Clear the Clutter and Sell Your Home  

Aug 13, 2013

By: Realtor.com Team 

You don’t have to live like a minimalist, but when it’s time to sell your home, rigorously editing your decor will help make the sale. Potential buyers want to picture themselves living there, and they can’t do that if your stuff is spilling out all over. Even if your house is clean, having things crammed in every nook is a visual turnoff.
Hiring a stager can help, but before you worry about making the place photo-shoot-ready, see how much cargo you can jettison. Make piles of things to save, to donate, and to throw away. Be ruthless. You can sell stuff online or hold a garage sale, but keep in mind that selling the house comes first and budget your time accordingly. You might be better off donating — some charities are even willing to pick up. For the things you’re keeping, consider renting a storage space and temporarily clearing everything out to make the house neutral.
As you declutter, pay particular attention to these:

• Furniture: Keep it to a minimum in your living areas so that your rooms look bigger.
• Entry: Clear out shoes, coats, umbrellas and other outdoor items from your foyer or mudroom.
• Equipment: Move out big pieces, such as drum kits or exercise equipment.
• Bookshelves: Edit your shelves so that you have a neat, orderly space with books and perhaps a few decorative items, like a vase, globe or art.
• Periodicals: Get rid of old newspapers and magazines, recycling if you can.
• Photos: Take down your personal photos. Let the buyer imagine pictures of their own family on the walls, tables and shelves.
• Cables: Organize the cords for your computers, printers, televisions and other electronics so that they don’t look sloppy.
• Plants: Get rid of sickly plants and keep only a few healthy ones on display.
• Kitchen counters: Remove everything from your countertops, keeping only essentials like a toaster. Decorate sparingly (bowls of unblemished fruit look nice). And clear off all those magnets, coupons, and children’s artwork from the refrigerator.
• Cabinets and pantry: Arrange the shelves neatly, with items and labels pointed in the same direction.
• Bedrooms: Make sure beds are made and all clothes, toys and shoes are off the floor.
• Nightstands: Take away the tissues, medicines and magazines and keep just lamps, clocks and maybe a book or two.
• Closets: Clean out your closets so they aren’t packed to the rafters.
• Bathrooms: Hide your razors, toothbrushes and shampoos in a cabinet while your house is being shown. Spruce up with some fresh soaps, towels or maybe flowers.

Diana Lundin wrote this article.
To read more go to Realtor.com

How to Keep Home Maintenance Costs Under $300 a Year

• By: John Riha

 

A little TLC maintenance goes a long way toward staving off expensive repairs.

Spending time now on minor exterior touch-ups — like replacing caulk and refreshing paint — can prevent major repair costs down the road. Image: August Blues Slipcover Studio

Cringe at the thought of major repairs to your home? It’s the little preventative maintenance things you do throughout the year that’ll keep big repair bills at bay. In fact, you can keep your entire house fit and healthy for a mere $300 per year. Here’s how.
 

1. Get up close and personal with your house.

Annual cost: $0-$10

Trust us — you want to be on intimate terms with your house. The more familiar you are, the easier it is to spot potential trouble spots before they get out-of-hand — and expensive to fix.

You don’t have to be a pro inspector; just take the time to stroll around. A DIY inspection costs nothing — and could save you thousands. Look for:

• Cracks in the foundation. Hairline cracks are fairly normal, but keep an eye on them and note if they’re getting larger. If so, your foundation may be settling unevenly. You can make a small mark with an indelible pen across the crack; over the next few months, if you notice the mark is moving apart, call in a foundation expert.

• Proper soil grading. Foundation soil should slope away from foundation walls at least 6 inches in 10 feet. More is better.

• Downspout extensions. They should reach at least 5 feet away from your house. A flexible extension is about $10.

• Roof damage. Use a pair of binoculars to look for shingles that are curled, torn, or missing, and rust spots on flashing. 

• Shaggy bushes and tree limbs. Keep plants at least 3 feet away from your house. Branches can channel water right to your siding; during a windstorm, they may bang against your house and cause damage.

Branches near your roof are squirrel highways; trim them back to prevent critters from reaching your roof. You don’t want pests in your attic.

2. Make caulk your BFF.

Annual cost: $24.

Your home’s No. 1 enemy is water; your home’s best friend is caulk.

Cheap and easy to use, caulk seals openings and prevents water from getting inside your home, where lingering moisture causes rot and mold. Caulk seals air leaks that can rob you of precious heating and cooling energy.

As caulking ages, it may come loose as your house settles slightly. Every year, inspect window and door frames for cracked and missing caulk. Check around exterior dryer vents, hose bibs, and electrical wiring to make sure openings in your siding are sealed tight.

You won’t be caulking the whole enchilada — but bet on using 3-4 tubes of top-quality exterior acrylic latex caulk ($4-$6 per 12-oz. tube) every year.

3. Give your house a facial.

Annual cost: $0-$32

As you make your inspection rounds, look for blemishes — chipped or peeling paint, small chips in stucco, and missing mortar between masonry. A little spot repair prevents moisture from doing more damage.

• Keep paint in good repair and help your exterior paint job last longer by touching up chipped or peeling areas so water can’t penetrate. Keep a close eye on trim, porch columns, and stair railings. Annual cost: $16 for 1 qt. of color-matched exterior latex paint.

• Plug holes in stucco with pre-mixed latex stucco patching compound ($7 for a 1 qt. tub).

• Repair missing mortar using textured, masonry mortar repair compound ($3.50 for a 5-oz. tube).

• Clean your exterior. All types of siding benefit from an annual cleaning to remove dirt and grime. Use buckets of warm, soapy water (½ cup of trisodium phosphate — $4.95 for a 1 lb. box — dissolved in 1 gallon of water) and a soft-bristled brush attached to a long handle. Or, use a homemade green cleaner from ½ cup baking soda dissolved in 1 gallon warm water.

4. Coddle your HVAC.
Annual cost: $50-$164

• Change furnace filters. Have you looked at them lately? They’re filthy! They’re cutting down on your heating and cooling efficiency and making your furnace fan work overtime trying to push air through stuffed-up filters. Keep allergy-causing dust to a minimum and give your furnace a break with regular HVAC maintenance that includes changing your high-quality filters every 3-4 months.

• Get an HVAC tune-up. For this annual HVAC maintenance chore, bring in a pro to clean out furnace parts and recharge your refrigerant levels. Signing a contract for an annual inspection lowers cost per visit.

5. Show your water heater a little TLC.
Annual cost: $0

• Remove sediment and gunk in the bottom of the tank by hooking a garden hose to the drain valve and draining the tank until the water runs clear. That helps your water heater warm up quickly and more cheaply.

Test the pressure relief valve by quickly opening it two or three times (catch the spillage in a small bucket). After testing, watch for any leaks from the valve.

6. Clean your gutters.
Annual cost: $0

Clogged rain gutters cause overflows that damage siding and soak the soils around your foundation. That mean foundation problems that lead to expensive repairs. Clean your gutters at least twice each year to remove clogs and debris. Like you didn’t know that!

John Riha has written seven books on home improvement and hundreds of articles on home-related topics. He’s been a residential builder, the editorial director of the Black & Decker Home Improvement Library, and the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/maintenance-repair/how-to-keep-home-maintenance-costs-under-300/#ixzz2eh0gA8QR

I’m Buying a Newly Built Home — Do I Need a Realtor®?

Aug 13, 2013

By: Amit Kulkarni 

Buying a new home is exciting. You get to build your dream from the ground up, choosing your lot, your model, interior finishes and upgrades. But like any home purchase, buying new construction is serious business, an expensive transaction with many financial implications.
That’s why it’s a good idea to obtain representation from a Realtor® when considering a new home purchase. Here’s why:

Builder sales reps represent the builder. Often builders have their own agents on site to answer questions, assist people who walk in, and ultimately help with a purchase. Builder reps provide a valuable service: They can explain differences between models and floor plans and share information about financing options, upgrades and specials. But it’s important to remember that builder reps represent the builder, as they are contractually obligated to do. “Realtors® are trusted resources for real estate information and can help home buyers navigate the increasingly complex home-buying process,” said National Association of Realtors® President Gary Thomas. “The buyer agency agreement ensures the buyer that his or her Realtor® will represent the interests of the buyer alone and not the seller.”

Fiduciary responsibility. One of the most important considerations for any buyer is fiduciary responsibility. When you retain the services of a Realtor®, their responsibility is to you. That means you have an expert who is looking out for your best financial interests, an expert who’s contractually obligated to protect you. A Realtor® can help you navigate the new-construction contract; help you understand how specific clauses, riders and upgrade options affect you; and make sure you know what you need to before you sign on the dotted line.

Negotiating a better deal. Finding the right model and picking your upgrades is the fun part. Once you’re ready to sign the contract, a Realtor® can work on your behalf to negotiate the terms, from upgrade options to financing and closing costs. In addition, a Realtor® can present other options for financing or might be able to work with the builder’s lender directly to get you a better rate for your mortgage.

Shepherding your new home to closing. Signing a contract with a builder is just the beginning. You must also line up financing, work with title companies and attend numerous inspections throughout the construction. A Realtor® can manage that process and can accompany you on inspections to ensure you’re not missing anything at each construction milestone.

Read more at Realtor.com

Buying a Home? 10 Financial Things You Shouldn’t Do

Aug 26, 2013

By: Realtor.com Team 

 

You’ve decided to buy a house, and you need financing. Even if you have good credit, you should keep your finances shipshape until closing so that lenders won’t think twice.
Here are 10 things to avoid while you’re buying a home:

1. Don’t change your job before applying for a home loan. Also, now is not the right time to become self-employed or to quit your job. You want to show lenders stability, which means you’ll be less likely to default on the loan.

2. Don’t change banks. As with your employment, you want your banking history to show stability.

3. Don’t buy a car that you have to finance. Buying a vehicle or any other form of transportation through a loan increases your debt-to-income ratio, and loan officers don’t want to see that.

4. Don’t buy furniture on credit before buying your house. Charging big-ticket items increases your debt-to-income ratio. Save your money for the down payment.

5. Don’t be late on your credit card payments or charge excessively. You need a track record of responsibility that shows you can manage your money.

6. Don’t make large deposits into your bank accounts. Lenders like it when the money for your down payment has been sitting in your account for at least two months – what they call “seasoning” – so that the funds don’t just appear out of the ether.

7. Don’t lie on your loan application. Sounds simple, right? But don’t leave out any debts or liabilities or fudge your income. It’s fraud.

8. Don’t co-sign a loan for anyone. Even if you’re not making the payments on that loan, co-signing increases your debt-to-income ratio.

9. Don’t apply for new credit cards or prompt any other inquiries into your credit rating. Looking for new credit translates into higher risk for lenders. If your inquiries are related to your mortgage search, that usually doesn’t affect your credit score, because lenders assume that you’re rate-shopping. But opening credit accounts within a short period of time represents some risk, and your credit could take a hit. Inquiries are probably not a huge factor in calculating your ability to repay a loan, but why take a chance?

10. Don’t spend money you’ll need for closing costs. Part of the price of financing a loan is closing costs, and you’ll likely have some responsibility for paying them. Make sure you have enough for your share.
Diana Lundin wrote this article.

4 Easy-Living, Universal Design Tips for Any Home

• By: John Riha

 

Here are some tips to get you started on incorporating universal design features in your home.

Lever-style door handles are easier to use than knobs, and they can even contribute to the value of your home. Image: Baldwin Hardware

One of the basic principles of universal design, also called ageless design, is that it makes homes more practical and safer for everyone — not just the elderly or people with limited mobility.

These days, universal design features are an everyday fact of life for many households, with architects and other professional designers adding universal design ideas as a matter of course.

You don’t have to be a pro designer to incorporate this smart thinking into your own home. If you’re remodeling or simply adding a few upgrades, be sure to keep universal design features in mind. There are lots of resources that’ll give you some great starting points.

As we remodel our 1972 ranch-style house (we’re on the multi-year, budget-as-you-go plan), my wife and I have incorporated several low-cost, easy-to-do UD features. A few of our favorites:

1. Switch out doorknobs for lever-style handles. Doorknobs require lots of dexterity and torque to open; with levers you simply press and go.

Makes sense for folks with arthritis, of course, but think about an emergency situation when everyone, including small kids, needs to exit fast: A lever handle is a safe, foolproof way to open a door.

A big plus: Levers are good-looking and can contribute to the value of your home. A standard interior passage door lever in a satin nickel finish costs about $20; you’ll pay $25 to $30 for a lockable lever set for your bath or bedroom. Replacing door hardware
is an easy DIY job.
2. Replace toggle light switches with rocker-style switches. Rocker switches feature a big on/off plate that you can operate with a finger, a knuckle, or even your elbow when you’re laden with bags of groceries.

Rocker switches are sleek and good-looking, too. Ever notice how conventional toggle switches get dirt and grime embedded in them after a couple of years? No more! You’ll pay $2 for a single-pole rocker switch, up to $10 for multiple switch sets.

3. Anti-scald devices for your bathroom prevent water from reaching unsafe temps. An anti-scald shower head ($15) reduces water flow to a trickle if the water gets too hot. An anti-scald faucet device ($40) replaces your faucet aerator and also reduces hot water flow.

Anti-scald valves — also known as pressure-balancing valves — prevent changes in water pressure from creating sudden bursts of hot or cold water. An anti-scald valve ($100) installs on plumbing pipes inside your walls. If you don’t have DIY skills, you’ll pay a plumber $100 to $200 for installation.

4. Motion sensor light controls add light when you need it. They come in a variety of styles and simple technologies. I like the plug-in sensors ($10 to $15). You simply stick them into existing receptacles, then plug your table or floor lamps into them. When the sensor detects motion, it turns on the light.

They’re great for 2 a.m. snacking, or if your young kids are at that age when they migrate into your bed in the middle of the night. The lights turn off after about 10 minutes if no more motion is detected.

 John Riha

has written seven books on home improvement and hundreds of articles on home-related topics. He’s been a residential builder, the editorial director of the Black & Decker Home Improvement Library, and the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/blog/universal-design/universal-design-tips/#ixzz2ccb0qsKl

A Financial Plan for Your Home

• Published: December 31, 2012
• By: Richard Koreto

Your home is probably your biggest investment. To manage it, create a financial plan that takes into account repairs, upgrades, mortgages, insurance, and taxes.

• Effort:Med 2 days
• Saves:High $14,887 (mortgage interest)
• Investment:Med $100/mo (extra payment)

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If you spend a weekend creating a financial plan for your home now, it could save you money in the long run. Image: Ronn Campisi

 

Do you pay each home-related expense as it comes? If so, you’re missing opportunities for upgrades, or much worse, heading into a financial crisis when a slew of surprise maintenance items hit. So take a holistic look at what it costs to operate your house and set up a home financial plan.

Use our home financial plan budget worksheet, and start by writing a list of expenses, such as:

• Mortgage

• Taxes

• Home insurance, including liability

• Repairs and maintenance, such as new furnace, roof, painting

• Voluntary upgrades, such as a swimming pool, a premium range, a new powder room

What will you learn from this home financial plan weekend exercise?

• How much you have to spend

• How much you need to allot in the short- and long-term for necessary maintenance and voluntary improvements

With this newfound grip on your home’s expenses, you can create a home financial plan that’ll help you there for years with maximum enjoyment and minimum anxiety.
Here’s how to manage other aspects of your home finances:

The mortgage: Pay it — and then some
Insurance: Protect your property
Repairs and renovations: By choice or necessity
Taxes: (Almost) no way around them

Next:The mortgage: Pay it—and then some

Richard Koreto is a freelance writer. He’s been editor of many financial magazines and is the author of “Run It Like a Business,” a practice management book for financial planners. He and his wife own a pre-Civil War house in New York.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/home-loans-mortgages/home-financial-planning/#ixzz2c4G9BB2v

Lawn Care

Proper Mowing Techniques and Pitfalls

By TruGreen

Mowing your lawn
Often delegated to the nearest teenager looking for some extra cash, mowing might seem like a goof-proof chore. But, truth is, lawns that are properly mowed are actually healthier and more beautiful. A properly mowed lawn is thicker and has deeper roots, making it more durable and better equipped to combat weeds, insects, and diseases. Alternately, mowing mistakes can result in discolored grass tips, brown spots, and even damage to the lawn.

Select the proper mowing height for your lawn. Measure the grass plants after mowing a very small area, then adjust your mower as necessary. Always mow your lawn at the recommended cutting height. Optimal mowing height in inches:

Hybrid Bermuda grass	0.5 to 1.0
Common Bermuda grass	1.0 to 1.5
St. Augustine grass, Bahia grass	3.0 to 3.5
Zoysia grass	1.0
Centipede grass	1.0 to 1.5
Rye grass, blue grass, fine fescue	2.5 to 3.0
Tall fescues	2.5 to 3.0

 

Mowing tips

Avoid scalping. Letting grass grow tall and then removing more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is called "scalping" and can damage the lawn. Mowing grass extremely low can also damage the lawn by cutting into the crowns of the plants.

 

Sharpen blades. Make sure your mower blades are sharp in order to cut cleanly. Dull blades can shred grass and cause discoloration at the tips because frayed grass blades lose moisture easily. Sharpen the blades of rotary mowers several times each growing season. Reel type mowers usually only require sharpening once a year, but adjust them to ensure they cut cleanly. Some grass species have tough blades, which causes blades to wear quickly.

 

Be gentle with damaged grass. Raise the mower height a notch or two when mowing a lawn that's recovering from drought, insect damage or disease.

Use your grass clippings. Recycle grass clippings to reduce water loss, lower soil temperatures, and return nutrients to the soil. Plus, you'll save the trouble of bagging and keep clippings out of our already-clogged landfills. In fact, many communities will no longer accept grass clippings in household trash.

 

Don't cut wet or wilted grass. Avoid cutting wet grass, which can cause brown spots because clippings clump together and smother your lawn. Cutting wilted grass, particularly during the hottest part of the day, can also cause severe damage to your lawn.

 

Know when to mow your grass. The best guide for mowing frequency is the growth of your grass. Plan to cut less than one-third of the grass blade in one mowing. Keep in mind that certain grasses, such as bermudagrass, zoysiagrass and centipedegrass, require close mowing to stay healthy. Allowing these grasses to grow too high will promote thatch development.

 

So you miss a mowing. During periods of rapid growth, lawns may require mowing as frequently as every three to four days. Of course, sometimes we just don't have time to mow as often as we'd like. If your grass has grown too high, reset your mower to its highest cutting level. Three or four days later, reset the mower to cut at the normal height and mow your grass again.