Precaution: Don’t Leave Home On Vacation Without It

Can’t wait to get out of town for a much-needed vacation? Make sure you don’t ruin your trip by returning to a disaster at home. New York-based T. Webber Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning offers the following tips to help prevent an unpleasant homecoming:

Unplug all appliances. Believe it or not, phone chargers, computers, televisions and coffee pots all continue to use energy even when turned off.  Unplugging them before you leave will not only  save energy, but help prevent damage from lightning strikes and power surges.

Raise the thermostat. Air conditioning uses a significant amount of energy, so turn the temperature up 10 degrees higher than it is usually set. Better yet, install a programmable thermostat that will allow you to turn the AC on just before returning home.

Clean the garbage disposal. You don’t want to come home to the unpleasant odor that results from an unused garbage disposal. Before you leave, flush it out with half a cup of white vinegar and hot water while the disposal is turned on.

Change the setting on the water heater. There’s no need to heat water for an empty home. Adjust the water heater to vacation mode. If the water heater does not have a vacation mode, turn the temperature down.

Put lights on a timer. According to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), there are more than 2.15 million burglaries each year. A dark home is a sure sign that no one is there, so put a couple of lamps on a timer inside the home. Set these to go on and off at different intervals.

Avoid stagnant water. Water left inactive in the toilet can produce a foul odor and a difficult-to-remove ring that forms around the bowl. To prevent this, place half a cup of bleach in the toilet bowl just before leaving home.

Taking these steps will ensure that not only your vacation is relaxing, but your return home as well. 

4 Things NOT to Do When Putting Your Home on the Market

So you've decided to put your home on the market. Congratulations! Hopefully, you've brought a rockin' REALTOR® on board to help you list your spot, and together you've done your due diligence on what to ask for. As you start checking things off your to-do list, it's also important to pay mind of what not to do. Below are a handful of things to get you started.

Don't over-improve.
As you ready your home for sale, you may realize you will get a great return on your investment if you make a couple of changes. Updating the appliances or replacing that cracked cabinet in the bathroom are all great ideas. However, it's important not to over-improve, or make improvements that are hyper-specific to your tastes. For example, not everyone wants a pimped out finished basement equipped with a wet bar and lifted stage for their rock and roll buds to jam out on. (Okay, everyone should want that.) What if your buyers are family oriented and want a basement space for their kids to play in? That rock-and-roll room may look to them like a huge project to un-do. Make any needed fixes to your space, but don't go above and beyond—you may lose money doing so.

Don't over-decorate.
Over-decorating is just as bad as over-improving. You may love the look of lace and lavender, but your potential buyer may enter your home and cringe. When prepping for sale, neutralize your decorating scheme so it's more universally palatable.

Don't hang around.
Your agent calls to let you know they will be bringing buyers by this afternoon. Great! You rally your whole family, Fluffy the dog included, to be waiting at the door with fresh baked cookies and big smiles. Right? Wrong. Buyers want to imagine themselves in your space, not be confronted by you in your space. Trust, it's awkward for them to go about judging your home while you stand in the corner smiling like a maniac. Get out of the house, take the kids with you, and if you can't leave for whatever reason, at least go sit in the backyard. (On the other hand, if you're buying a home and not selling, then making it personal is the way to go, especially when writing your offer letter. Pull those heart strings!)

Don't take things personally.
Real estate is a business, but buying and selling homes is very, very emotional. However, when selling your homes, try your very best not to take things personally. When a buyer lowballs you or says they will need to replace your prized 1970s vintage shag carpet with something “more modern,” try not to raise your hackles.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published on December 29, 2016. Housecall continues to share this piece due to ongoing requests and reader interest.

Posted on Dec 29 2016 - 10:27am by Zoe Eisenberg http://blog.rismedia.com/author/zoe-eisenberg/

Are You Ready to Look for Your First Home?

Buying your first home doesn't need to be overwhelming, and the more prepared you are, the better. Here are a few tips and tools to make first-time home-buying a little easier.

Take a class. Katie Ross, a community education and marketing manager for American Consumer Credit Counseling, says you shouldn’t be at all ashamed to take a first-time homebuyer education course, many of which are offered online. They provide potential homebuyers with detailed information, advice and budgeting tips on how to purchase a home. With a homebuyer certificate, consumers may qualify for loan products that might otherwise be out of their grasp.

Save, save, save. Digital Federal Credit Union (dcu.org) advises prospective homebuyers to save as much as possible toward the purchase price of the house and closing costs. Though minimum down payments start around 5 percent, the greater the down payment, the more favorable the borrowing terms.

Put more down. DCU.org says if you can purchase a home with at least 20 percent down, you probably will save even more because you won't need to buy private mortgage insurance (PMI).

Find an agent. DCU also advises first-timers to find a trusted real estate agent. They say an agent's job is to know how much properties are worth, facilitate the sale process and bring an offer to the seller's agent.

Emily Starbuck Crone at nerdwallet.com reminds first-time prospects that there are a lot of mortgage options out there, each with their own combination of pros and cons. If you’re struggling to come up with a down payment,
Crone says check out:

- Conventional mortgages that conform to standards set by the government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which require as little as 3 percent down.

- Federal Housing Administration loans, which permit down payments as low as 3.5 percent.

- Veterans Affairs loans, which sometimes require no down payment at all.

Finally, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov) says shopping around for a mortgage can lead to real savings. Saving even a quarter of a point in interest saves thousands of dollars over the life of a loan.