Spring Cleaning Checklist

 

The weather has been glorious lately. Have you started airing everything out yet?

It’s important to regularly check on certain areas of your home for potential problems. Spring is also a great time to go through and do some decluttering. As you put away your winter wear, ask yourself if you really want to wear it next year. Look through all the holiday gifts you got. Are you keeping them because you feel obligated or because you really like them? You will feel better with less clutter.

Maintenance Problems To Fix Immediately

No matter what time of the year, if you see any of these problems, get them repaired quickly. The longer you wait, the more expensive it will be to repair it.

• Caulk in the kitchen and bathroom – replacing rotted walls or floors is very expensive
• Plumbing leaks
• Clean and seal outdoor decking
• Inspect for termites or other pests
• Inspect exterior paint and siding
• Inspect the foundation and concrete slabs for cracks

Other Basic Checks

Check on your roof for any missing shingles or tiles. Also, check to see if the shingles are turning up or down as they may need to be replaced. If you see any dark streaks, you probably have an algae problem. You can hire someone to pressure wash your roof to get rid of that.

Check the masonry for any places where you might need to repair the mortar. If you’re noticing that water is seeping in, look into getting sealer for the bricks.

Check your fireplace to ensure the spark arrestor is still in place, and that there are no cracks around it. You may not be using your fireplace, but the summer is a good time to do any repair work. Also if you used your fireplace a lot this winter, now is a good time to have it professionally cleaned.

Walk around your home looking for any cracks in the foundation.

Clean out your gutters and downspouts. Look for any leaks so you can get it repaired during the summer.

Check your attic for ventilation or any nests that may have been formed.  You may want to consider getting a quote from an exterminator if you have squirrels, rats or mice nesting.  You will need a professional if you have bats.

If you haven’t yet, change batteries in your detectors, and if you have battery backups for your sprinkler system.  Test your sprinklers to ensure that they’re all clean with no nesting earwigs. Test the timing for your sprinklers. You won’t need as much watering during the spring as you will during the summer, so now is a good time to remind yourself how to program the sprinklers.

Replace filters in your heating and air conditioning units. Clean out any debris from the air conditioner. If you’ve had your ac unit under cover, take off the cover and clean dirt and leaves from around the unit.  Store the cover somewhere dry and safe.

Prune your landscaping away from your house. Check how things are draining. They should drain away from the house so you don’t have standing water up against your foundation.

Power wash your concrete patios and driveways. Look into any repair work needed for your driveway, and look into giving it a good sealant whether it’s concrete or asphalt.

If you live where you need storm windows and doors, now is the time to take them down, clean them and store them safely.

Check the wood around windows and doors gently with a screwdriver. You may need to replace wood, or just hammer it down tighter. If there is a gap in your window or door larger than a nickel, it’s time to pull out the caulk and seal it up. Check weatherproofing strips for any holes or leaks. If there are, it’s time to replace them.

Wash those windows well and clean out the tracks using a vacuum cleaner and a soft brush.
Re-seal your basement and your wood deck if you have them.

If you do your own lawn maintenance, now is the time to sharpen the blades on your mower. And give it a little love with some well placed oil. Also, if it’s gas powered, follow your manufacturer’s directions for a tune up including changing out the spark plug.

Clean out the vents in your dryer. Hopefully you’re cleaning the lint out of the lint trap, but twice a year, it’s time to do some deep cleaning. You can hire someone to come in and vacuum it all up, or you can buy a kit to help you get rid of the big ball of yuck. To minimize the lint trapped, run your dryer for 20 minutes on air dry or no heat after every load. The moist duct is a magnet for trapping lint, and running on air helps dry it out so the lint can be blown through.

Focus On Functionality When Buying Your Home

 

You have to live somewhere. For most of us, the decision seems to be simply functional. We all say we only need food, clothing, and shelter. But the truth is that we also want our homes to function well for our needs and preferences.

Functionality begins with making a good decision, based on your requirements and what you can afford.  Talk to a professional loan officer to find out what you could afford right now. That will help you make plans for when you will be ready to buy a home. Whether you rent or buy, you decide which home to choose based on affordability, availability and functionality.
Renting is a great option for the short term, when you’re building your savings and may have another move or two before settling down to a home of your own. The functions of renting are independence, affordability, and mobility. As your life matures, you may become more interested in homebuying because your ideas of functionality may change.

You may want more room, privacy, and better access to certain amenities, schools, family or work. You may want a different lifestyle that your current neighborhood doesn’t foster. You may want the autonomy to choose and change the style of your home so you can enjoy your surroundings with your own décor. You may want a home that allows you to expand your interests, such as cooking in a larger kitchen, creating art in a studio, or having a large back yard for gardening and entertaining.
As your preferences become more focused and as the needs of your household change, you may find that owning a home is more suitable for your lifestyle. But, affordability has to be part of the function. In most areas, you can buy a home more affordably than renting.

Let’s say that you find a 2400-square foot home for sale or lease. You may be able to rent it for $1.25 per square foot, or $3,000 per month, but you can buy the property for $1.65 per square foot or $400,000. When you finance the same property over 30 years, your payment is closer to $1,900. Add in typical property taxes and hazard insurance, and you’re at about $2,700 per month, making buying the home a better choice for the long term.

You trade the mobility of renting for the opportunity to build equity. When you own a home, it usually takes several years of ownership before you can build enough equity to cover your transaction costs, making owning a home a long-term investment.

Functionality is about how the home itself can serve you. Square footage can indicate if a home is large enough to have the features you want, but you won’t know until you go inside if the floorplan, features and number of beds and baths suit your wish list.

Choosing a home is really about how you want to use the space you have. As the owner, you have the option to leave things as they are or you can add or remove features as you wish, to improve the functionality of your home.

Whether you rent or buy, choosing a home is about getting the most benefit for your money. It should be a decision based on how well the location, space, and design can serve your needs and pocketbook.

Written by Blanche Evans

Don’t Miss These Homeowner Tax Benefits

 

One of the most useful yet widely misunderstood benefits of homeownership is tax deductions. Tax deductions are a welcome gift from the government, but if you’re renting, they benefit your landlord, not you.
Property tax deduction: Any money you paid during the year you purchase and in the years afterward to local state, county and city property tax assessors is tax deductible.

Mortgage interest deduction: Your mortgage interest on both first and second liens is tax deductible. Any points you paid to obtain a lower interest rate are deductible. Private mortgage insurance payments are also deductible.

Closing costs: Some fees to the mortgage lender are deductible. Ask your tax professional for guidance. You can deduct some moving expenses, such as items for home offices. Save your Hud-1 form and show it to your tax professional.

Home office deductions: If your home is your principle place of business, and you meet other IRS guidelines for home businesses, you can take a deduction on workspace dedicated to your business and no other purpose. You can also depreciate that portion of your home over 39 years. All improvements to the workspace are tax deductible. In addition, your security expenses, phones, internet costs, computers, insurance, and utilities can be deducted or depreciated according to IRS allowances. Percentages and limits apply, so talk to your tax professional.

Energy Star: If you purchased an energy efficient system or appliance for your home and it meets government Energy Star standards, you may deduct a portion of your expenses. Save your receipts.

Property sales deductions: If you purchased a home today, occupied it as a primary residence, and sold it in two years, you could be eligible for some capital gains exclusions up to $250,000 if you’re single, or $500,000 if you’re married. You can even live in the home two years, rent it out for three years, and still enjoy the capital gains exclusion.
There may be many other deductions out there for you to take advantage of that are associated with your home, so save all receipts throughout the year for repairs, parts, purchases, remodeling, etc. Some allowances and special circumstances apply, so before taking this exclusion, be sure to talk to your tax professional.
Save your tax records up to seven years, because you have to be able to support the deductions you take with documentation such as receipts, credit card statements, cancelled checks, and online banking. Make sure you take deductions and depreciation only for legitimate items.

Remember all the benefits you could be getting in deductions, your landlord is currently enjoying while billing all costs associated with managing the home to you. Wouldn’t you rather do that yourself?

The Top Three Reasons Buyers Choose The Homes They Buy

 

The Top Three Reasons Buyers Choose The Homes They Buy

You may think buyers will love your home because of your extraordinary taste in home furnishings or the incredible job you did with your home addition. Nope, it’s not the décor or the vast add-on that gets them to commit, although they may help. There are three top reasons a buyer chooses to buy a home — price, condition, and location.
Let’s start with Price. To choose the right asking price for your home, you need to know if your neighborhood is in a buyer’s market or seller’s market. A buyer’s market is characterized by large inventories of six months’ supply or higher, few buyers making offers, low offers, and many other concessions asked of sellers.

A seller’s market is characterized by low supply of six months on hand or less, heavy buyer traffic, multiple offers, and close to full price or full price offers.
Bankers, buyers’ agents and buyers all have access to the same market information that your agent has given you. If you overprice for the current market, your potential buyers won’t get to see your home, and even if they do, they won’t get their loans approved.

Condition
Allow your real estate agent to help you market your home by putting it in the best condition possible. Buyer’s pet peeves may be easy items to fix, but you don’t want your house to go to the bottom of their list because you failed to paint, mow, replace the carpet, etc. Sometimes you have to invest a little money to make money.
Remember, today’s buyers are more skeptical about buying a home, so creaky steps, dripping faucets, and outdated wallpaper just give buyers a reason to skip your home.

Location
You can’t do much about your home’s location, but you can make your home more attractive with lovely landscaping, fences to block out ugly views and sounds, a lower price and immaculate condition.

If you do have a great location, don’t overprice. People expect to pay more for a great location next to schools, transportation, shopping and restaurants, but if you overprice, they will scrutinize the price and the condition.

It’s hard not to be sentimental about the home you’ve lived in for years, but to buyers, your home is a commodity. Like you, they simply want to make a good deal on a home they love.
You’ll quickly find out what real estate agents and their buyers think of your home. If you get a quick offer, you know you priced it right for the location, condition, and the current market.

If you don’t get an offer within a couple of weeks, or whatever period is normal for your area, there’s something wrong. Look at your price and condition and see if you can make your home a little more desirable.
 

Eight No-Skip Steps To Buying a Home

There are eight major steps you will take when you buy a home and each one is as important in its own way as the last.
Make your wish list — Decide where you want to live and how many bedrooms and baths you’ll need. Consider lifestyle — condominiums offer shared amenities, with little responsibility. Single-family homes offer more space and privacy, but they also require more exterior and yard maintenance. Consider buying a fixer-upper for a reduced cost so you can remodel it to suit your needs.
Get preapproved — You can prequalify yourself on the internet, but it takes a lender looking at your personal financial information to get prequalified. Your income, credit scores, revolving debts, obligations such as child support as well as the type of loan you choose will influence how much home you can buy. Other factors such as the down payment, interest rate and terms (30-year fixed or an adjustable rate) will determine what you can afford in monthly payments.
Hire a real estate professional — Armed with a sensible price range, you’re ready to hire a real estate expert to help you find the right home. Your real estate professional should be expert in the area where you want to live and familiar with the type of home you want to buy. Your agent should have house-by-house experience in the neighborhood you want so she or he can advise you.
Select your home — No home is perfect, so don’t let minor flaws influence you. Think long-term. Which available home best suits the needs of your household now and in the years ahead? Consider the amount of space, the floorplan, privacy, entertaining options and potential upkeep. Don’t buy more than you need or can comfortably afford.
Make an offer — Your offer should reflect current market conditions. If a home has been on the market a long time, you can ask the seller for a price reduction, but if it’s new on the market, the seller is unlikely to comply. Sellers are more likely to respond to how much you love the home, than all the reasons why you don’t think it’s worth the asking price. Ask your real estate professional for advice on how to negotiate.
Get an inspection — A home inspection is a professional third-party opinion of the home’s condition. The inspector will point out the age of systems, and large and small repairs that are needed, so you’ll know what you’re facing as the next owner. Don’t sweat small cosmetic flaws. Concentrate instead of high-cost items to replace such as air conditioners and roofing.
Get an appraisal – The bank appraisal determines market value to the lender. The appraiser will use comparables of similar homes that have recently sold. If the home doesn’t appraise for the purchase price, the bank will refuse to make the loan unless you renegotiate with the seller. If it appraises for the asking price, the lender will move toward closing.
Go to closing — Once final negotiations are complete, the parties to the transaction meet at the escrow office. This could be a title company, real estate attorney, or other closing agent customary in your area. All paperwork is signed by both parties. The lender pays the seller, minus any liens against the home such as the seller’s mortgage. Once all the disbursements have been made, you get the keys to your new home, according to your agreement.

Cleaning Up the Errors On Your Credit Report

 

Last week, we talked about how to obtain your credit report and credit score. It’s essential to check your report regularly because unfortunately 25-30% of the reports have errors. And it takes time to get the changes made. Unfortunately, you have to be the one to stay on top of the situation to ensure that the changes were made.

 

It’s also essential to ensure that no one else is using your information to open up credit.

 

So how do you look for errors?

Check your personal information including name, address, phone number, birth date, and Social Security number to make sure everything is accurate. Information regarding lawsuits, judgments, liens, late child support, or other late payments should be stricken from your credit report after 7 years and bankruptcies after 10 years. Credit inquiries from companies to determine eligibility for credit must be removed after 2 years.

Then mark anything that looks suspicious including credit card accounts that you closed but still appear as open on the report; accounts that you never opened; activity that you were not involved in; and account histories that show late payments when you know you paid on time.

So you’ve found errors. Now what do you do?

The FTC has a full page on how to dispute including a sample dispute letter. In a nutshell, you need to write out a description of the errors and inaccuracies in detail. Explain why it’s an error, and include a copy of the report where you’ve circled the issue. More detail is better. If you have supporting documentation, include a copy of that as well.

Then send the letter certified mail with return receipt. You want proof that you sent it in case there’s a claim you never notified them. By law, the credit bureau must investigate and contact you within 30 days of receipt.

In the past, there were ways to dispute online, but this wasn’t as good because it wasn’t possible to add in the supporting documentation. Also, it wouldn’t necessarily clean up the report. The agencies would reduce your issue to a two-digit code and provide only that code on to the requester and not what the dispute was about or who was correct.

The good news is as of 2014, you can upload supporting documentation such as a canceled check, a note marked “paid” when submitting your dispute online, and the credit reporting agency must provide all relevant information, including the dispute itself and supporting documents, to the furnisher.

You can mail in your dispute if you prefer the paper trail.

Also, if there are errors for a specific account, send a copy of the dispute to that account also via certified mail with return receipt. Give the company a chance to fix it on their own.

If the information is found to be in error, then it must be removed from your report. You have the right to ask that a corrected version of the credit report be sent to any company that has requested your credit report in the past 6 months. The credit bureau must also send you a free copy of the corrected version.

 

Additionally, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if the information found to be in error on your credit report is not removed and the court finds the violation intentional, you are entitled to actual and punitive damages, as well as court costs and attorney’s fees.

A woman in Oregon sued Equifax and won $18.6 million in punitive damages. She had contacted Equifax eight times between 2009 and 2011 to fix some major mistakes including her social security number and birth date.

 

Remember, check your credit report and score before:

• You are looking to buy a home
• You want to refinance
• You are looking to rent an apartment
• If you have gone into foreclosure or bankruptcy
• You are planning on leaving your job to become an entrepreneur
• You are applying for a new job
• If you’ve been late on a payment
• You want to help a loved one
• If you’re getting into a serious relationship

6 Great Reasons to Buy a Home Right Now

 

To take advantage of near-record low mortgage interest rates and home prices undervalued by as much as three percent nationwide, now is a great time to buy a home.
You’ve already missed the bottom of the market, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t great buys to be had out there. Your community may not have appreciated as quickly as some of the big metro areas have recently. Your boom may yet come.
To begin with, the economy is growing. From information gathered on or before August 22, 2014, the Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” report found economic activity is up in all eight national districts, including consumer spending, freight loads for deliveries of goods, and more.
But there are even better reasons to buy a home right now. Here are just a few:

More jobs are available
The Labor Department announced that the jobless rate is now below six percent. Consider how far the job market has come since January 2010 when unemployment was 9.7 percent.

Houses hedge against inflation
The Consumer Price for All Urban Consumers is up 1.7% from August 2013 to August 2014, excluding volatile food and gas prices. The food index has risen 2.7 percent over the span, while the energy index has increased 0.4 percent. This is the first month that the index hasn’t risen since 2010.
Why is that good for homeowners? Even in a tepid inflationary environment, when prices rise, a major asset such as a home, purchased at a fixed cost, becomes more valuable. Typically, in an inflationary environment, housing prices rise.

Housing price gains are slowing
The median existing-home price in August was $219,800, which is 4.8 percent higher than home prices in August 2013. This marks the 30th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains. In 2013, home prices rose in the double digits.

Mortgage interest rates are still low
According to Freddie Mac’s archives, the lowest that mortgage interest rates have been in modern history (since 1971) was in November and December 2012 at 3.35 percent with 0.7 points for a benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan, and that was back in 2012 before the housing recovery began in earnest. The most recent Freddie Mac survey found national averages at 4.16 percent with .05 percent points in September 2014.

Pent-up demand ready to release
Household formation has been muted since the Great Recession, preventing as many as 2.5 million people from forming households who otherwise would have. Economists with Harvard’s Center for Joint Housing Studies predict that annual U.S. housing starts should average 1.4 to 1.5 million over the coming decade. Considering that the largest generation ever –81 million Echo Boomers — are well into renting and homebuying age, the numbers should be closer to the 2.3% annual growth of the 1970’s, when 78 million Baby Boomers reached adulthood.

Buy VS rent ratios favor homeownership
Trulia, a real estate marketplace and research group announced that nationally, rents rose 6.5% year-over-year in September 2014. Apartment rents were up 6.9%, while single-family home rents gained 5.2%. At the same time, housing prices have leveled off.

The takeaway
A housing market never remains even. There are always surges and dips. Buyers could wait for better market conditions, but the present alignment of low mortgage interest rates, slowing home prices, rising rents and pent-up demand add up to great reasons to buy a home right now.

Written By Blanche Evans