Home Loan Focus

Archive for the ‘Moving Tips’ Category

Saving money during a move is as simple as how involved you can be. If you make yourself available, you can save hundreds of dollars on even the simplest of relocations. One of the best things you can do is pack your belongings yourself, utilizing local businesses (liquor stores and produce depts.) boxes and old newspapers. Another great option is borrowing tools instead of buying them. For example, why purchase a tape dispenser when you’re probably only ever going to use it once.

One of the more important things you can do to help the affordability of your move is to be decisive on what needs to be moved to the new location versus the garbage, I mean do you really need ten different boxes full of different types of the best acne treatments?. In my own opinion, the best way to avoid this fiasco is to do as much of the moving yourself. You are far less likely to transport something you don’t necessarily need if you are doing the lifting and carrying yourself.

Source: Movinghints.com

There are a handful of gadgets that you absolutely must have when you go house hunting trip.  The obvious gadget to start things off is your cell phone, you must at least one cell phones that you can call houses, realtors or even call for directions if you need it while you’re out hunting for a house.

Some other gadgets that you may not have thought of include great tools such as hand-held cameras, video cameras, a GPS device to help you get from house to house from location to location or even city to city. A laptop computer with an air card for wireless access to the Internet can help you review prices of homes doublecheck details about a house listing or even tracked down a realtor.

Another great device that people don’t always think about, is a laser level. I recently toured a home that was very very on level. It was obvious to the eye that you can see that the house was not level, you can always tell that with some houses that are little closer. A low-tech way of checking if the house is level is to take the ball and set it on the floor and see if it rolls away. In other local house can be extremely problematic can hit that structural damage or just plain shoddy workmanship and the building of home it is very important figure out if your house that you’re considering is built well.

If you have a lot of furniture or belongings it’s also going to be important for you to figure out if your stuff will fit in this house that you look at. To figure this out you’re probably going to need a tape measure or some sort of wireless tape measure that can basically shoot a sonar like beam off a distant wall and our lack of measurement to you instantly.

If you want to get really high tech, you might even consider taking some devices to help you measure things such as radon, or even radioactivity that can occur in granite countertops. A simple Geiger counter can help you figure this out, it might ensure that you and your family move into a beautiful new home, your health and safety will not be compromised.

Many of these gadgets can be found on sale on a regular basis at Buy.com.  But regardless, when you’re making the largest investment of your life, it definitely can pay to invest a little money in the tools that will help you make a better informed decision.

Are you considering possible relocation in the near future? Are you beginning to stress out about packing and staying organized? Well, as long as you didn’t just buy the moon, the process of relocating shouldn’t be that difficult. Lets just take a second, gather up our composure and run down a quick list of supplies that will ensure a smooth, stress free, transition for your belongings.

First, you need to think boxes. Bigger is NOT better when it comes to packing boxes. Sure it may take fewer boxes to move everything, but you are going to have a heck of a time moving them. I recommend visiting the liquor store or local produce dept. They usually have a plethora of manageable boxes that are just the right size. Second, go out and buy some packing tape. Get more than you think you will need. If you are thinking two rolls, buy 3 or 4 (trust me). Lastly, be sure to label all your boxes with a bright, easy to read magic marker. That way, you or your moving company will know what is inside and where to put it. This will save you time and energy near the end of the day.

Oh, don’t forget to save up old newspapers to pack your glassware. I almost forgot it in my post, so you could too!

Source: flylady.net

The process of moving can be an intimidating task, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are planning on hiring a company to coordinate your move, there are some things you need to know prior to hiring them. One of the most important things that gets overlooked it method of payment. Some moving companies only accept cash, so if you’re standing there with your credit card, you’re going to have to visit an ATM or you might not be moving after all.

Another important question for movers is how they produce an estimate. Any reputable mover will offer to perform an in-home estimate, or provide a detailed questionnaire regarding items to be moved with approximate sizes. In addition to estimates, whether or not your mover is a mover or a broker is just as important. Oftentimes, movers you locate online are actually brokers who coordinate moves with local companies. While brokers aren’t necessarily a bad option, your contact during the process will be mediated directly through them.

Finally, I cannot stress enough, the importance of locating a mover close to one the locations you’re moving from or to. If you are in Charlotte and are moving into one of the Outer Banks rentals, make sure your mover is somewhere in between, it will save you a lot of money. Also, knowing the refund policy is important, especially if you are booking early. More often than not, you can receive a number of deep discounts for booking early that would not be there closer to your deadline. 

Source: Movinghints.com

There are a number of factors that determine when and where someone will buy a home. Lately, there has been an increasing trend of homeowners looking to relocate to “Dream towns”. Dream towns are eerily similar to the “bedroom” or “commuter” communities that gained popularity over the last 25-30 years as people escaped the big cities and swarmed the suburbs.

With many Americans sharing their preference of small town over big city living, it is no wonder why places like Lebanon, VT and Concord, NH are enjoying an influx of new residents due to the availability of foreclosure opportunities as well as fully developed infrastructure with a small town feel. The top ten dream towns have many differences while sharing a common theme of being either geographical regions (New England and the Midwest) or maintaining relative proximity to the ocean.

People are retiring, approaching retirement, looking to be closer to family again, and some are even cutting the tethers and working from home.  All of these factors are enabling people to choose their perfect location to live.  They don’t want to settle for a cheap plastic watch when they could choose gold watches with just the right fit.  They want it all and as they look at the pitfalls in the mortgage system, their probably thinking that if they have to risk so much to buy a home in this economy, they might as well do it in their dream town.  It might just be the last opportunity they have to move.

Source: MSNBC

Top Ten List of Dream Towns for 2008

1.    Torrington, CT
2.    Bozeman, MT
3.    Lexington Park, MD
4.    Lebanon, NH-VT
5.    Helena, MT
6.    Kalispell, MT
7.    Mankato, MN
8.    Oak Harbor, WA
9.    Stevens Point, WI
10.    Concord, NH

If you are going out today shopping for a home there are a number of tools that you really must have.  Times have changed and those people that are technically savvy will benefit the most during the home shopping experience.  Here are few items that you definitely should invest in and most of them are even on sale before you make one of the biggest investment of your life in your future home.

• A Good GPS Device - You need a GPS device these days to insure that while you are house hunting, you do not get lost, you have the option of reviewing routes from a prospective home to your work, to the store and your children’s school.  Plus, it helps you to remain orientated so that your realtor does not confuse zipping in and out of subdivisions and backroads!
• A Radio - Make sure you have a good radio in your car.  Its kind of a weird item as things go extra digital, but many homes have the option at the curb that allows you to listen to information about a home.  Use this to your advantage!
• Laptops and Wireless Cards - Take your laptop with you and look into investing in a cellular air card while you are house hunting.  It will help significantly, if you can review other homes in the area, check comparables on the spot, and even find the next house to visit if necessary.  Plus, if you happen to drive by a great looking house on the way there, you can check its listing on your computer!
• Digital Camera with lots of Extra Flash Cards - Don’t be shy, take pictures of everything and Video is even better.  Make sure you snap a picture of the address or mailbox as the first shot so that you will know one set from another as you review them later!
• Cell phone – Really we shouldn’t have to mention this, but don’t forget it.  You will need it and while you are in the house check to see how many (if any) bars you have for cellular reception in all the rooms of the house. 
• Take your own car - This is not the time to save gas money.  You will need private time after each house viewing to think things over and talk with your spouse or family.  Give yourself that by taking your own car.

Looking to get a little extra juice out of the seller? Ask for a cellular repeater antenna to be installed on the house for a couple hundred bucks.  It is a buyers market and if the house doesn’t get signal this could help and make it home sweet connected home.

If you ar

This week I am preparing to list my own home on the market.  That preparation is starting by emptying my house of my belongings and furniture.

It also involves finishing one of the home improvement projects that never happened while I lived in the home. 

New Carpet Installation

While we lived in the house we installed thousands of square feet of ceramic tile.  OK, it was more like ‘a thousand’ but felt like ‘thousands’.  That left about 1500 square feet of floor space with twenty year old dingy carpet left to be replaced.  Plus, that carpet was stained from the home improvement projects and cut up a bit from ripping into floors for plumbing upgrades and installing that great looking tile.

So when we went to make the purchase to install the carpet, we had a different perspective than we thought we might have.  Instead of choosing between wood floors and something fancier, we were trying to choose the carpet that would look good enough to sell our house yet still possibly hold up under the strains of renters, should we need to rent the place out in the advent that it did not sell.

Now, our house is literally a mess as we are packing, and we need to have the furniture out of the house by tomorrow morning (or at least pushed to the side or possibly out of some of the rooms so the carpet guys have a place to start).

All in all, our carpet installation cost $2400, which should include tax.  We picked it up on a special 18 month no interest no payment deal.  We could have paid for the carpet but free interest is free interest and the way the economy is going, $2400 will likely only be worth $1900 in today’s dollars 18 months down the road anyway.  So we’ll put the more valuable money today into something else and pay the loan back tomorrow with devalued US dollars.  (Note if we are wrong about that, the economy will be better and we will be better off anyway, so it is a win win no matter what happens.)

We opted for a fairly bright looking carpet color that has a pattern that should not show dirt very well.  The idea is that it will look good for prospective home buyers, but will be durable enough for renters should we turn down that alley way.  So that is it for now.  I won’t have any spare money for Titleist golf balls, but at least we are one step closer to moving this house, and my packing break is now over too!

So you have told your company, “Yes, I’ll relocate” having decided that it was your best course of action.  How do you keep yourself working efficiently and productively without spending all your extra money after hours on things you don’t need because you are not used to living away from your family in corporate housing?

Its easy to do but difficult to execute on.  You have to plan ways to keep yourself busy. 

Pack away some DVDs, pack up a Wii, or buy a Nintendo DS for the airport.  Get some audio books as well.  These are all great things to give you some peace and relaxation while keeping your mind off what every you are missing.  Games, audio books and movies can be a Swiss Army knife of mental engagement and help you keep your sanity through some long hours at night.

You need to try and focus on things that will not make you go out and about.  For example, take some DVDs with you to help avoid a trip to the video store where you might then proceed to go shopping and waste some money. 

Better yet get a Netflix account and have them deliver the movies to you, or try Movielink where you can download and watch movies on your laptop.

Odds are during a relocation when you are separated from your family, you will work more hours.  Try and dedicate some of that extra time to long term projects that you can bank or sand bag for a rainy day a few months down the road.  You might work like crazy the first month or two because you have nothing better do do.  But 3 months later when your family joins up with you, you’ll have no spare time and that hard working example you made in the early days might be tarnished by a severe slow down in month 3. 

When that time comes, pull out some of those projects that you completed, but banked and roll them out precooked to your team or company!  This is good for you and your career.  Plus, some of your employees or coworkers may not be able to keep up with you during the first 2 months.  This will enable you to appear to work more at their pace, but still be extra efficient and productive for a longer period of time, matching your pace to theirs through your peak and your valleys.