours at your new home.

•Never feed your pet too much before the trip.

•Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is best not to sedate your pet.

Other Bits and Pieces to Consider
•If your new home will be rented, prepare a pet resume for prospective landlords. Your vet may agree to write a referral letter.

•Always remember to get a new pet ID tag with your new address and contact phone numbers.   Source: "Moving Your Pets", 123Movers.com

Helping Your Kids Handle the Moving Process

Helping Your Kids Handle the Moving Process

Finding moving companies can be challenging enough, moving with a family can be even more difficult. There are a lot of changes going on for you and your family. That's why it is critical to spend some time helping your kids cope with the changes going on around them. The advice set out in this guide will help your move go more smoothly.


When to Move School Age Kids

When your kids are school age, you might be tempted to plan your move for the school holidays. In reality, this can actually make things harder for your kids. School is most likely the first place your kids can be assured of making friends. Thus, moving during the school holidays places your child in unfamiliar and new surroundings at a time when their chances of making friends are low.

•As school resumes, your child may feel even more left out. As the first day return to school is filled with the excitement and hustle and bustle that occurs after a holiday vacation, your child may feel like a stranger.

•When you schedule your move during the school year, it allows your kids to go from one social setting to another.

•The teacher and the other kids will be more willing to show your child some extra special attention when they are the only new person.

Does Age Make a Difference?


•Generally speaking, the younger the child, the better they will cope with the transition of moving to a new home.

•Very young children and infants may be confused. It is a good idea to try to explain to them what's happening and make it like an adventure.

•The biggest worry that school age children endure is whether they will make new friends and fit in easily at their new school.

•Because teenagers' friends provide them with a sense of identity, it is more difficult for teens to feel comfortable with the idea of moving to a new home.

Before the Move

•As you start making plans for your move, remember to focus on what your kids can look forward to.

•After all, if you see your move as an exciting adventure, your kids will also be very enthusiastic.

•Right from the start, you might want to take them with you on house-hunting adventures. In cases where it might not be practical to have them tagging along, don't forget to bring back pictures of hot prospects you're considering.

•After you've found the new home, be sure to take pictures of local places of interest.

Communication is the Key

•Don't forget to keep the channels of communication open. Before and during your move, encourage your kids to tell you about their uncertainties.

•Most likely, you're probably feeling a little nervous about moving too (no matter how promising your new situation is likely to be).

•After your move, spend time together with your family. Listen to each other's stories so that you can be sure how everyone is coping with the change.

Getting the Kids Involved

It's only natural that your kids will want to be involved with what's going on. Some examples of ways to get your kids involved are:

•Asking them to help plan for and organize your garage sale. They could make colorful posters to stick up around the neighborhood.

•Allowing them to choose a small number of toys or other items to keep with them on moving day.

•Empowering them by letting them pack and label a few of their own boxes

•Making sure they have a special job to take care of on moving day. This will help them feel as if they're making a valuable contribution.

•Allowing them to decide how their new rooms should decorated and arranged.

What About Childcare?

•Undoubtedly you will be offered a lot of conflicting advice whether you should keep your kids with you on moving day or arrange childcare.

•Keep in mind that you are the best judge of what's right for your kids.

Saying Goodbye

•It is critical that your children have the enough time to say good-bye to the family members and friends they're leaving behind.

•You should encourage them to exchange contact information. Fortunately, for most of us today, our friends are only a few keystrokes away via e-mail.

Settling In

Understand that it is like that there may be a grieving period for children…it may last a few weeks, perhaps even a few months. Here are a few easy things you can do to make moving easier for your kids.

•Investigate and explore your new neighborhood together. Look for new and exciting things.

•Go to your new child's school with them beforehand…walk around the new school together to help them find their bearings.

•Accompany your kids on their route to school until they are comfortable traveling by themselves.

•Seek out after-school activities where your children can make new friends with similar interests.

•Don't forget to encourage them to keep in touch with old friends.

Keeping an Eye Out for Early Warning Signs

•A major change is always difficult for a child. Even the most well adjusted child can have difficulty coping with moving.

•Be watchful, it's important to pick up on early warning signs that your child may need extra help adjusting.

Here are some things to watch out for:

•Withdrawn behavior

•Loss of appetite

•Problems sleeping, or regular nightmares

•Outbursts of anger or tears

•Reluctance to stray far from the house or family

•Difficulty making new friends

Additional Hints for Moving Kids

•There are children's books that help kids come to terms and understand an upcoming move, and cope with some of the feelings they may be experiencing.

•If you've got young children, it's important to remove dangerous situations and to child proof your home.

•The sooner you teach your kids your new address and phone number, the better.   Source: "Helping Your Kids Handle the Moving Process", 123 Movers.com    

10 Benefits of Selling Your Home During The Holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… to sell a house? There’s always that question whether or not you should keep your house on the market for the holidays. You figure that potential home buyers will be preoccupied with buying gifts, planning parties, cooking meals, and visiting relatives; the last thing on their mind is searching for and purchasing a new home, right? For this reason, many home sellers choose to temporarily remove their home from listing, then wait until the new year to relist.

Before you hold off on listing your home until the new year, consider the benefits of listing your home for sale during the holidays, such as:

•Many home sellers either hold off from selling or take a break from selling during the holidays. Inevitably, the amount of listings on the market drop down, which means less competition for your home. With less competition, you could potentially sell your home faster, for more money. Once the market comes back up in the spring time, a lot of sellers will list their homes all at once for lower prices, which may drive the whole market down.

•Home buyers are generally the most motivated during the holiday season, greatly aiding sellers. Although there will be less buyers looking at homes this time of year, the buyers who do look are more serious about closing. “While the traffic is down, the buyers who are out there — when it’s soggy and dark at 4:45 p.m. — they’re not just poking around for the fun of it,” said Billy Grippo, a broker for Windermere Cronin and Caplan Realty Group. “They’re wanting to buy a house.”

•Looking back on statistics, interest rates tend to drop the most at the end of the year. “If we look historically at interest rates, cyclically we’ve seen drops every December through January,” says Rich Hayden, senior loan officer for Home First Mortgage Corp. “While rates are now at all-time lows, we could dip even lower,” he says. Tyler agrees, “Interest rates have to come up sometime but it won’t be during the holidays.”

•Many people purposely choose to purchase a home before the new year to receive a tax write off. Home buyers who close before the end of the year could be eligible for tax credits, such as deductions for home mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and PMI premiums.

•Large companies normally transfer employees in January. Those relocating usually need to buy a house right away and simply cannot wait.

•In the winter months, homes typically show better. The decorations, smell of cookies baking, and a roaring fireplace all give your home a “warm and cozy” feeling. Just make sure you don’t cover up your homes best features with too much holiday decor. Stick to tasteful and simple decorations and learn proper staging techniques for the holidays.

•A lot of companies give their employees time off work for the holiday season, which means potential buyers have more time for showings.

•While all the malls and retail stores may be packed, Lenders and title companies aren’t as busy and can process loans faster. “November and December are historically slower months in the mortgage business, so things get done faster,” says Brad Walbrun, a mortgage consultant for A and N Mortgage Services.

•Most become so consumed in buying gifts for their friends and family, that they completely overlook all the holiday sales and specials on home appliances and hardware. Remodeling, decorating, appliance installation and other home services become more available and at less of a premium.

•Late spring and summer are usually thought of as the best times to put a home on the market because buyer demand builds steadily through spring. If you sell your home in the winter, you’ll have your pick of tons of houses for sale in the spring time.

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean the whole housing market comes to a freeze during the holidays! Buyers... start a new year in a new home!

Be sure to contact your real estate agent to learn how to make the selling process as painless as possible.

Source: "10 Benefits of Selling Your Home During The Holidays " , ShowingSuite.com

How to Organize a Closet For Selling Your House

How to Organize a Closet For Selling Your House - What to Do With Your Stuff

If you are planning to list and sell your house, then you will have to get mean with your stuff. You may be used to seeing it, but for those important "showings" you need to make it look like you have a lot of space, so just how do your organize a closet to look like a showroom and not like you really live there? It is not too hard once you get started.

How to Organize a Closet - If you have been cleaning the house and clearing clutter, remember you can't just stuff it in the closets, as that is one of the first places people look when going through a house. A real estate agent friend of mine, once told me, that when he brings clients through a house for sale, they instantly open closets first, then kitchen cabinets and so on. So, they need to know they have enough space in your house for their own stuff. So you can't jam it all in the garage either!

So, the point of this exercise, is to look like you have clean, organized and roomy closets. To organize a closet to look clean, simply means, taking a lot of it out. But you may want to go further than that. If you have one of those closets where the kids open the door and kick their shoes inside it, (you did tell them to put their shoes and boots in the closet right?) more than likely there are marks on the walls. Closets take a beating, and many times they don't even get a coat of paint at all, or maybe just the painters grade in new houses.

Closets get forgotten when it comes to painting a room, because no one wants to empty them, so they may be sporting the same color as the bedroom color which may now be totally different.

These marks and dirt may not show up much with a stuffed closet, but if you want a showroom style closet, you need to empty it right out. Lightly wash the walls and then paint it. I know this seems like a lot of work, but nothing looks cleaner than a fresh coat of paint in a closet. Stick to your neutrals or the same color as your trim. Not dark colors, something light and fresh. Make sure you cover the carpet in the closet with a drop cloth.

Once you have it painted, then clean the carpet that is in there too. You don't want dirty carpet in there. If it is really bad and you can't replace it, purchase a nice looking mat to sit on the carpet in there, and place a few pairs of nice shoes on it, so it looks neat and clean.

Closets tell a prospective buyer a bit about you. If they are jammed to the ceiling, this will not look good. They can't see what shape the walls in the closet are in, and now assume they will have to paint in there, plus the fact, it looks like you don't have enough storage.

Now you need to deal with all the stuff you dragged out of there. If you have the time, you should quickly separate this stuff into 3 piles. The stuff you will keep, the stuff you will give away or donate, and then garbage if you have totally worn out sneakers.

Once you have the closet all nice and clean and freshly painted, now it is time to take your keep pile, and you may have to thin this out a bit too. So, if you have a lot of stuff that still needs to go back into this closet, then get yourself a plastic tote, and take the seasonal stuff you are not using right now, and tuck away in this tote.

Now nicely put other things in this closet. I was told by my friend the agent, that putting clothes or coats on a hangers so that they don't touch, makes the closet look big and roomy.

Take your tote with the stuff you want to keep and along with other things you have taken out of the house, and invest in a rental storage unit, just while your house is for sale. You may think this seems like a waste of money, but by getting the extra stuff out of your house and closets and off the property is the best way to show your house. No point in clearing clutter and spending all that time on organizing closets, just to have it all piled up in the garage or shed. They will find it!

Remember, they are looking to buy your home, if they come across a area filled with boxes and totes from cleaning out the house, then they are going to believe that you don't have the storage room in this house.

So do the above to all your closets, and clear out some clutter from the main living areas, and then rent that unit. Your house will look clean and organized. It may seem hard to live in it like this, but if you store off season things and things you don't use much or won't need for the next month or so, your house will look like a showroom, and it will be much easier to keep clean for those last minute showings.

So, if you want to know how to organize a closet to look showroom great? Recap: clear it out into 3 manageable piles to go through for keeping or donating or throwing away. Clean and repaint the inside of the closet, put things back in and don't let the hangers of selected clothes touch, to give the impression of lots of room. Then rinse and repeat for the other closets in the house.

Remember, when you are restocking your closet, don't put your stinky old sneakers back in there, or your dirty laundry, keep your best shoes on the floor in sight, so it looks like you do live there, but neatly!

Source: "How to Organize a Closet For Selling Your House - What to Do With Your Stuff", InfoBarrel

Tips for Showing Your Home During the Holidays

Tips for Showing Your Home During the Holidays
by Michele Dawson

While the holiday season is a hectic time to show and sell your house, there are distinct advantages to staging and showing your home during the holidays - you have a chance to show your home at its very best, adorned with warmth and cheer sure to charm.

Nothing is more inviting than a home brimming with greenery, twinkling lights and holiday decorations.

So as you set out to win over a holiday homebuyer during this traditionally slow time of the year, keep the following in mind as you prepare to show your house:

•Curb appeal. First impressions are important. If you live in a snowy area, make sure walkways are cleared. Or if late fall leaves are littering the ground, be sure to clear them away. Also make sure the path to the stairs is free from ice.

•A few exterior holiday lights or decorations shows pride in ownership and seasonal cheer, but keep in mind that while exterior lights are beautiful at night, they don't add anything during the day when potential homebuyers will be looking at your home, so you don't want to overdo it. Another thing to consider: would-be buyers may view it favorably if the homes are brimming with lights - it shows unity and neighborliness - so you'll want to find a tasteful balance.

*Trim outdoor trees so unexpected winds don't knock down branches that could damage your home or hurt anybody.

•Place a nice welcome holiday mat outside your front door.

•Make sure your door area is clear from bicycles, toys or parcels left by the mail carrier.

•Hang a festive wreath on your door.

•Play holiday music in the background.

*Keep the house cozy. Entering a cold house could leave a lasting chilling impression. Instead, set the thermostat at a comfortable temperature.

•A toasty fire. If you're only stepping out while an agent is showing your house, start a fire in the fireplace. Nothing says home more than a nice cozy fire. But never leave a fire unattended.

•Your tree. This year you'll need to think about your tree more than you usually do. For starters, if your house is on the small side, get a smaller tree. You don't want the tree to appear to take over the entire living or family room. Likewise, you don't want to cram too much furniture into a room just to get the tree to fit. Remove furniture if necessary.

*Keep decorations on the conservative side. Not all home shoppers may celebrate the holidays in the manner you do. You don't want to overwhelm anybody with abundant displays of holiday cheer. You want your house to be noticed, not your decorations.

•If your house is being viewed in the evening, let your agent know which tree and other holiday lights should be turned on. And be sure the agent turns the lights off or you have a plan to be home immediately following the showing.

•Bake holiday cookies and treats often. The enticing smell will be welcome to those viewing your house.

•Be especially careful about ensuring your home security system is turned back on after agents show your house, especially if you have gifts under the tree.

•Windows. Make sure your windows are sparkling clean.

•Let the light in. Open blinds and curtains and turn on interior lights to reduce the dreary lighting that pervades in the dark winter months.

•Leave some holiday treats and hot chocolate for your guests.

Finally, keep in mind that the holiday adornments should accent - not dominate - the house. You want to convey the love, comfort, and joy your family has shared in the house. If conveyed successfully, a new family will be anxious to move in and carve out their own holiday memories.


Source: "Tips for Showing Your Home During the Holidays" by Michele Dawson, Realty Times

Moving: Packing Tips

Moving: How to pack your home

* Wear shoes with good arch support and full-foot coverage. If weather permits, also wear long sleeves, jeans, and socks to help avoid injuries.

* Gather supplies: boxes (small, medium, and large), packing tape, roll of bubble wrap for fragile pieces, permanent black markers, band-aids, ice packs, pain reliever, trash bags, a wardrobe box for each person in the house, a good sense of humor, and anything else you’ll need.

*When acquiring boxes, make a stop at your local liquor or wine store to grab a few boxes with divided inserts. These boxes are perfect for safely transporting alcohol and other kitchen liquids like vinegar and olive oil. (If moving across state lines, check regulations for transporting alcohol and make certain to abide by these laws.)

*Make a hotel reservation for the night you arrive at your new place. Your goal will be to get the best night’s sleep possible so you can start refreshed for your first day of unpacking. You’ll also want a shower after moving stuff all day, and it’s best to not have to worry about making sure these things can easily happen.

*Clear floorspace in your home in four different locations and mark each area: Packed Boxes to Move, Charity Donations, Giveaway/Return, and Sell. These areas are where you will put these items until you’re finished packing your things. You will likely need at least a 10′ X 10′ area to hold the Packed Boxes to Move. Also, the area holding items you intend to sell should be easily accessible from the front door or in your garage so that potential buyers can see the product without having to climb over boxes and mess in your home.

*If you have children under the age of five, see if a grandparent, friend, or babysitter can keep your child occupied while you work.

*Your first act of packing should be a suitcase with two weeks of clothing and supplies. Be sure to include your toothbrush and toothpaste, a couple bath towels, soap, shampoo, hair dryer and anything else that is part of your daily hygiene routine.

*Your second act of packing should be an essentials kit — but don’t tape it up! These will be the last items you take out of your current house and the first items you unpack in your new place. These will be things like cleaning supplies, two or more rolls of toilet paper, a frying pan, a few paper plates and plastic utensils, sheets for all the beds, and anything else you will need the first couple days in your new place.

*Make large print signs for your new home with room names: Living Room, Family Room, Master Bedroom, Sally’s Room, Sally’s Bathroom, etc. These signs will make it easier on you and anyone helping you move boxes into your new place. Bring a roll of painter’s tape with you in your essentials kit and plan to hang the signs immediately upon getting access to your new place.
As you move throughout your home packing boxes, I recommend starting with the heaviest items that will form the base of your Packed Boxes to Move area. Books are almost always a good item for this. Use small boxes, and group similar types together (cookbooks with cookbooks, children’s books with children’s books).

*Label the top and all four sides of a box with a short explanation of what is in the box (Toys) and what room the box should be placed in at the new house (Bobby’s Room). You want to label the top and sides so that the box can be facing in any direction and you can still know what is inside it and where to take it.

*Try your best not to mix different types of things in boxes (your shoes shouldn’t be with your coffee mugs). If this is unavoidable, at the very least do not mix items that belong in different rooms. Only pack kitchen things with other kitchen things, bathroom things with other bathroom things, etc.

*Sort and clean everything before packing it. If you never plan to use eight vases, put some of the vases in the Donate to Charity pile. The key is to not pack to move ANYTHING you don’t want in your new home. Clear the clutter now so you don’t have to spend time and energy moving it.

*Only use trash bags for trash. This will keep you from accidentally throwing something valuable away. If you want to use trash bags for transporting charity items, use differently colored bags (black for trash, white for charity) and write DONATION in big letters on the bag. Be sure to let the ink dry before using the bag.

*Set packing goals the same way you set other goals in your life. Be as specific as possible: Pack the living room on Monday, the garage on Tuesday, or whatever systematic method works best for you.

*Take breaks at least once an hour for five or ten minutes. Your sanity depends on it.

 Source: "Moving: How to pack your home", Unclutterer.com

How to Buy a Second Home

How to Buy a Second Home

by Shannon O'Brien

 

Lots of things are better in twos: heads when making decisions, aces at the blackjack table and houses. That is, if you can afford two of them.

Sometimes the good stuff comes in twos by accident.

Cheryl J. owned a lovely two-bedroom condo in Las Vegas. When she married and got pregnant (with twins!) she and Jack decided to purchase a single-family home with a yard for the kids. Because the market was depressed, they kept the condo, renting it out.

 

Whether you decide to purchase a second home for a vacation retreat or to make some extra income, if you can afford it, it’s a great investment. Affordability, however, is the main criteria when considering a second home.

 

Can You Afford to Buy a Second Home?

 

If you’re less-than-wealthy, you’ll need to crunch some numbers to ensure you can truly afford a second home. Remember: it’s not just the purchase price that needs to be affordable. Plan on the same ongoing expenses with this house as you have with your primary residence: taxes and insurance, for instance.

Then, factor in the additional expenses involved with owning a home that you don’t live in full-time, such as hiring a property manager.

 

If you can’t charge enough in rent to cover the monthly expenses, you’ll need a cash reserve to help out. Financial managers recommend that you stash away enough money to cover a year’s worth of rental income and maintenance.

 

Qualifying to Buy a Second Home

 

Once you’ve determined that you can truly afford a second home, if you can’t pay cash for it, you’ll need a mortgage loan.

You’ll find that the qualifications for a mortgage on a second home are a bit more stringent than when purchasing your first home, according to the experts at Dow Jones’ Smartmoney.com. Plus, the standards for purchasing a vacation property versus an investment property are different. The benefits of choosing to buy a vacation home, rather than an investment property, include:

• Guidelines for purchasing vacation homes are more lenient than those for investment properties.
• Down payment requirements are generally more relaxed.
• Interest rates are typically better.

 That said, you will still need to come up with a larger down payment than you would were you purchasing a home you intend to live in – from 20 to 35 percent of the purchase price, depending on the lender.

 

Lenders also require a higher credit score for loans on second homes. Again, this varies by lender, but the general rule is that you’ll need your credit score to be in the 725 to 750 range. Shop around for a loan because guidelines vary between lenders.

The Second Home and Taxes

 

It’s a good idea to meet with an accountant before finalizing the paperwork on the second home. The deductibility of mortgage interest on your taxes relies heavily on whether the home is viewed as a vacation retreat or a business investment.

 

If it’s truly a second home, and not a rental, you can deduct all of the interest you pay – up to debt of $1.1 million – if the debt is secured by both of your homes.

The same holds true for property taxes. As long as the second home is treated as a home and not an investment, taxes are deductible, according to the experts at Kiplinger’s.

Renting out the home presents a different set of problems and benefits. If you rent out the second home for more than 14 days out of the year, the rental income must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service and you’ll be taxed on it. Rental expenses, however, such as management fees, are deductible.

 

Situations vary, so if you plan to buy a second home, be sure to seek tax advice from a professional.

 

Source: "How to Buy a Second Home", RealEstate.com

How to help your kids buy a house

How to help your kids buy a house

Be sure you are helping out for the right reasons and don't dip into your nest egg.

By Michele Lerner of Bankrate.com

Traditionally (and when they could afford to), parents have provided cash to their offspring for down payments on homes. But in these days of tightened credit guidelines, some parents take bigger steps to help their kids become homeowners at today's low interest rates.

Three factors determine whether it's financially smart for parents to help adult children buy homes: the parents' finances, the kids' finances and the real-estate deal itself.

"The first rule of thumb is that parents should never get financially involved with their adult offspring unless they are adequately prepared to address their own needs and pending retirement, which may not be far down the road," says Guy Penn, principal and founder of G.M. Penn Wealth Management in O'Fallon, Mo.

Penn says while there's no one-size-fits-all answer to whether parents should help their offspring buy a home, it definitely is a bad idea to pull money from a retirement account to give assistance.

Jeffrey Ivory, a partner with Stonebridge Financial Partners in Bingham Farms, Mich., says, "If parents are giving their kids down payment money, they should be willing to lose that money and not get it back. If they are helping their kids by buying a home and renting it to them or by co-signing their loan, they need to have not only the liquidity for the down payment, but they also need to be certain they can pick up the mortgage payments if the kids cannot pay them."

Adult offspring finances

Parents should make sure they are helping their kids for the right reasons, Ivory says.

"If the kids can't get a loan on their own, the parents really need to know why not," Ivory says. "If the scenario is that your kids are going through a divorce or a job loss and you want to help them, tying them to a permanent location may not help. If they are dealing with the financial consequences of credit problems, helping them pay off their credit card debt may be more important than buying a home. But if you are helping a young couple with stable jobs who just haven't had time to save for a down payment, and you can easily afford to help, this could make sense."

Ivory says parents should ask their kids to pull their credit scores and show it to them, and ask to see their paychecks and credit card debt.

"If your kids are already struggling, then you are setting them up to struggle more if you get them into a house they can't afford," Ivory says.

Educating your kids

Ivory says parents should talk to their kids about the rules of thumb of homeownership, including keeping all total debt including housing costs to less than 38 percent of monthly income before taxes. Housing costs, including taxes, homeowners insurance, homeowners association dues, and principal and interest on the mortgage, should be less than 28 percent of gross monthly income.

"The No. 1 way a parent can help their children is to offer them the gift of knowledge," Penn says. "Parents rarely have serious money discussions with their children, and throwing money in their direction now may be doing more harm than good. Parents should be talking to their kids realistically about the hidden costs of homeownership such as utility payments, maintenance and repairs."

The real-estate deal

The simplest way parents can help their kids financially is with down-payment money.

"Lenders want to know if the money is a gift because if the parents are treating it as a loan, it will be considered a second loan on the home," says Dan Kruse, broker and president of Century 21 Affiliated in Madison, Wis.

Individuals can give $13,000 tax-free to another individual each year, Ivory says, so if two parents each give their offspring and their offspring's spouse the maximum, they can give a total of $52,000 tax-free.

Kruse says parents often buy a house as an investment and have their kids pay rent.

The parents can then sell the home to the kids when they are ready, keep it as an investment property or sell it to someone else," Kruse says. "You can do this with two separate transactions, or you can make a rent-to-own arrangement with the parents giving the kids a rent credit toward the purchase."

Ivory says a lease-to-own arrangement requires consultation with a tax professional as well as a lender, and must include a written contract.

Even within the family, financial planners say it is crucial to have everything in writing to make sure there are no misunderstandings in the future about repayment plans or the consequences of a loan default.

Parents with enough cash can lend the entire mortgage to their offspring, but this too should be in writing and include a reasonable interest payment. "Everyone needs to pay attention to the law and to the tax consequences of any financial arrangement," Ivory says.

Most financial planners view co-signing a loan as the worst option because of potential damage to the parents' credit and cash flow if the kids cannot make the payments.

Source: "How to help your kids buy a house", MSN Real Estate

5 Legal Tasks to Do When You Move

The Internet is full of checklists and resources to use if you are planning to move. There are packing timelines. There are lists of packing supplies. There are even directions on how to pack boxes.


But moving is much more than purging and organizing your personal affects. There are legal tasks you need to take care of too.

Here are 5 legal tasks to complete when you move:

1. Read your leases: Review your current lease to make sure you will not get into trouble for leaving. You are responsible for paying rent for the entire lease term, even if you have vacated the premises. If you need to move before the lease term is expired, read the lease to see if you can sublet or assign to a new tenant. Check your new lease for these terms before you sign it. And make sure you complete these tasks to protect your rights as a tenant.

2. Protect yourself with insurance: Thoroughly read any contract with a moving company before you sign it for delivery times and insurance coverage. Moving companies are required to provide some moving insurance. But you may wish to purchase more.

You should also consider renter’s insurance or homeowner’s insurance.
3. Notify your creditors: Update your address with all of your creditors to ensure you do not miss a payment. And be sure to complete a change of address with the United States Postal Service and request that your mail be forwarded to your new address.
4. Keep receipts if you are relocating for a job: You may be able to write off your expenses if you are required to relocate more than 50 miles due to a job change. Review the Internal Revenue Service’s requirements to qualify for this tax break.

5. Update your estate plan: State laws governing wills and estate plans differ. If you move to a different state, update your estate plan.

For more information, visit Findlaw.com.

Source: "5 Legal Tasks to Do When You Move", by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq., RISMedia

3 Tips to Sell Your Home This Fall

As temperatures dip and fall settles in with the promise of winter ahead, home owners need to pay extra attention to certain details in order to set themselves apart from the competition.


1. Maintain your landscape. Flowers aren’t exactly flourishing this time of year but sellers should still make the most of what they have. Adding fall flowers like mums to your front porch or deck is always a nice touch. More importantly grass should be cut at least once per week and leaves should be cleared as much as possible.

2. Keep your house warm. Prospective buyers will be turned off by a cold house, not giving it the chance it deserves. Spend the extra money to make your home as inviting and comfortable as possible. Also keep in mind that you don’t want it to be too warm because bundled up buyers will be uncomfortable and your utility bills will sky-rocket. I’d recommend keeping the thermostat set in the upper 60′s.

3. Let in the light. If your showing is during the day, open blinds, windows and drapes. If not, turn on all the lights in the home and brighten darker rooms by placing spotlights behind the furniture.

Fall is a great time to sell your home because a lot of prospective buyers are hoping to make a decision before the holidays. Take advantage of the fall market by pricing your home correctly and working with a licensed and experienced agent.

Source: "3 Tips to Sell Your Home This Fall" by Chobee Hoy, RISMedia

Prepare Your Home for Fall and Winter

Prepare your home for unpredictable weather conditions with our checklist for fall and winter home maintenance.
By Reader's Digest Editors  

With summer a fading memory, now’s the time to ready your home for fall and winter’s cooler temps and unpredictable weather conditions.

1. Clear out the gutters.
Remove leaves and other debris from your drainpipe and gutters to prevent clogging. In areas with cold winters, outdoor faucets should be drained in the fall.

2. Clean the fireplace and chimney.
You can clear out ash and charred wood from the fireplace yourself, but leave the chimney cleaning to a professional. Have the chimney cleaner check the damper to ensure it can be tightly closed to prevent drafts.

3. Check the heating system.
Do a survey of your home’s heating vents to make sure they’re not blocked or covered by furniture, carpeting, or curtains. Dust vents and clean all filters. Make an appointment for an annual heating system check-up.

4. Store air conditioners.
If you have removable window air conditioners, be sure to unplug them before taking them down. Dust and clean before covering or storing.

5. Check for drafts.
Stay warm, save energy, and reduce your heating bills this fall by examining windows and doors for cracks and sealing them to prevent drafts.

6. Put up storm windows.
If you have removable screens, now’s the time to clean, store, and replace them with storm windows.

7. Ready the water heater.
Prepare for cooler weather by draining the water heater and clearing out any debris that has settled in the tank.

Source: "Prepare Your Home for Fall and Winter", Reader's Digest

Steps to Speedy Credit Repair to Gain Lender Approval

Many homebuyers now and into the foreseeable future will face tight lending standards and the need to improve their credit score to get pre-qualified or pre-approved for mortgages. Be aware of the following steps [you] can take for some speedy credit repair to gain lender approval and the best possible rates, especially if [you] are months away from a purchase:


Credit Card Wisdom

• Paying revolving credit cards down is generally more beneficial than paying down student, mortgage or auto loans.

• Always leave a 30 percent or higher gap between what you owe on the card and the card’s limit. Lenders look for this minimum gap.

• Use cards with care even if you pay off balances each month. Depending upon statement dates, the lender may see big balances.

• Pay down the cards closest to their limits first for speedier credit repair. The lending bank will then see the “gap” it wants to see.

• Do not ask a creditor to lower credit limits. Generally, carrying smaller balances on several cards is better than one large balance on one card.

• Check your credit card limits to make sure the report is correct. Limits may not be reported on all cards.

• Never make a late payment on credit cards or any loan.



Protesting Items

• Protest any unjust negatives such as late payments, collections that are not yours and any items not reported as “paid as agreed” if you paid on time and in full.

• Protest items listed as unpaid that were included in a bankruptcy, and items older than seven years (10 for bankruptcy).

• Focus first on the larger, newer negatives listed on the report.

Don’t worry about smaller items like incorrect address information or an old employer listed as current unless there’s the possibility of identity theft or the file is mixed with someone else’s.

This is certainly not an all-inclusive list, but it’s a great start for [those] needing to focus on their scores before attempting to get pre-approved and purchase a home...

Source: "Do Your Buyers Need Help with Their Credit Fitness?" by Monica O'Neill, RISMedia

Convincing Your Kids To Part With Old Junk

It is a law of the universe: The more personal possessions your children have, the more prone your house is to untidiness. And, no matter how many great techniques you have for keeping things organized, the tendency will always be to chaos unless you have a regular process for purging your children's toys, clothes, sporting gear and other items.


But children are natural pack rats. Convincing them to part with their possessions can be contentious, to say the least. Before you resort to sneaking their old things out of the house by cover of darkness, try these techniques to win their collaboration:

Empathize. Start with the understanding that there is very little that children get to control in their lives. Adults tell them when and what to eat, when to wake and sleep, how they should behave, and how to spend most of their time (either in school or doing homework). It should come as no surprise that, when it comes to protecting their personal possessions, children can be fierce and more than a little unwilling to part with things, even when they no longer really want or need them.

Follow the kid-junk lifecycle. If the toy or possession is new and used frequently, give it a premier place in the child's bedroom. If it is less new but still in play, relegate it to the play or recreation room. If it is old and rarely played with, it goes into storage with an option to come out upon the child's request. (Remember to remove all batteries!) If it has remained in storage for at least a year, it gets assessed jointly for sentimental value. If it qualifies as memorabilia, put it in the child's own memento box to be sent along when he or she moves out eventually. If it has no personal value and is intact and clean, donate it; if it is broken, missing pieces, or excessively shabby, earmark it for disposal.

Keep your own values and opinions out of the process. You may have spent oodles of cash on that fancy, lifelike doll and countless of adorable outfits to go with it, but if your daughter always plays with her ratty stuffed animals, accept her preference. Let her keep the stuffed animals and prepare to either resell on eBay or to find a more deserving home for the expensive doll gear.

Honor their collections. Somewhere between toddler and teenager, many children develop urges to become collectors. Whole toy empires are built on this. Sometimes it is a passing phase or craze, but other times it will become a lifelong passion. Recognize the difference and find creative ways to help your child organize and manage his or her lasting collections. Teach them to be discerning and about the concepts of creating collections with either sentimental or monetary value. Help them to understand, for example, why a collection of rare baseball cards will have long-term value that could appreciate over time while a collection of Funny Bands or Japanese Erasers most likely will not.

Record their histories. When deciding which school papers to keep or throw out, use this rule of thumb: if the work expresses your child's personal thoughts or views on the world-a persuasive essay, a piece of creative writing or artwork into which they have put a great deal of effort-keep it. If the work represents a regurgitation of anybody else's view of the world or is something the child spent little time on creatively, add it to the recycle bin. When the time comes that you no longer want to store those 21 hand-painted plaster statues or the 14 nearly identical soccer trophies handed out each year by your children's coaches, arrange the items in a nice setting, photograph them, then dispose of them.

Encourage philanthropy. Most children (once they get past their terrible twos or threes) are naturally philanthropic. Remind them on a daily basis about how fortunate they are and help them to imagine how happy some other child would be to have an opportunity to play with or own a toy that is sitting unused under his or her bed.

Think source reduction. Debating between cooking dinner and zipping through the fast-food drive through? Factor in the idea that you are likely to acquire three new junky plastic toys in the process. If your child is the intransigent type when it comes to giving up old toys, grab your pots and pans and avoid the acquisition altogether. Likewise, instead of throwing a big 25-kid birthday party every year, limit large parties to every second, third, or fourth year to minimize the inflow of new possessions. If you simply must invite 25 kids to your ten-year-old son's skating party, consider helping him select a charity and request that donations be made in lieu of gifts. This works best if you have family around who will be giving your son gifts anyway or if you can tie the decision in with a much-wanted gift-like a new bicycle-that you were planning to give anyway.

Timing is everything. Capitalize on your child's excitement by timing his or her possession purges to coincide with gift-giving events like birthdays, holidays or back-to-school shopping sprees when you are already planning to buy new things. Explain that he or she needs to make space, in the desk for new supplies, in the bureau for new clothes, or on the shelves for new games and toys. You were going to buy anyway, so this is not technically a bribe!

If all else fails-if you learn through these processes that your child is just a bona fide hoarder-you may need to resort to covert operations. Amp up your powers of observation; notice what he or she touches and does not touch on a regular basis. Pack rarely-used items into boxes under cover of darkness and move them into storage. If-after six months or a year-your child never goes looking for the stored items, go ahead and dispose of them with the one caveat that you may never be completely forgiven!

Source: "Convincing Your Kids To Part With Old Junk", MaidPro.com

Home Builder Confidence Improves as Mortgage Rates Stay Low

Home Builder Confidence Improves as Mortgage Rates Stay Low

by Ed Ferrara

As mortgage rates have continued to stay low, builders' confidence has improved for the fourth consecutive month in August according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Increasing 2 points to 37, the index is at its highest level since February, 2007. This report is a survey of builders' outlook for single family homes sales and expectations of sales for the next six months.

In addition to this index, Building Permits increased 6.8% as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development and was at the highest level since August, 2008. Numbers going forward are looking positive for builders with the real estate market showing signs of recovery and affordability even though it still remains fragile.

This past week, FreeRateUpdate.com's survey of wholesale and direct lenders shows that mortgage rates remained steady with 30 year fixed mortgage rates at 3.375%, 15 year fixed mortgage rates at 2.750% and 5/1 adjustable mortgage rates at 2.125%, all available with 0.7 to 1% origination fee. To obtain these low mortgage rates, borrowers must have good credit and the qualifications needed for approval. Home purchase loans and regular mortgage refinances require documentation and verification of employment, income and assets.

On the other hand, HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) offers underwater borrowers the chance to refinance without the need of an appraisal or other documents. Eligibility requires that the borrower have a mortgage that was sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to June 1, 2009. HARP mortgages have been on the increase since the expansion of the program that includes all underwater mortgages with the removal of loan to value caps. While some borrowers may find obtaining HARP difficult, this should not be the case. All borrowers can inquire online about HARP where there are numerous lenders available to accommodate all types of circumstances.

With FHA still offering low down payments and easier credit qualifying, there remains continued concern with their exposure to risk and rates of foreclosures. Nevertheless, FHA loans remain a major player in the mortgage industry and continues to have low mortgage rates and favorable refinancing options. Current FHA 30 year fixed mortgage rates are at 3.125%, FHA 15 year fixed mortgage rates are at 2.625% and FHA 5/1 adjustable mortgage rates are at 2.625%. To assist the insurance fund, FHA does have high closing costs (APR) due to the upfront mortgage insurance premium and other FHA fees, but borrowers will find that these can often be added to the loan amount.

For home purchase loans, seller concessions will sometimes cover the bulk of these fees. Despite any negativity, FHA's latest offer is the FHA streamline refinance with no cash out for borrowers who have loans that were endorsed prior to June 1, 2009. Without an appraisal or other documentation, eligible borrowers can refinance quickly to the low FHA mortgage rates being offered at this time. Volume for the FHA streamline has been high enough for lenders to turn away any borrower who is not already a customer. With a larger number of FHA approved lenders available, online inquiries have become a popular way to obtain this FHA refinance.

Jumbo 30 year fixed mortgage rates increased by .125% this past week and are now at 4.250%. Jumbo 15 year fixed mortgage rates are at 3.125% and 5/1 adjustable mortgage rates are at 2.250%. Excellent credit is required in order to receive these low jumbo mortgage rates with 0.7 to 1% origination fee. These loans require full documentation for employment and income for both outside employment or self employed.

Asset statements must show enough available funds for the higher down payment and additional month of reserves that are required. Jumbo mortgages are becoming more competitive as more lenders are entering this market. While these loans are considered risky, they are also profitable for lenders who usually keep them within their portfolio. With more lender product offerings for jumbo mortgages, borrowers may find there is more flexibility when considering an approval. Obtaining lender requirements and mortgage rates in advance will help borrowers find the best deal when shopping for a jumbo loan.

Mortgage rates were at risk of rising most of last week as MBS prices fell after better than expected economic data was reported. MBS prices affect mortgage rates which move in the opposite direction. The preliminary August index for Consumer Sentiment rose to 73.6 which was the highest level since May according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan report. U.S. leading economic indicators rose 0.4% in July according to the Conference Board.

The Consumer Price Index was flat for July while Core CPI, minus food and energy, was up 0.1%. Industrial Production for July increased 0.6% and the August Empire state dropped to -5.9 (the first time below zero since October, 2011). The big news was Retail Sales for July which rose 0.8% which was much better than expected. July PPI rose 0.3% and Core PPI increased 0.4%. Adding to this, data from Europe was better than expected with increased GDP data from Germany and France which sent investors back to risky assets and the stock market higher.

FreeRateUpdate.com surveys more than two dozen wholesale and direct lenders' rate sheets to determine the most accurate mortgage rates available to well qualified consumers at a standard 0.7 to 1% point origination fee.

Source: Realty Times - Home Builder Confidence Improves as Mortgage Rates Stay Low

Preparing your home for Fall

Preparing your home for Fall
5 Tips: Getting your house ready for the new season.

By Gerri Willis, CNN/Money contributing columnist

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - It's the unofficial end of summer. While you may be caught up with other things, like getting the kids ready for school, it's important not to neglect your home.


Early fall is the time of year to prepare your house for the cooler weather just around the corner. Most people know to clean their gutters and seal openings around windows that can leak heat. But there are other less obvious measures you'll need to take to keep your home in tip-top shape inside and out.

Here are today's 5 tips on getting your home ready for Fall:

1. Crank the heat.

"You forget your heating system when it's summer. But believe me, you'll notice if it doesn't work right in the winter," says Ed Del Grande, host of Do It Yourself Network's "Ed The Plumber."

It's extremely important to make sure your heating system is working correctly and safely. Ed recommends having a heating and cooling specialist look over your system once a year at this time.

If you have a forced hot air system, your heating and cooling systems use the same filters. If they're dirty, filthy air will be circulating around your home. Filter changing is something homeowners can and should do themselves.

Have the specialist inspecting your unit show you how it's done, then you'll be able to do it regularly whenever you need to. Ed says filters usually need changing three to four times over the course of the winter.

If you have gas heat, your serviceman should check the pilot light, burner and chimney flue -- that's where carbon monoxide byproduct exits your home. If it's not venting properly, you could have carbon monoxide building up in your house.

Forced hot water heating systems (sometimes called baseboard heat) should also be checked and serviced. Typically this involves putting an anti-freeze solution into the heating pipes so they don't freeze while you're away or not using your heat. Ed says the service costs about $100, but it protects a system that's worth much, much more.

2. Prevent trouble down below.

There may also be things that need attending to beneath your property. Ed recommends having underground sprinkler systems flushed before the cold sets in.

The process involves blowing air into pipes to displace leftover water. This is important because water lines are typically only 6 to 8 inches below ground -- and prone to freezing. If they freeze and then burst, you could have a costly repair situation on your hands.

Homeowners with septic tanks should also think about pumping them now -- before the ground freezes and snow buries your yard. Septic tanks should be checked once every year and cleaned no less than every three years.

3. Go topside.

Roofs usually have a 20 to 30 year life, but that doesn't mean they don't need attention. You or a roofer should get up there once a year to check its condition.

Look for missing or rotting shingles. While up there, check the gutters to make sure they're free of leaves and debris. It's also a good time to repair any broken gutters and downspouts.

Don't forget to trim dead or overgrown tree limbs hanging over your house. All it takes is one storm to bring weak branches down and damage your roof.

4. The water fight.

Moisture is public enemy number one. Enemy number two is poor ventilation. Put them together, and you have an environment that encourages mold growth.

Molds can seriously damage your home (your biggest investment) and some can even make you sick. Ed recommends good exhaust fans in bathrooms where moisture can easily collect after showers.

Damp basements and crawl spaces can be mold hotbeds. Watch for leaks from your hot water heater, plumbing system and seeping rain water.

Serious floods will require pumping to remove the water, but if what you've got is a damp basement, Ed recommends using a dehumidifier to help remedy the problem.

One more tip: know where your plumbing valves are. That way, if you spring a leak somewhere in your home, you'll know how to shut the water off at the source and prevent further flooding.

5. Beware the dangers in your garage.

An attached garage gives you protected passage to your car. But you may actually need to protect yourself from what's inside.

When warm air leaks out of your home, air from the garage gets sucked in. That means carbon monoxide and other harmful gases can enter your home.

Not only should you think twice about warming up the car inside on cold days, you should also rethink what you store there. Fumes given off by chemicals, pesticides and fertilizer can be harmful. Think about storing these substances outside in waterproof, plastic containers.


Source: "Preparing your home for Fall", CNNMoney  

 

Confident Home Buying: Is This The House For Me?

Confident Home Buying: Is This The House For Me?
by Phoebe Chongchua

Buying a house is likely the single largest investment you'll make and, like a good marriage, if it's the right one, it may last a lifetime. But how can you be confident in your home buying, especially if you're a first-time buyer? With so many homes to choose from, how do you know if this house is the one?

Sounds like a dating question. And, coincidentally, using some of the same techniques used to determine if you're marrying the right person may also help you decide which home is the best for your needs. These days more buyers are coupling up–-buying homes together (even if they're not in a relationship) to offset the cost and be able to afford more.

You've heard of buyers' remorse and you know you sure don't want it. Sometimes fearing buyers' remorse can actually lead to buyers' inactivity. They become afraid and so they do nothing. They shop, they see, they even put offers in but in the end, they don't close. If you're a serious buyer, you don't want to get stuck in a cycle of looking and never owning.

So, how can you be confident that the home you're buying will meet your needs? Start with some basic guidelines. Make a list of your must-haves, needs, and wants. These are truly three different categories. Yes, some things you list may overlap but after your list is started, you'll begin to see what really matters to you. Sometimes buyers will be shopping for a home with a pool, but when they finally make a list they realize that money is very tight and the added cost of heating a pool will be too much of a drain. So they revise their home-buying desires and start house-hunting all over again. It would've been far more effective to have considered this from the start.

Next, study the home or apartment that you're currently living in. What are the positive aspects of it? Are there things about the place you live in now that you absolutely can't stand? Taking stock of what is working and what isn't in your current home provides a good blueprint for the things you should consider when searching for your next home. Remember to be honest. Sometimes we tend to forget the bad things about a home due to its sentimental value. If you look at your current home with a critical eye, you'll know which areas caused a big headache and then you can be sure you don't buy another with the same problem.

For instance, maybe the home needs a lot of fixing up and you and your spouse barely survived the remodel without tearing each other apart. You might then want to search for homes in much better condition to limit the fixing up. Our minds have a wonderful way of forgetting the bad, once the bad is over. But, trust me, you'll remember once you're back in the same scenario again.

Do your homework and get everyone's feedback. Unless you're buying a home alone, you should spend time meeting with those who will be living in the home to discuss what's important. Sounds obvious...yes, but guess what? A lot of times Buyer One and Buyer Two don't even talk about what's really important to each other until they start searching for homes. Then they realize how truly different their views and expectations are and see the necessity to compromise a little. Time is better spent reviewing and discussing first. That way, an agent can make sure the properties being shown are in line with everyone's desires.

Finally, plan ahead. Especially if you're moving a family or you're moving in with someone else. Use a synchronized calendar, like Google, to help map out all the meetings and showings. There will be lots of important meetings to attend and if you can't get the necessary buyers there, the process will be stalled. Without the necessary buyers present, you can't be confident the home will satisfy. Plan. Schedule. Commit. This will assure that the home-buying process will be a success.

Source: Realty Times - Confident Home Buying: Is This The House For Me?

Utah's 2012 Economic Summary: GDP, CPI, Interest Rates, and Home Prices

Interest Rates—The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.62% for the week ending August 16, 2012 according to Freddie Mac.


Home Prices—According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Appreciation Ranking, Utah’s house prices were up 3.0% in the first quarter of 2012 from first quarter of 2011. This ranks Utah 8th in the nation.

Foreclosure Rates—At the end of the fourth quarter 2011, 2.45% of all loans were in foreclosure, ranking Utah 16th in the nation.

Source: 2012 Economic Summary, Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget Demographic and Economic Analysis

5 Low-Cost Kitchen Redos Buyers Will Love

5 Low-Cost Kitchen Redos Buyers Will Love

By Erica Christoffer

Kitchen remodeling sales were up 36 percent in the third quarter of 2011 compared with the same time a year earlier, according to the National Kitchen & Bath Association. It’s no wonder: The kitchen is the focal point in many homes.

Kitchens are one of the features buyers compare most closely when they’re shopping for a home. Here are cost estimates for some of the low-cost kitchen upgrades that listing agents often recommend to sellers:


1. Hardware.
Replacing cabinet hardware, such as handles, knobs, and hinges is a quick, DIY way to enhance kitchen space. According to HouseLogic.com, an average kitchen is 200 square feet with 30 linear feet of cabinetry, which equates to about 40 handles and knobs. Averaging between $2 and $20 per knob or pull, a home owner can expect to spend from $80 to $800 for this enhancement.

2. Faucet.
There are myriad options today in terms of height, spouts, pullout hoses, and folding necks, with quality faucets starting at around $200.

3. Lighting.
Adding an LED undercabinet light can have a dramatic effect for about $40.

4. Organization.
Buyers today choose functionality over elaborate decoration, says Jamie Goldberg, a National Kitchen & Bath Association–certified designer. Practical storage in the kitchen will go a long way. Over-the-door hooks, baskets in the pantry, drawer organizers, wall hooks for pots and pans, and stackable shelves for cabinets will add appeal, typically for less than $100.

5. Countertops.
Laminate can mimic the contemporary look of granite at a significant discount. The cost for an average kitchen with 30 linear feet of laminate countertop is roughly $1,575; the same space in granite would be about $2,400.

Source: "5 Low-Cost Kitchen Redos Buyers Will Love," RealtorMag

5 High-Tech Summer Energy-Efficiency Boosts for Your Home

5 High-Tech Summer Energy-Efficiency Boosts for Your Home

By Jerry Kronenberg

"Green" technology can turn the hot weather baking much of America this summer from a drag on your home's air-conditioning bill to a source of free solar energy -- if you know what improvements to make.

"[Green upgrades] can give you a good return on investment, a lifestyle that's more pleasant and let you feel good about what you're doing to help the environment," says Harvey Sachs, senior fellow at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Sachs estimates homeowners can recoup the costs of carefully chosen energy improvements over five years -- and enjoy a much more comfortable indoor climate in the meantime.

"By bringing your home's energy systems under control, you'll get rid of drafts, kill a lot of equipment noise and eliminate rooms that are too hot or too cold," he says. "That's worth a lot right there."

Here's a look at five high-tech moves the expert believes every homeowner should consider this summer to maximize their property's energy efficiency:

Cost figures are estimates for a typical four-bedroom home and were provided by Complete Home Evaluation Services, a Maine energy-efficiency consultancy.

Get a home energy audit
Cost: $200 to $750

Sachs recommends getting a "Home Energy Rating System" review or other comprehensive audit of your property's fuel efficiency before even thinking about installing a solar panel or new air conditioner.

"Instead of just blindly throwing money at energy efficiency, you want to invest in a consultant with the right tools and get the right 'road map' of what to do," he says.

Home-energy audits typically take around a half-day and involve checking your home's heating and cooling systems, as well as using high-tech infrared heat detectors and negative-air-pressure machines to find gaps in your property's insulation.

Audits typically cost a few hundred dollars, but your local utility or state energy commission will sometimes offer them for free or at a reduced cost.


Fix your home's "envelope"
Cost: $4,000 to $5,500

Once you've done an energy audit, you should fix any gaps the review has uncovered in your home's "envelope" -- the insulation that separates heated or cooled living spaces from unheated attics or the outdoors.

"Getting the envelope right is the first step toward getting the smallest energy bills possible," Sachs says. "Fix the envelope and you've maximized your freedom to do anything else you want, whether you're just improving the air conditioning or putting in solar heat."

DeWitt Kimball of Complete Home Evaluation Services says air leaks account for 50% or more of a property's energy loss, and sealing them helps heat and cool a property more efficiently.

"People think you just insulate a home for the winter, but I get rave reviews in the summer from customers who say: 'It's unbelievable how much more comfortable my house is,'" he says. "Good insulation keeps the summer heat out and the cool in."

In addition to cutting your energy bills, eliminating air leaks will allow you to install smaller heating or air-conditioning systems -- saving you even more cash.

Sachs added that you won't have to fix insulated air ducts, which typically let some 30% of your system's heat or coolness escape. If you have a well-sealed home, hot or cold air that leaks from these ducts will simply stay inside the house.

Add a high-efficiency heater/air conditioner
Cost: $10,000

Sachs advises installing a high-efficiency combination heater/air conditioner if your home has an older, inefficient model.

Consider replacing any furnace or boiler that's more than 15 years old and has an 80% or lower annual fuel utilization efficiency rating.

You also want to think about replacing older forced-air or hot-water systems that lack modern "condensing" capabilities. That's where your furnace or boiler recaptures heat from the system's hot water or flue gases as they cool and condense.

Also replace any aging air-conditioning system with a new unit that includes a variable-speed fan and either a two-stage or variable-modulating-speed compressor (also called an "inverter drive compressor").

Basic central-air systems have just "on" or "off" positions, but two-stage units have "high" and "low" settings and variable-modulating systems essentially have an infinite set of speeds. Coupled with a variable-speed fan, such advanced systems can independently control your home's temperature, humidity or both -- keeping you comfortable whether it's warm and muggy or hot but dry.

Best of all, Sachs says, such units also typically run at low speeds 80% or 90% of the time. That will save you big bucks over single-speed systems, which run full blast even when it's only a tad hot out.

Install a solar water heater
Cost: $10,000 to $12,000

You can take advantage of the summer sun by installing a solar water thermal heater on your rooftop to heat water for free.

These units basically pipe water onto your home's roof where the sun heats it, then transfers water to an indoor water tank for later use.

"A solar thermal water-heating system will give you free hot water all summer long -- and most of the winter, too," Sachs says.

The only downside is its hefty cost -- around $10,000 and up, according to Complete Home Evaluation Services.

Sachs concedes that at that price, installing a solar water heater is "not likely to be quickly cost effective."

Add photovoltaic electricity
Cost: $14,000 and up

The sunlight baking so much of the country this summer contains more than enough energy to meet many homeowners' needs -- if they install photovoltaic roof panels to turn it into electricity.

These systems are expensive, but Sachs says you can cut costs significantly by installing photovoltaic panels that produce enough electricity for most but not all of your power consumption.

"Trying to meet your home's entire electric load with solar power instead of relying on your local utility for the last little bit can easily double the cost of a system," he says. "You might only have a couple of hundred hours a year when you use the maximum amount of air conditioning. But if you decide to size your [solar unit] to meet that load, you'll need a much larger photovoltaic system."

Source: “5 High-Tech Summer Energy-Efficiency Boosts for Your Home,” The Street (July 27, 2012)

4 Home Showing Tips in the Hot Weather

4 Home Showing Tips in the Hot Weather

By Jerry Kronenberg

Sizzling 100 degree temperatures have been blanketing the country in recent weeks, but some potential buyers may be more reluctant to go house shopping in the heat. How can you still draw the buyers out?

"Even though buyers have air conditioning in their cars, you have to convince them to get into their cars -- then out of their cars -- to check places out," Brad Knapp, a National Association of REALTORS® regional vice president, told The Street.

Here are four showing tips for the hot weather, according to Knapp in a recent article at The Street.

1. Keep it cool. It’s not the time to penny-pinch on the air conditioning. Knapp says home owners without central air conditioning will be at a big disadvantage, and he says they might even consider keeping their home off the market until the cooler days of fall. As for home owners who do have central air, he recommends keeping the thermostat around 72 degrees.

2. Watch the smell. The warm weather can cause odors in the home to become even stronger, such as pet smells and musty basements, Knapp says. Have your sellers remove the kitty litter box, relocate the pets for showings, and clean any musty basements with bleach. He also recommends using a dehumidifer to make sure the home stays dry.

3. Tend to the lawn. Curb appeal is important but Knapp acknowledges it can be a challenge in sizzling hot weather and when a city has water restrictions in place. "Try to keep the front yard as green as possible -- but you can forget about the backyard if you have to," he says. "Most buyers are astute enough to know that if all of the backyards up and down the street are brown, there really isn't a problem if yours is too."

4. Pay attention to doors and windows. Front doors can be filled with summer pollen so make sure your sellers give it a nice clean at least once a week, Knapp suggests. He also suggests regularly cleaning the windows — both the inside and out — to make sure they sparkle.

Read more tips from Knapp at The Street.


Source: “8 Tips for Selling a Home in Summer,” The Street (July 20, 2012)