Buying Your First Home is a Big Decision

Buying a home is one of the greatest investments you will ever make. The best -- and least stressful -- way to purchase a home is to be well educated throughout the process.

Before you even start looking for a house to buy, you need to review your financial situation. This will let you know how much of a down payment you can afford and how large a monthly mortgage payment you can handle. Lenders will look at the ration of how much you make to how much you owe. Most will require that your monthly housing costs remain under 28% of your total monthly income and that your total debt is less than 36% of your monthly income.

But you should look at what fits into your budget, not what the lender says you can afford. If you are currently making a rent payment of $1200 a month and barely getting by, how could you expect a mortgage of that size with the added insurance and maintenance costs of owning a home? You have to go with what works for your budget and finances. Remember, you can always work your way up to a larger home over time.

Once you have determined how much home you can afford, you need to check on your credit report and score. Lenders will rely heavily on your credit score when deciding whether or not to lend to you. It will also help decide how much interest you will pay. Your credit score is determined by the information in your credit file. If something is incorrect, your score will be affected.

Your score is made up of your payment history, your outstanding debts and how often you apply for credit. Most lenders will use your FICO score. If you have a score of over 700, you should have no problem finding financing.

The best way to improve your credit score is to pay your bills on time. You can also pay off your credit card debt and hold off from applying for new credit to raise your score.

It is best to review your report to make sure it is accurate well in advance. It may take time to clear up any errors before you apply for a mortgage.

In today's real estate market, sellers like to work with buyers who are pre-approved for a mortgage. Pre-approval means that you have submitted a complete loan application and that the lender has verified your information, checked your credit and determined how much mortgage you can borrow. When you are preapproved, the lender is saying that you can borrow a certain dollar amount.

With pre-approval, the seller knows you have financial backing and you know exactly how much you can spend. This keeps you from a lot of stress of worrying if you will be approved for a mortgage for your dream home. You already know what you can afford.

Take the time to prepare to buy a home before you even start looking, it will save you a lot of stress and make the process much easier.

1031 Exchange Preconstruction Contracts

The 1031 exchange and preconstruction contracts – these have two of the more popular tools used by real estate investors in recent years. The question is the same one asked by Reese’s when it looked at peanut butter and chocolate – are they two great things that are better together?

The answer with the resulting Reese’s Peanut butter Cups was a resounding yes. For the 1031 exchange and preconstruction contracts the answer is much less clear. Indeed, “use caution” seems to be the answer best applies. Let’s see why:

First, as with all 1031 exchanges, the same common-sense rules apply to transactions involving preconstruction contracts as with all other potential real estate transactions. Specifically this means: holding the contract to be sold for at least one year, using a qualified intermediary to handle the details, applying all the initial contract proceeds toward the replacement contract purchase, and purchasing or entering into replacement contracts of at least as much value as the sold contracts.

Beyond these basics, investors should enter into potential 1031 exchanges with preconstruction contracts with even more caution for several reasons. Let’s use the most common example: a condominium preconstruction contract. In this instance, investors need to bear in mind that the condominium developer's approval generally is required in order to sell a preconstruction contract. And, as a condition of approval, many developers require a share of the sale's profits. In addition, many lenders and financial institutions frown upon on numerous assignment contracts and prefer to see actual contract buyers.

The conservative and safe approach to using a 1031 exchange for preconstruction contract on a condominium is to obtain a tax opinion letter from a certified public accountant stating that the contract-for-contract exchange qualifies. Investors must be careful since, if the transaction is not handled appropriately, the IRS may raise a red flag if it suspects the contracts being exchanged are for flipping, not investing.

When attempting to navigate the path that leads to successful 1031 exchanges for preconstruction contracts, all real estate professionals and investors should seek legal and tax counsel on their transactions. In addition, exchangers should hire a well-experienced, independent qualified intermediary to ensure their 1031 transactions are managed according to IRS guidelines.

Scottsdale Arizona Neighborhood Overview - Something For Everyone

Scottsdale Arizona is located in the north east corner of the Phoenix Metro area. Bordered on the east side by rural Indian reservation lands and mountain ranges and surrounded on the other three sides by Phoenix and the surrounding area, Scottsdale is a collection of neighborhoods that define and capture the spirit of one of the most beautiful cities in America. Here is a quick summary of Scottsdale neighborhoods:

South Scottsdale: Older section of town with condo complexes, small patio homes and industrial areas. Great location near to Mill Street, Tempe and Arizona State University, plus easy access to downtown Phoenix.

Old Town Scottsdale: Once known for the quaint Main Street tourist shops and art galleries, Old Town now offers high end shopping, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The new waterfront district with luxury high rise condominiums and other loft style and ultra modern style condo projects is providing an exciting new direction.

McCormick Ranch: Centered around several golf courses, this area has a number of home and condo communities in central Scottsdale. Great family oriented residential area.

Gainey Ranch: Located just west of McCormick Ranch is a bit newer and offers some high end shopping, restaurants, and of course golf.

Shea Blvd: Marked by Shea Blvd and located north of McCormick Ranch and Gainey Rance is the Shea Neighborhood. A mix of residential and commercial, the area includes the Starfire Golf Club and the Scottsdale Ranch area which includes lake front communities.

Scottsdale Airpark: Centered by a small airport catering to private jets, this area is a hub of commercial and retail business. From small technology companies to large and small corporations, a number of jobs and companies are located here.

Kierland: Just west of the Scottsdale Airpark is the new, upscale shopping and residential area known as the Kierland. Anchored in part by the Kierland Westin Resort and Spa as well as the Kierland Commons, an upscale shopping center filled with restaurants, this area may some day rival Old Town for a mix of high end luxury living with urban style ammenities.

North Scottsdale: This area north of the 101 highway and the Kierland/Scottsdale Airpark neighborhoods is a collection of luxury, golf course communities. DC Ranch, Desert Highlands, Desert Mountain, Estancia, Grayhawk, Troon and Troon North are some of the main golf course centered communities. There are also a number of smaller developments in and around these areas providing plenty of home, condo and townhome living options. You'll find the city atmosphere has been replaced with Sonoran Desert landscapes and gorgeous mountain views.

Scottsdale offers something for everyone. South Scottsdale is close to ASU. Old Town is the city center with the new high rise/waterfront district. McCormick Ranch, Gainey Ranch and Shea areas are great places to raise a family. Scottsdale Airpark is the commerical and business hub with Kierland providing high end shopping and residential areas. And, North Scottsdale offers golf course and Sonoran desert style living options.

Home Selling Tips - Part I

The following are some guidelines when deciding to sell your home in the current real estate climate.

1. Why are you selling your home? This is the single most important factor when deciding to sell your home. Do you need the proceeds for a specific purchase? Do you need a larger home due to changing family conditions? Or are you downsizing? All are important reasons to sell. But remember “Why” you are selling affects your list price, time allotted to selling, selling effort and how much money you will be allocating towards the selling process.

2. Keep the reasons to yourself. Have you ever noticed that at an Open House the potential buyers and viewers ask: Why are you selling? Most are not just curious but rather looking for a needy seller or a negotiating position when making an offer. What I recommend is that you answer that with your housing needs have changed.

3. Do your research. With the advent of the various internet based sites this portion of the business has become more readily available then in years past. But you will want to:

a.) see what properties have sold in the last six (6) months that are a direct mirror of your home.
b.) Check out other open houses to see what your “competition” is going to be like.
c.) get an independent appraisal so you have an idea of what the market value will be as well as letting any potential buyers know that your home can be financed.

4. Decide on a Realtor®.
Consider interviewing real estate agents while looking at several factors to base your decision. Some should include past sales, current listings, marketing plan, market knowledge and make sure that they are someone you can trust and feel confident that they will do a good job on your behalf.

5. Prepare your home.
Make sure your home presents itself in the best possible light. Fix everything. Make sure it is super clean. Eliminate the clutter from years of storage. Freshen the paint and make sure it is neutral in color. Make sure the entrance clean and unobstructed. Get rid of any odors like pet, food or smoke.

6. Remember to disclose everything.
Don’t get caught in the trap of not disclosing all known defects. By doing this you can prevent liabilities and avoid potential lawsuits. Some states like California have extensive documentation requirements so check with the governing body in your state.

Bulgaria the Unbelievable Overseas Property Investment

Im sure by reading the title of this article your probably saying to yourself "just another con to make me part with my hard earnt money". Well if you dont believe me then just read the facts about this amazing overseas property investment oppurtunity open to everyone.

The country i am talking about here is the European state of Bulgaria. Bulgaria only twenty years ago was behind the Iron curtain of Russia.The country was of poor economic stability, little overseas investment with many people living in poor condfitions throughout this beautiful country.

Twenty years on Bulgaria is fast becoming the quickest developing european country in the world. The cost of living in Bulgaria is extremely low compared with the UK and especially London. Restaurant meals can be purchased for the equivalent of a few pounds and Bulgaria is expected to become a popular budget holiday location as more and more airlines offer direct flights. British Airways now flies direct from Gatwick from only £75 return including taxes, although most investors are eagerly waiting the entry of easyJet and Ryanair which will happen in 2007.

Cheap Bulgarian Property prices can start from as little as £4,000 for a modest sized house with 500sq M of land attached.

Bulgaria and cheap Bulgarian propertys are being hailed as the new Spain by property investment experts. Spain was under developed just like Bulgaria Fifteen years ago. Once investment started in the country's infrastructure, Many English, European & American holiday makers flocked there in their Thousands searching for sun and cheap propertys to invest in.

If you look today for an apartment on the coast of Spain, you would have to spend an average of £110,000 upwards. The same equivalent apartment on the Bulgarian coast today will cost you £15,000. The investment potential is amazing for anyone willing to keep their Bulgarian Propertys for a number of years will look to profit considerably.

Cheap Bulgarian Property is so affordable at the moment that any one visiting the country with a Credit card can become the proud owner of Bulgarian Propertys.

With the inclusion into the EU in 2007 Bulgaria will no dought follow the same direction that other European countries have since joining the European Union with amazing growths in economic stability,employment and overseas investment in production and exportation which will result in Bulgaria becoming one of Europe's most profitable countries in the near future.

Bulgarian propertys will be one of the top property markets in Europe during 2006 / 2007. Currently, in the European market, Bulgaria is the current hotspot with an average growth rate of 30% with the cheapest property prices in the EU. There are several other countries in the EU, which attract foreign investment for a variety of reasons. None, however, can rival the sheer number of factors, which makes Bulgaria an irresistible, safe location for your investment capital.

Bulgaria boasts the amazing Black Sea cost with at one point on the coast a strip of beach 8km long. Resorts such as Sunny Beach, Golden Sands and other resorts attracting thousands more year on year holiday makers looking for a cheap sun drenched holiday. The summer season boasts an amazing five-six months of sun with temperatures ranging from 75-110 degrees in peak summer.

With all this in mind, can you really afford to miss out on the last affordable country in Europe to purchase your dream holiday home or sound investment for you and your families future.

Top Ten Least Afordable Places To Live

According to a new report, greater Los Angeles ranks as the least affordable metro area in the country.

In fact, the report by the California Building Industry Association found that nineteen of the top twenty least affordable metropolitan areas are located in California.

The report is sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Bank. Called the Housing Opportunity Index, the report calculates the percentage of homes sold in an area during a three-month period that were affordable to a family earning the median income for the region.

Greater Los Angeles, which includes Long Beach and Glendale, was the least affordable area studied, with only a 1.9% affordability.

Greater Orange County was second, with every single spot in the top 10 located in California.

Metropolitan New York City was the only non-California city, ranking at number 11.

Only 57% of Californians own their own homes. The national average for home ownership is 70%.

Nationwide, the affordability index stands at 40.6%. This means that only 40.6% of households with median incomes are able to afford the median home in the area.

The top ten least affordable metro areas in the US in the second quarter of 2006 were:

1. Los Angeles/Long Beach/Glendale -- 1.9
2. Santa Ana/Anaheim/Irvine -- 3.2
3. Salinas -- 3.5
4. Merced -- 3.6
5. Modesto -- 4.1
6. San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos -- 4.6
7. Santa Cruz/Watsonville -- 4.8
8. Santa Barbara/Santa Maria -- 5.3
9. Napa -- 5.4
10. San Luis Obispo/Paso Robles -- 5.9

Persistence Wins Again

Making the Fresh Start Presentation

So you are out and running your route and have found a homeowner home who wants to listen to a Fresh Start Presentation (FSP). Remember the Fresh Start Presentation is the Homeowner Options slide show that you have. It goes through the advantages and disadvantages of the seven (7) options available to the financially distressed homeowner. They are as follows:
1) Sell on the Open Market
2) Refinance the home
3) Restructure the mortgage
4) File bankruptcy
5) Borrow from friends and family
6) Let it go to foreclosure
7) Sell to an investor

Whether you have scheduled an appointment or have just knocked the door the opportunity to make the presentation will lead to money for you. So what is the best way to make the presentation? Do you start with the overview and then go through each option? Do you ask some preliminary questions and get to the homeowners present position or do you just get to the price we will pay for the home and leave it at that?

The answer depends upon the homeowner and your preparation for your visit with the homeowner. Remember “Information is power and the key to a successful negotiation and purchase of your next home or investment property”. So if you have failed to prepare for your meeting with the homeowner your chances of success are diminished. We try to gather information for you and put it in the notes. Some information can be gathered by going over the pricing of the home when you have a scheduled appointment. The rest of the information will come from the homeowners’ needs and wants and honest eyes.

What follows are typical situations you will run into in the field and what assumptions you should make if you run into these types of situations. They are 1) Research indicates that the home is on the market. 2) Home is vacant; 3) Homeowner just came out of Bankruptcy.

Home on the Market

What assumptions can we make if the home is placed on the market?
1) We know that they are willing to leave the home and move on with their lives.

2) The Homeowners have cut the emotional attachment to the home.
3) They have either eliminated or exhausted the following options: refinance, restructure and borrowing from friends and relatives.
From this we can make the following conclusion: The homeowner is left with the bankruptcy option and selling on the open market or to us. Here is a note from a locator regarding a house that is on the market.

Visited 8/12/06; 1PM. Met HO in driveway. HO's are divorced and selling the property. Home vacant. Property is listed with Briarwood Realty. Presented the Fresh Start Program to HO's. Interior of the home is broom swept condition already. Good condition. Husband was ready to give release, wife not willing to give release today. Wife indicated that she would like to take a few days and to talk with the bank on Monday. We agreed to contact each other on Tuesday 8/15/06. I left contact info with them and received their contact info as well. Will take complete set of photos when I get the release. Both HO's confirm that they have equity in the property.

Now what part of the FSP would you pitch to get the release? How do you begin the process? If I knew the number they had placed on the house, I would talk about market time, home inspections and the possibility of an unsavory investor tying them up until it is too late and purchasing at the auction. If I did not know the market number I would ask for the price and how long it has been sitting on the market. This type of presentation should begin with a back-up plan or safety net plan. It should inform the homeowners that we could possibly purchase the property in a quick fashion and net them some money for their fresh start. We would do this by making a deal with the listing broker to continue to list the property after we purchased it. Saving the homeowners the cost of the broker. We could also inform them that they would not have the carrying costs, insurance, taxes, and foreclosure costs that are currently stacking up on the property. All of this may add up to a less stressful conveyance than waiting out a slow market. If you are fairly new at locating just use the making the offer to the homeowner chart to walk you through the offer: This chart is located on the resource page of the website.

When a home is on the market it is fairly difficult to get a homeowner to agree to sell the property to an investor. Reasons are that some mortgage broker has told them that they can sell their home for a number we will not pay. Only time and an auction date will usually make this homeowner come around. A smart locator will make the pitch for the backup plan and wait until it is close to the auction to return for a final opportunity to purchase the property. In the meantime just call the homeowner every week or ten days to check in on their situation. This will allow you to have a continuing dialogue and build some type of relationship with the homeowner.

HOME IS VACANT

What assumptions can we make if the home is vacant?

1) We know that they are willing to leave the home and move on with their lives (they already have).
2) The Homeowners have cut the emotional attachment to the home.
3) That the house is costing the homeowner carrying costs each and every day. We can stop the bleeding by purchasing the home.
4) Homeowner should be happy to unload the property.

Here is a note of a recent vacant home visit:

Visited 8/12/06; 3:15PM. HO not home. Left into letter in the door with personal note. Spoke with the neighbor to get an update on this property. Mailbox is full. Shrubs and vines have overgrown the yard and cover the primary entrance to the house. Lawn has not been mowed in months. Neighbor says that the owner is a great person. He seems to think that the owner has another residence in Marshfield. This property had been up for sale. The HO has been trying to sell it for almost 2 years. He believes that the last listing was $249K. He also has been in the house and said that a lot of work has been done on the inside. Driveway is not paved. Otherwise, nice neighborhood. Dead end street with playground for children. This property is on the quiet end of the street directly across from the playground, corner lot. Looks like a good investment. We will need to track this person down.

Once the homeowner is found the pitch would be straight to the sale of the property to our company. There is little need to go through the rest of the options with this homeowner. It would simply be straight to the sale of the property. Again, this particular note tells us that he had it on the market for 249,000 dollars for two years or so. So we could easily tell him that the price of the property is too high and substitute it for the price that we would sell the property at. (see your manager or the index for the price). Next, I would use the Homeowner chart again to go through the price we could offer on the house and why. Once you as a locator get familiar with the costs associated with a home you can forego using the chart.

This vacant property purchase should be fairly easy once we have tracked down the homeowner. There is no emotional attachment, in fact the homeowner should be relieved to get rid of the property. I would stay on your manager to find these owners and provide you with the means to make a deal.

JUST OUT OF BANKRUPTCY OR IN BANKRUPTCY BUT IS LIQUIDATING THE PROPERTY TO PAY FOR THE PLAN.

What assumptions can we make if the home just came out of bankruptcy?

1) We know that they are finished with most of the options. They can file bankruptcy again but it will not help them.
2) The Homeowners can try to refinance but the cost of the mortgage will be astronomical.
3) That the homeowner has tried everything to save the home and failed.

Here the homeowners have been through the entire process. They have borrowed money from friends and relative, tried to restructure, and refinance the home as well as save it in bankruptcy plan by forcing a payment plan on the bank. Nothing has worked. You need to allow the homeowner a way out with dignity if possible. That may come from you just purchasing the property and giving them enough to begin renting.

They only have two real options left: 1) sell on the open market or sell to us. Your job is to explain to them the problem of selling on the open market with only weeks to go to the auction is not a viable option. The real option is trying to get some equity out by selling to us.

This type of purchase has to be performed with surgical precision. You have homeowners who are emotionally drained from the process of trying to save the home. They trust nobody including the lawyer who took them into bankruptcy and feel like everyone has screwed them. If you are empathetic now would be the time to show it.

Here is a note on a property where this happened.

7/31 note: Relief from stay of auction granted.
11/05 note: In chapter 13 now. He isn't interested in hearing our option as the thought of selling his home makes him cringe. He did agree with me that selling is better than losing to auction. He has the auction stayed for some time now. Let’s keep an eye on his bankruptcy. This is a good home.

From the note the locator has been watching this house since early November 2005. Long time to check in on the property, but it is getting ready to payoff. The new note indicates that the bank has now received the right to foreclose upon the property. It is usually the step before the bankruptcy being dismissed.

The locator will now need to go out to the home and listen to the story of the bankruptcy and convince this homeowner that it is best to sell the home instead of losing it to the bank. This homeowner really does not want to sell the house in fact he would rather stay in the house. With that in mind it is going to be a tough sell.

Again, this pitch should be a straight up number crunching pitch going through the items on the chart. Remember you are going to have to deal with the emotional tie to this house. From the note it is quite evident that this particular homeowner has this tie. When I make the pitch I usually talk about the house as sticks and bricks which is not really a home. The home is his family and the memories which they get to bring with them to the new house they will be occupying. If you can get through the emotional you will purchase the house.

PERSISTENCE WINS AGAIN

Do you know the story of Sisyphus? He was eternally condemned by the Greek Gods to push a rock from the underworld to the top of a mountain. Once he reached the mountaintop he watches as the stone rushes down the mountainside in a few moments back to the underworld. Sisyphus is then forced to walk back to the underworld and repeat this endeavor for eternity. An endless, mindless futile and hopeless labor with no chance of success.

Like Sisyphus our locators ceaselessly drive to a house to try to contact the homeowner only to have no contact. Homeowner was not home. Hiding in the house etc. It seems that the locator has been condemned by the managers to ceaselessly drive to the property leave a personal note and try again. Futile labor with no reward.

A locator could give up and stop running a property-nobody would blame the locator-we know it is a tough job requiring persistence and hard work. So here is our latest story of persistence with a reward.

This property came into the system on March 27, 2006-almost five months ago! (That is double the time a Massachusetts property usually stays in the system). The locator saw the property in April, May, June, without ever talking to the homeowner. Just taking a picture, leaving a note and waiting for a call back. Finally on July 13, 2006 the locator caught the homeowner at the door-the homeowner acknowledged receiving the letters and agreed to an appointment for Saturday on July 16, 2006.

The locator drove to the house for the appointment only to receive a note indicating that he could not meet today and requesting the locator to call on Monday. The locator set up a second appointment and the homeowner simply did not show up for the appointment. The locator had a telephone call to the homeowner and he could hear the homeowner state that he could not talk at the moment.

August rolled around and the locator went back to the house and met a friend of the homeowner and learned that the wife of the homeowner was very sick and was slowly recovering. Finally on August 14, 2006, the homeowner called to schedule an appointment. The locator went to the appointment and went through the FSP and secured the release. Here are the notes on the property. April 9 : nice hood no one home left paper work follow up with a visit May 7: went to the prop. and they were hiding in the home refuse to answer May 16: went to the prop. no one home send letter and follow up with visit June 10: went to the prop. no one home send letter and follow up with a visit they have three dogs June 17: Visited 6/17/06 - Not Home. Left letter requesting they call to set up an appt. June 30: went to the prop. they were home didn’t answer the door send letter and follow up with a visit no pics i thought i already had them sorry next time July 13: Visited 7/13/06; 6:30PM. Met HO, Paul, at the door. He acknowledged receiving the letters of intro that have left at the door. Said that he was heading out and asked if I could come by Saturday at 3PM. Set appt. for Sat, 7/15/06, 3PM July 15: Visited 7/15/06; 3PM. HO not home. HO left a note at the door indicating he could not meet with me today. Requested that I call his cell on Monday to schedule appt. for next week. July 18: Visited 7/18/06; 7:30PM. This was a scheduled appt. with HO. HO was not home. Waited until 8PM. Left letter at the door requesting call back to reschedule. July 25 : Tele-con at 9AM; 7/25/06. This is the second Tele-con since my last visit. Both times the HO (Paul) was in the background and instructed the person I was speaking with to tell me that he was unavailable at this time. How close is this situation to auction? August 5: Visited 8/5/06; 10:45AM. HO not home. Left letter with info to contact for appt. Spoke with Paul's friend that was at the house. Learned that the wife is still in rehab. Recovering from poisoning due to a burst abscess on her spinal cord. She has been down for 3MO. Slowly recovering. August 14: Paul called late last week message was lost now found August 17: property has a market value in pristine condition of 260k. i have put in the rehab budget of 16,500 allowing us to purchase right around 163k plus or minus last sale of houses on your way are at 1654 and 1737 Washington we should shoot pictures of those properties to show the differences for pricing August 17: Visited 8/17/06; 6PM. Presented Fresh Start Program; secured release, faxed to Admin 7:40PM. Property is in good condition. Overall, this is a big house. HO is ready to sell. HO would like to get as much of the equity as possible in order to create a fund for the two girls that he and Nancy have. The story is a sad one. He, Paul, is terminally ill with double lung cancer and diabetes. His doctors would like to remove his left foot but he is resisting. He has been given 6 - 9 more months to live. He told me that he has lost 60 lbs in the past 3 months and he can tell that his breathing is becoming a problem. His wife, Nancy, was being treated for a pinched nerve. In reality, a cyst had formed around her spinal cord and exploded destroying her spinal cord. She is now a quadriplegic and will never be able to return to the home. If she is release from the rehab facility, she will be cared for be her oldest daughter; hence, the fund. This property is ready to be purchased. I mentioned to Paul that there are a lot of options to think about and that we would get back to him by Wednesday with a status update and possibly a proposal by the end of the week.

Home Sellers: Win the House Race

Today's home seller needs an edge to make their homes stand out in a buyer's market. Besides making their home most desirable, sellers need to monitor all aspects of their sale.

Selling a house is like a steeplechase race horse jumping over hurdles. Some race horses make the jumps look so easy; they run and jump in rhythm under the jockey's guidance. The home seller's job is to make home buyer's hurdles easy to jump. Home buyers make up their minds about a house on each step they take or every barrier they cross. As a home seller, you need to make sure your buyer crosses each barrier. Here are eight hurdles for you to win the house race.

Hurdle #1 Listings and Ads

Buyers make up their mind about the advertisement or listing whether or not to continue reading. That means they approve of the basic features and price.

They must see something in the advertisement or listing that makes your house stand out in a crowded market. To entice a buyer to pick up the phone and call about your house, the buyer must read some benefit that they want. This should be your property's best benefit to the buyer, such as "Live across from Eagle Point Park; enjoy the views and playgrounds" or "Move right in without fixing or painting a thing. Owners will even help with your costs."

Hurdle #2 Yard Signs that Attract Attention

The yard sign should look professional and not take away from the appeal. Many over-sized yard signs clutter the landscape. Put the sign to the side a bit and consider a shorter sign for smaller houses.

Instead of wasting words with the all the amenities, make the phone number legible from the street and list the best feature not obvious from the curb.

Hurdle #3 Non-Generic Sales Flyer

Perhaps a house shopper will be interested enough to get out of their vehicle and pick up a sales flyer. This means that the flyer needs to be written with sales copy that gives motivation to see the property. A "ho-hum" generic flyer with a long list of features should be rewritten using Marketing Psychology with strong benefits to the buyer.

Hurdle #4 Curb Appeal

When shoppers pull up in front of your house, the first glimpse must impress them enough to get out of their vehicle to see what's inside. For condo sellers, the development has to pass approval and your unit should stand out with added appeal like large potted plants near the door in colorful containers. The typical house needs pizzazz near the front door to draw the eye into the house. You must entice the buyer to cross the threshold to see what's inside.

Hurdle #5 First Impression

Inside, the typical house shopper makes up their mind within 15 seconds whether or not they're interested in your house. This is why the first sighting inside must pass inspection and peak interest.

Hurdle #6 Lasting Impressions

To encourage shoppers to spend more than the usual four minutes previewing a house, use home staging strategies. Buyers select a home based on their emotions. They choose the home they connect with and one they think "feels like home." This just doesn't happen in four minutes.

Houses that spark fantasy about living in the home, enjoying a better lifestyle, and entertaining friends help buyers make up their minds.

Hurdle #7 Easy Purchase

Buyers make offers on houses when they feel comfortable with the paperwork. If you're selling by owner, have a basic contract on hand that doesn't confuse buyers and have a closing agent or escrow officer draw up the formal documents later. If you're selling by agent, your agent must be trained on how to handle negotiations beyond just filling out forms.

Hurdle #8 Keep Sale on Track

During the sale process, monitor all the closing details. Keep your home staged for the most important date: appraisal day. Invite you buyers to return early in the sale for their walk through so they stay "in love" with your home. Make sure all the appointments are made and kept, such as inspections, and contracts signed on time.

Turn house shoppers into motivated buyers, help your buyers jump the hurdles, and you'll win the house race.

Selling Your Glendale Home, Are You Asking the Right Price?

If you have a home in Glendale, Arizona that you'd like to sell, you are in a good position. Glendale is a great community for buying and selling, it's one of the most affordable home communities in the greater Phoenix area.

Fortunately, Glendale is popular enough that you'll find plenty of people interested in buying your home. On the downside, if you've never sold a home before, you may not have realistic expectations about the sales process. You may be setting yourself up for a fall if you aren't aware of some of the common mistakes to avoid.

Asking Too Much for Your Home

Sometimes it's hard to have a great perspective on the asking price for your home. After all, you've probably put a great deal of time, effort and money in making improvements to the property. Unfortunately, if you focus exclusively on the price you think the property is worth, you may lose out on prospective buyers.

Remember that your home will be on the market beside other comparable homes. If your house isn't priced competitively, the home may be quickly passed over by buyers.

Listen carefully to your real estate agent and consider their input. Your agent understands the Glendale market and is going to give you the best price. If you have some doubts, check out zillow.com. This site uses some of the same information as real estate agents, sales of comparable properties, etc. to deliver an accurate home value.

Not Having A Marketing Plan

Before you list your home, you need to have a discussion with your real estate agent about how he or she intends to market your property. What will he or she do to make your property stand out? You want to get as much exposure for your home as possible in the shortest amount of time. The longer your home is on the market, the more opportunity you miss when it comes to finding another home, or you may not be able to complete the purchase of a home you really love.

Not Accepting an Offer

Judging whether to accept an offer is always a little risky, if you take too low of an offer you're missing out on potential money. If you reject an offer because you want something higher, you may find that your property just won't sell. Again, the most important thing you can do is follow the advice of your real estate agent. Glendale is a competitive market, so you should be able to get a good offer on your home. Even before you receive an offer, discuss the absolute minimum that you will accept, and how much room there is for negotiation. It's hard to make decisions in a stressful time, so if you go in with as much information as possible, you can alleviate some of the tension.

Glendale is the perfect community for finding affordable homes and reselling your home to new buyers. Work with an agent you trust and you'll be living in your new Glendale home before you know it.

Reg Gustin is a senior loan officer with Sun American Mortgage and specializes in helping families and their financial lending needs.

Is It Time To Move On: Evaluating Your Tempe Home

Tempe is a community that presents great options for home owners. Because it's a rapidly growing part of the Phoenix metropolitan area there is an interesting mix of homes,older homes and new housing developments.

As much as we'd like to believe we can find the perfect home, there really isn't such a thing. Every home has some flaws, and some have great features. The choice for many buyers is whether to fix the flaws of a home, find another older home that has fewer problems, or move into a new home that has the features they like.

The great thing about Tempe is a community with its own unique culture. Of course that overall feeling is an important part of whether you want to stay in a home. The neighborhood and community are some of the driving factors for keeping home owners in their home and contemplating making renovations or remodel plans.

So what should you consider when it comes time to make the decision about moving to a new home in Tempe or remodeling your existing home? There are several key factors.

Can you afford to remodel? Depending on what type of modifications you are planning, it can be quite expensive. Whether it's remodeling kitchens or baths, you can plan to easily spend tens of thousands of dollars, if not more. If you are planning major remodeling such as adding a family room, building a master bedroom suite, or expanding outwards, you can easily expect to spend close to a hundred thousand dollars. You also have to have a reserve budget for when the project goes over the estimated cost, as it certainly will.

What do love about your current home? Do you love the neighborhood, the schools, or the convenience of where you live? If you do, and you are certain you can't find something you love just as much in another location, then remodeling may make sense for you.

Have you considered what you'll lose or gain by selling? Sometimes you know that if you move to another neighborhood your property will appreciate at a higher level than your previous home. It's a no brainer, your house is an important part of your investment portfolio, then it makes sense to move. Of course, there are costs associated with selling your home and buying another: you can expect to pay 7% of the sales price of your home in fees and closing costs. You also have to consider that you will be stepping back in terms of your mortgage. You will be adding more time to your mortgage repayment, so you'll be paying less principle and more interest.

Tempe has lots of opportunities to find a great home, one that can work for you now and in the future.

Reg Gustin is a senior loan officer with Sun American Mortgage and specializes in helping families and their financial lending needs.

Giving Your Tempe Home a Shot in the Arm

Tempe, Arizona is such a great community to live in that homes for sale practically sell themselves. Who wouldn't want to live in such a dynamic community, a place with easy access to Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa and Scottsdale? Tempe offers great schools, beautiful planned communities, and lots of variety, conveniences and amenities.

If you own a home in Tempe, you've probably seen your home equity increase as your home appreciates in value. You may be tempted to sell your home and use some of the equity as down payment for a larger home in Tempe.

Whether you plan to sell your home or not, chances are you'd like to make improvements to the property to increase its value. What are some changes you can make to your property to keep that home equity growing? The answer may surprise you. The trend nowadays focuses not on the inside of your house, but the outside, the landscaping.

Landscaping has become the hottest trend in property improvement. But the focus isn't on merely adding some flowers or shrubs to your property. New buyers are looking for landscaping that creates a livable area outside the home, a yard that expands the space of the home to the great outdoors.

The Arizona sun provides so many days of beautiful weather, it's a shame to waste time indoors. That's part of the reason home owners are looking for what amounts to an outdoor living room.

Having a simple patio isn't sufficient. If you really want to improve your Tempe home, consider adding a patio or terrace that reflects the elegance of the rest of your home. Instead of a mere concrete slab patio, add paving stones or tiles.

Another important feature to consider is a covered area. As much as you may love the sun, having a sheltered or shaded area to take a break is an important part of creating the feel of an outdoor living room.

The patio or terrace becomes an important part of the home for entertainment and enjoyment. What can you do to make your patio more functional, with a feeling of permanence? How about adding a built in grill, or consider making a mini-kitchen outdoors. It may take a little money to add the features, but its well worth it in terms of the value it adds to your home.

What living room is complete without a fireplace? Well, fireplaces are important parts of indoor living rooms, but not such a practical part of an outdoor living space. If you are considering adding an outdoor fireplace or fire pit, rethink your plans. These features add little value to the home because they aren't something that is commonly used by most residents.

Water features, like ponds or waterfalls, offer little desirability. The feature may be pretty, but in the end it's merely time consuming to maintain. A far better use of money is in a swimming pool. Traditionally, swimming pools aren't considered a great equity generator in other parts of the country, but in Arizona, a pool can be a deal maker for a home.

More and more home owners are investing serious money in the landscaping around their home. They find the investment pays off not only in future sale of the property, but also increases their enjoyment of the home.

Consider making some improvements to the outside of your Tempe home, and you'll find that your house has a whole new lease on life.

Nicaragua and Costa Rica Find a New War to Fight

There is no doubt that real estate in Nicaragua is vastly cheaper than its southern neighbour Costa Rica, and the recent upturn in interest in Nicaragua has led potential investors to question both markets, and rightly so. However, when buying property in any country, whatever its economic stance, one would be wise not to rush too quickly into handing over hard earned cash before weighing up cost versus location.

In Nicaragua, you can buy a beachfront property of approximately 3000 sq. ft., with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms just under US$300k. In comparison, a 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom beachfront property on the Pacific Coast in Costa Rica will set you back around US$389k. Sizeable difference you might agree. But look at what you are paying for – it could prove to be a price difference worth investing in.

Costa Rica and Nicaragua are polar opposites in their projected images to the rest of the world. Nicaragua has long suffered a negative image, not helped by the fact that it is persistently compared to its wealthier neighbour.

Nicaragua continues to be one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Its employment issues are rife, and its external debt amounts to almost $3.2 billion. Nicaragua has one of the world’s most irregular income distribution and crime is widespread.

In comparison, Costa Rica’s economy is positive. According to a recent press release by the International Monetary Fund; “Over the past 18 months, Costa Rica's economic performance has been strong. Despite the oil price shock, growth has been higher than expected, supported by sound economic policies, strong external demand, and favorable conditions in international capital markets.” However, despite this good news, inflation remains high at 12 percent. It went on to say that the country’s main challenge is to promote steady and economic growth, coupled with a significant reduction in inflation. The authorities said that a “multi-pronged approach” was necessary to achieve this goal.

In other news this month, Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced its plans to expand its offices in San Jose, the capital. HP currently employs almost 3,500 people and aims to practically double this figure by 2007. This news certainly indicates that the current positive economic climate in Costa Rica is set to continue.

There is certainly a wealth of information, statistics and percentages available to help you make your decision but this tiresome process will ultimately lead you to one burning question, who really wins the debate, Nicaragua or Costa Rica? The real answer to that question is neither.

Personal choice is the key to figuring out which country is more suitable for your needs and budget. Nevertheless, keep in mind, while you shop for your Central American dream home, that there is no such thing as a “bargain” and that you pay for what you get; location, location, location.

Buying a Home in Glendale, Arizona: On the Road to Success

If you are looking to buy your first home in the Phoenix metropolitan area, you may want to consider Glendale. It is located west of Phoenix and offers easy access to the city, as well as to the many businesses.

Glendale is one of the most affordable home communities throughout the Valley. For first time buyers, this community gives you options of getting more home for your money. Of course, buying your first home is a big first step, and you can take some steps to avoid those mistakes of home buying.

Not Being Prepared

Most first time buyers think the first step is going out and looking for a home. Actually, the first step is working with a mortgage agent. A big part of your home purchase is getting a mortgage, and your mortgage agent is best qualified to help you through the process. A good agent can show you where you may experience potential problems, take a good look at your credit, and give you some suggestions of the price range for your potential home.

Focusing on the Long Term

When you look for a home in Glendale, be careful not to focus too far in the future. It's hard to predict where you'll be or what you'll be doing ten or fifteen years from now. If you are focused too far in the future, you may buy a larger home than you really need. Focus on your needs for the next five to seven years, how close do you need to be to work, how many bedrooms are ideal, how big of a home do you want.

Chances are you'll be looking for a new home in five to seven years, and you'll revise your home search based on your needs at that time.

Waiting Too Long to Buy

Taking that first step to buy a home is a huge decision, and at times it can be a little frightening. Maybe you've heard rumors of a real estate bubble, and you think if you wait it out that bubble will collapse and you'll find a house at a better price. Actually, most experts have already said that the real estate collapse is not going to happen. You aren't going to see home prices fall in the near future. In fact, most likely home prices will continue to increase, just at a slightly less pronounced rate than the last couple of years.

If you decide to wait too long, you may find that you can't afford the increased prices. And, the longer you stay in your rental property, the more money you give to your landlord that you could be investing that money in yourself.

Looking for Perfection

First time buyers see themselves living in a home for years, and want to find the home that is perfect for them. Unfortunately, there is no such house. All homes will have a few problems, some that are easier to fix than others, some that you just have to learn to live with. When you look for a home in Glendale, be prepared to walk in with an open mind. You'll find that you have a lot more options when you do.

Do a little preparation in advance and you'll find the perfect Glendale home for you. You home is an important investment in your future, the right home will let you begin upon the path of accumulating wealth, it's a good road to be on.

Tempe Homes: Finding the Perfect Home in the Perfect Community

Thinking about buying a home in the Tempe area? Tempe, often called "The Valley", offers some of the most diverse real estate in any area.

What kind of home are you thinking about? Do you picture yourself in a neighborhood with tree-lined streets, or would you rather be in a community that requires little maintenance? Either way, you'll find it in Tempe.

Looking at the multiple listing services for Tempe, you'll see that most homes fall into one of a few categories:

Master Planned Communities

Master planned communities are especially popular throughout Tempe. They are often clustered around a geographic feature, such as in the foothills, on a mountain side, or near the desert. They are situated to take advantage of the natural views.

Several different builders usually develop homes in each neighborhood. The big advantage to the planned community is that it offers all the amenities within a compact area, schools, parks, community centers, and recreational opportunities such as golf courses and horse riding stables.

Each one uses a similar architectural theme, with a variety of different floor plans. If you are looking for a brand new home, these communities are a great choice. You can select your preferred floor plan and make the upgrades you'd like. These areas include a variety of price ranges, especially more affordable homes, and they have a great history of appreciating prices long term.

Resale Homes

Tempe is a great area for new homes, but you'll also find wonderful older houses. These properties are very distinctive, many in Mediterranean styling, with mature landscaping and large lots.

Resale homes are especially appealing for those wanting a well-established neighborhood, with its own unique culture.

Condominium Communities

Condominiums are a popular housing alternative in Tempe, but they don't merely refer to small apartment-like properties. Tempe offers luxury condominiums several thousand square feet in size and resembling world-class hotels. Of course there are also smaller units perfect for first-time buyers.

Active-Adult Communities

Tempe is a popular destination for tourists, young professionals relocating for a job, and of course, retirees. An exciting part of the real estate market is the active-adult community.

These communities offer a variety of amenities to home buyers, including golf courses and clubs, fitness centers, tennis courts and swimming pools. Homes in these communities are often patio homes, town homes, or stand-alone properties.

As the baby boom generation ages, these communities are becoming increasingly popular.

Whatever your age or style, you'll find a great variety of homes to meet your needs in Tempe.

How Much Is Too Much For a Scottsdale Home

Are you looking for a home in Scottsdale, Arizona? Scottsdale has earned a reputation as an expensive community, one of affluence and sophistication. Unfortunately many people firmly believe that these traits come with a hefty price tag. Although this is often true, you may be surprised by your options.

Maybe you haven't figured out how much your can afford for a home. Some prospective buyers deliberately stay away from Scottsdale because they think prices are out of their reach, while others don't realize when they are in over their heads.

How exactly do you figure out how much you can afford for a mortgage? The formula many mortgage agents formerly suggested was that home owners' plan that their mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance) be about 30% of the total gross monthly earnings.

But times have changed and this formula doesn't always work for all buyers. This old computation method doesn't take into account the debt that most people carry in addition to their mortgage payments. Unlike the "good old days", today, many of us owe on credit cards, as well as car, student, and personal loans.

A far better formula for calculating how much you can afford is to add up all of your monthly bills, and then plan that the total amount of debt with mortgage, insurance and taxes, then keep this total at 45% of your gross monthly income or less.

There are a number of mortgage options that give home buyers more choices. For instance, no interest loans allow buyers to pay against the principle only on the loan for a period of time. This is a great choice for anyone anticipating that their income may increase over the next few years.

Some of these mortgage options are great for buyers in the Scottsdale market. It gives them more opportunities to buy into more expensive home communities. The main caution of course is to not overextend yourself financially so that your home ownership becomes precarious.

Even though Scottsdale is an expensive community, there are still homes available at various price points. There are elegant yet affordable condominium communities, and older single family homes with great potential.

Owning a home in Scottsdale is an important step in planning for your financial future. Scottsdale is certainly a market that will continue to appreciate, and there is no better investment than real estate. Scottsdale also has traditionally been a very "in demand" community, which means this investment offers stability and growth.

With careful planning, you can find your perfect home in Scottsdale and not lose your shirt in the process.

Reg Gustin is a senior loan officer with Sun American Mortgage and specializes in helping families and their financial lending needs.

Buying Your First House

Just about all of us wonder about the day we'll pick up the keys to our own home. Buying your first house is actually the goal for million of people worldwide. Being able to afford your own house is an extremely important mission most people work to accomplish throughout their lifetime. But apart from being an investment and providing security to a family or an individual, buying property, in the form of a house, can be a tremendous experience for the person that decides to commit time and effort in finding and bidding for the house of his or her dreams.

Whether you like big contemporary designs or town houses with tiny back yards, the idea of owning a home is definitely attractive. But many people don't realize that home ownership doesn't have to be so far off in the future. Although the actual process of buying a house can seem really scary because most people think about the tons of paperwork involved, and the use of a lot of vocabulary that sounds like a foreign language, postponing your dream can be not such a wise choice after all. Although a lot of people do not realize that they've got the financial resources to buy, or may have reasons they think they should continue renting, if you decide to invest time to research thoroughly your choices, hopefully the buying process will seem a little less intimidating.

But first of all you should think if you have enough reasons to wanting to buy your own immovable property. In fact, buying a house puts your money to work for you. Property values are on the rise at a rate faster than most interest-bearing savings accounts, making a home a great investment. Also, while rents continue heading skyward, mortgage payments usually stay constant. That means your housing expenses will be stable, while your income will naturally increase over time. In short, you can stabilize your monthly expenses and put the money you pay in rent back into your own pocket.

Moreover, the interest you pay on your mortgage loan is tax deductible which can result in huge savings on your taxes. This is especially true during the early stages of home ownership, when the creditors require you to pay the most interest. Furthermore, even the interest rates of your house mortgage are kept in low levels (around 7 percent) for a fixed-rate of a 30-year loan, transforming your home loan to your least expensive one.

Finally, the biggest bonus of buying your own property is the fact that unlike rent which is money down the drain, your mortgage payment goes toward your home equity. In fact, this comes back to you either as an emergency line of credit, or in case you decide to sell your property later, you have not lost your money since that equity is returned to you in full and can be used for the next house down-payment.

French Leaseback

What is a leaseback?
Leaseback is a unique process developed by the French government more than 15 years ago to encourage quality development in tourist areas. Investors buy a freehold property and at the same time sign a lease contract with a property management company who will rent it for short term rentals for a renewable period generally 11 years.

In return, investors receive major tax breaks (no VAT on purchase price) as well as a guaranteed return for the duration of the contract. A guaranteed return is typically between 4,5 and 5,5% and is linked to an official index. The management company takes care of the running costs and maintenance. Thanks to tax breaks the income is not taxed during the first 10 years.

Finance
You can get 80% finance from local banks with rates on French mortgages of between 3.5 and 4% on 20-25 years with a down payment of a minimum 20%.

Importance of fixed guarantee
These last few years of poor equity market performance have made it abundantly clear how important guaranteed income investments can be.

Hassle Free
Leaseback schemes are ideal for people who want a complete hassle free investment. This is a complete hands off investment.

Risk
As long as the sourcing is well undertaken (sourcing of properties in areas with potential for resale) and verification of the management company is done properly then the risk for this type of investment is minimum.

Buy to Let in France

What is a buy to let in France?

The buy to let scheme in France is where a property is bought and then leased to a property management company. The property management company then finds a tenant, maintains the property. In short looks after the purchaser’s interests and makes sure the property is occupied by a paying lodger.

Unlike with a leaseback, a buy to let property is not let to holiday makers and so ‘downtime’ is limited. Other advantages are that there is no furniture to buy, the property is let unfurnished and the terms, when compared to a leaseback, are more flexible. For example it is possible to break the contract with the management company at anytime.

How long is the lease period?
Normally there is a three year lease period. During this time, as with any property you will not have access to the residence for personal use.

What is the rate of return?
The average gross return is between 4-5% before costs on any extra guarantees. This of course can very from region to region.

When can the property be sold?
As with all property, a buy to let can be sold at any time. If there is a lodger, the chances are that full market value for the property will not be achieved.

Mortgage Applications Down

Mortgage applications fell for the first time in four weeks as demand hit the lowest level in almost three years.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly report, the seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended August 25 decreased 0.9%, landing nearly 23% below last year's level for the same week.

The decline remained consistent with the slowdown being seen in the housing market.

"We're still in the soft landing camp for the housing market," explained John Shin, senior economist for Lehman Brothers. "We do see a sizable impact on the economy and expect that the slowing housing market is going to trim roughly one percentage point off of growth over the rest of this year and the next year as well."

For the sixth straight week, home refinancing demand increased as a result of decreasing mortgage rates.

Last week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate averaged 6.39%, well below June's four-year high of 6.86%. However, they were well above last year's level of 5.73%.

Seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications increased slightly for the week, up to 1,609.2 from 1,608.5.

The refinancing share of total applications increased to 41.5%, up from 40.6% the week prior. This marks the highest level since February.

Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged a rate of 6.06%, up from 6.04% the week prior. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage also saw an increase, up to 5.97% from 5.91%.

ARMs made up 26.8% of total loan applications, an increase from 26.4% the week prior.

The MBA's survey covers 50% of all US retail residential mortgage loans. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.

Home Sellers: Prepare Your Home for Sale in a Cool Market with Fire

Across the country homes are taking longer to sell. If you have a home for sale, you might consider making a few changes to attract buyers in the cooling real estate market. Not only is the market cooling, so will the weather. It may feel hot to you right now, but in a few weeks, the evenings will get chilly.

Home sellers who stage their homes take advantage of advanced sales techniques. One of the most popular home upgrades today is the addition of a backyard firepit or fireplace. There's something magical about sitting around the glow of a fire that makes people feel great. That's one reason many people go camping, for the simple joy of sitting by a crackling campfire.

Prepare for cool weather selling with a backyard fire. Besides a fireplace, you have many options. At the high end of the scale, you could get a propane type of unit that comes in a terra cotta vase-like container. These types of outdoor fireplaces come in a variety of styles and sizes, which look good on any patio. Point out to home buyers that this fire feature has the added advantage of requiring virtually no cleanup, since these fireplaces don't burn any solid matter.

If your home would benefit from the more rustic appeal of a firepit, you have a number of choices, including one that features a copper cauldron. It's like putting your campfire in a large hand-hammered copper pot, measuring about three feet across and two feet deep. Cauldrons are large enough to become the focal point of an otherwise ordinary backyard.

There's also a propane version of that type of firepit available with molded logs that appear to be burning. This fire enhancement also features the same easy cleanup as the propane-powered terra cotta unit, since no solid material actually burns.

There are a number of firepit rings available that can be customized any way you want, depending only upon your imagination and budget. Generally, a custom firepit should be about 18 inches tall, to prevent sparks from escaping -- and possibly ending up in your buyer's lap. A diameter of 30 inches offers plenty of room for a nice-sized fire. Stone or concrete blocks are generally used to surround the firepit, though you could dress up the pit by using a more decorative stone, such as slate.

Before you build a custom firepit, check codes with your building department or local fire department. In our area, it's easy to get a free permit.

Enchant your home buyers with an outdoor fire. Find a fire feature to suit your home style and take advantage of this growing trend among landscape designers. Entice your buyers with a fire and invite them to stay longer connecting to your home. Light your fire, a few candles or torches, and serve warm drinks. Turn your backyard into a buyer's dream with fire.

Honey, I’m Home!

The housing boom has been the main engine of America's economic growth in recent years. Indeed, it is the main reason why the American economy held up better than expected, after the Stock Market bubble burst at the start of the Millennium. Since 2000 the real wages of most American workers, measured in terms of disposable income, have barely budged, yet surging house prices have allowed consumers to keep spending - on credit.

Over the past five years, according to the National Association of Realtors, the cumulative total market value of American homes has increased by more than USD 9 trillion to reach a record-shattering USD 22 trillion. These gains have helped to offset both the slide in stock prices as well as the feeble wage growth. In real terms, home prices have risen at least three times as much as in any previous housing boom. Not too long ago, in the Fall of 2005 to be exact, appreciation of housing value was a hefty 15 percent annualized and most analysts thought that average prices were unlikely to fall across the nation.

Readers of my articles on Real Estate Economics know that I was one of the few lonely voices anticipating a drop in pricing levels and a slowdown in real capital appreciation which, far from being the beginning of the dreaded bubble burst that many were so fond of predicting, would have instead the beneficial effect of consolidating market wealth achieved thus far. Allowing the economy to get an even footing through a slowdown of real capital appreciation and, at the same time, allowing real wages to catch up - I reasoned - was exactly the tonic needed for a healthy foundation.

America's housing boom, though as impressive as it has been, looks far more modest than booms elsewhere. Since 2000, in fact, average selling prices in the United States and Canada have almost doubled but all this is dwarfed, for example, by the gain of almost 180 percent in Britain throughout the same period.

The real estate boom has lifted the economy in three major ways:

[ ] it has boosted residential construction and, as a direct and proximate result, it has benefited also all related fields such as banking, brokerage and insurance;

[ ] it has made people feel wealthier and has encouraged them to spend more;

[ ] it has allowed homeowners to use their real properties as a gigantic cash machine, taking out money by borrowing against their capital gains.

Merrill Lynch estimates that the three foregoing factors, taken together, accounted for more than half of America's GDP growth in 2005. Counting construction, banking and real estate agency firms, the housing boom has also been responsible for one-third of all jobs created since 2001.

Fuelling consumerism is both good and bad. Consumerism is good for the economy, as it promotes trade and the exchange of money. It is also bad, as it fuels inflation. Particularly when spurred by investment stimulated by a property boom, there is very little base to boost long-term growth. In the overall national flow of capital, expensive houses merely redistribute wealth to homeowners from non-homeowners. Worse still, exaggerated real capital appreciation and the rush on the part of everybody to invest so as not to miss the boat has diverted resources away from productive sectors, thereby causing households to save even less and thus exacerbating America' economic imbalances.

Additionally, too much consumerism is bad in trade and finance as it creates too much dependence on imports and thus generates large trade imbalances. The flip side of these imbalances has been a sharp rise in the net foreign liability position of the United States and a massive accumulation of foreign exchange reserves especially by Asian countries such as China and India. China has amassed reportedly more than USD 450 billion of reserves. India too has seen a marked rise in international reserves, to roughly USD 150 billion. Even more striking, as of the end of 2004, all of Asia (including Japan) had accumulated USD 2.1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. Subtracting this quantity of dollars from the economic monetary cycles forces the U.S. Government to borrow more and the Federal Reserve System to print and lend more money, with the deleterious effect of diminishing the purchasing power by weakening the strength of the currency.

For all these reasons, therefore, it is sure better for Americans to start saving in the old-fashioned way, that is by spending less of their real income rather than relying on rising asset prices. This will lift inflationary pressure on prices and will help stabilize US monetary policy by allowing the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates. Which, in ultimate analysis, will not only save the economy from a recession, but will also contribute to the consolidation of real estate market wealth I was referring to a few months ago.

Short Sales: How to Deal with Rejection

Buying houses by means of a short sale can be a great way to make significant amounts of money, but they're not for everyone. You have to find a seller who will work with you to persuade the lender to sell the home rather than allowing the foreclosure process to continue. Then you have to submit an offer that's low enough to make a profit, yet not so low as to be rejected altogether.

If a lender does reject your offer, all isn't lost. The first thing to do is to try to determine why your offer was rejected. There are many possible reasons, and if you want the sale to go through, you must job find out exactly what the lender wants in order to make the sale happen. Here are possible reasons.

First, your offer may simply have been too low, which meant the lender would be taking too big of a hit by accepting it. They also may believe they can do better once the foreclosure has been completed, or since loans are often sold to investors, it's also possible that the holder of the note wouldn't accept the loss.

Perhaps the borrower's financial difficulty wasn't stated strongly enough to make a persuasive case for a short sale. If that's the case, the lender might want to work out an alternative payment schedule with the homeowners rather than entering into a short sale.

Since most lenders will require a broker's price opinion (BPO), make sure your offer is somewhere near that figure. Otherwise, a lender will be convinced that they can do better on the open market once the foreclosure is complete.

There may be other reasons, but the number one reason short sale offers are rejected is simply because they're too low. After all, lenders are in business to make a profit, and even when appears there's no profit to be made in a particular home; they want to cut their losses as much as possible. So don't get greedy. You'll rarely be able to steal a home, but you can often get a substantially lower price than you would on the open market.

One of the best ways to avoid coming in too low is simply to ask the lender how much they hope to net from a short sale. They may not tell you, but you'll never know if you don't ask. Even if you don't get an answer in the beginning, you'll have another chance to ask before they make a counteroffer. Be courteous, but emphasize that you're really hoping to make the sale happen. Again, you may be surprised by the figure you receive, and if it's acceptable, jump on it. Don't kill your sale by being too greedy.

If your short sale offer is rejected, don't give up. Probe for more information about why your offer didn't fly and then try to satisfy whatever they ask for before making your counteroffer. You won't be stealing the home, but there's often plenty of profit to be made.

Why Do Successful Realtors Earn Money When They Sleep?

With the Internet penetrating every aspect of our life, it’s getting impossible to stay uninvolved. You can’t ignore the World Wide Web with its millions of users, or else it will ignore you. If you deal with vacation rentals business, but you haven't yet gone online, you are missing an opportunity to vastly increase your exposure to potential customers and increase your revenue.

“I wish I could work 24 hours a day as my web site does”, - said one of my friends. And here it is, the main secret of online presence: You can be in many right places at many right times. In fact, the time and place are always right on the Internet. Discover other secrets:


Full automation of your business
If your business is online, you can earn money round the clock. The property management software, which your rental portal is based on, automates guest-owner negotiations, accepts payments, tracks the statistics, shows property photos, and displays the available/ reserved dates for a property. The best thing about it is that it requires no involvement from your side.


Money Flow
You may charge property owners for being listed on your rental portal. This is more convenient than taking commission on every rent. A regular, stable income is better than one time commission “jackpots” from rents; at least if you intend to be in the business for a long time. Still, no involvement from your side is needed. Owners can simply pay the membership fee via a built-in credit card processor. You may clean your teeth, sleep, eat, do whatever you want to do; the Internet means that you can accept payments from eager property owners to your online account at any time.


Word-of-mouth advertising
Those who offer rental property via your web site and see good results are likely to recommend you to their colleagues. Thus, more and more owners will want to be listed on your web site. The more owners you have, the more money you earn.

Likewise, those who rented a property via your web site and liked the ease and availability of the online service are likely to recommend you to their relatives or friends. Bringing them to your web site is better than to just giving your phone number. Via phone, you can not show property photos and very often can not check immediately the availability of the property within the specified period of time.


Affordability
To market your properties online you do not have to invest a lot of funds. You may purchase a turn-key solution and install it in a few clicks. It costs from $200 to $400 depending on the features. Other expenses you will have are customization costs (if needed), hosting fee, and advertising. But the online world charges for all this much less than an offline one does. All this can be done from your home computer, isn’t it a real honey?


Quick return on investment
The beauty of taking your business online is the speed you start returning your investment with. Most online realtors state that to become conspicuous in an Internet media is easier and quicker than in other media. Indeed, you may promote your rental web site all over the world. Anyone from any location can access your web site 24 hours a day. More visitors result in more customers. Would you mind being globally known?

Dear realtors, I urge you to take your business online. Do not lose precious time.

Using the Market Conditions to help in the Fresh Start Presentation

The real estate market like any other asset class is in a constant state of motion. Property values are either going up, down or are stabilized at all times. We know this just by reading the newspapers, watching television and listening to neighbor’s gossip about their asset (the home). Not very scientific way of figuring out a market, but probably as good as if not better than most because it gets to the emotion of the homeowner in trouble. If the homeowner believes it is a sellers market he/she will absolutely try to sell or refinance before listening to you. If it is a buyers market then you are a welcomed guest if you can put money in their pocket for this dog of an asset they purchased long ago. If it is a stagnant or equal market well then the homeowner will be unsure of the value because the newspapers will be onto another subject. There are three types of markets in real estate. They are 1) the Sellers Market; 2) Buyers market; 3) a stagnant market where prices remain constant.

The definition of the Sellers Market, Buyers Market and Market in equilibrium is a look back model that uses two figures to determine a label for which market you are in. They are market time and inventory.

Market Time Defined

Market time is defined by the amount of days that a property in the location stays on the market. For example in a Sellers Market average sales time will be under sixty (60) days. Equal Market average sales time will be under one hundred (100) days. For a Buyers market average sale time will be over 100 days.

Inventory defined

Inventory is simply the amount of houses on the market divided by the average amount of sales typical for that area per month. Sellers Market would be less than three (3) months inventory on hand in a given area. Equal Market would be between three months and six months of inventory on hand. Buyers Market would be having inventory over six months on hand.

SELLERS MARKET FSP

A sellers market is a market where a property will sell within sixty days of being introduced to the market. This market also has a low inventory of properties on the market. This would be defined as anything less than three months inventory in your specific area. Another indication of a sellers market is that the price of the product begins to appreciate until it finally is out of the reach of the buyers causing the market to cool down.

This market can be prolonged by certain financial products such as the interest only loan, negative amortization type of loan, graduate payment loan and of course the variable rate loan. All of which we have seen in both Philadelphia and Massachusetts.

Based upon all of the factors going against the back up plan we offer it is a hard position to find the deals that we need during this type of market and as purchasers we are forced to purchase at auction as well as going to the properties and trying to purchase pre-foreclosure.

Locator in Hot Sellers Market

The locator in a hot market has a hard presentation. Every homeowner feels that they can get market price and that is more than we can pay. This happens because local neighborhood gossip, newspapers in the area saying how much property has risen year over year or month over month. Homeowners are saturated with information about how valuable their real estate is worth.

Next the homeowner is targeted with lending offers to refinance because the value of the home has skyrocketed- use your homes as an ATM machine to pull out some equity and live for a few more years.

Both the low market time and low inventory time cause our business of purchasing properties to be very frustrating. The homeowners are aware that they can sell a home relatively fast even quicker than an auction can be had.

It Makes for a hard market to purchase properties prior to the auction. It is what we call our recession. It allows a homeowner to choose from a group of choices. Essentially we are a back up plan or safety net. In this type of market we need to price correctly and purchase at the last minute from homeowners who have tried everything else.

Buyers Market FSP

A buyers market is defined by sales of properties taking takes over 100 days to sell. The Inventory in this market will stack up to well over six months worth of sales. The homeowner in this situation has only a few options. Financing companies say that they can refinance but usually can not due to the falling value of the appraisal on the home. Remember the newspapers are littered with information regarding the fall of the real estate market. It is the fear of the day for most local newspapers.

Here are a few local articles

“Sellers Frustrated With Real Estate Market
Home Sales Down In Bay State
POSTED: 6:05 pm EDT August 15, 2006
UPDATED: 7:37 pm EDT August 15, 2006

WALPOLE, Mass. -- Quarterly home sales are down in a widespread area of Massachusetts, but prices are only down slightly.

Copyright 2006 by TheBostonChannel.com”

“Market unease: Home prices fall 3.5%
Weakening demand leads to largest decline in Mass. in 13 years
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | August 24, 2006
Home prices in Massachusetts fell 3.5 percent in July, the largest decline in 13 years, as the slowdown in the real estate market finally led sellers to cut their prices.”

“July home sales plunge 27%

The Lowell Sun

Massachusetts single-family home sales plunged almost 27 percent in July, the largest year-over-year monthly drop in more than 11 years, according to a report released today by The Warren Group of Boston. “

“Buyer’s market: Housing sales dip, prices may follow
By Ben Aaronson/ Staff Writer
Thursday, August 24, 2006 - Updated: 09:08 AM EST

You can’t drive through town without seeing a "For Sale" or "Open House" sign and they represent a statewide trend.

According to a recent report by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, home sales statewide fell nearly 11 percent in the second quarter (April to June), marking the fifth consecutive quarter that activity has declined from the same period the pervious year. Housing inventories are at an all-time high and homes are staying on the market longer, the report found. “

Locator in Buyers Market

The locator in a buyer market has a much easier presentation. Every homeowner has undergone the conditioning of the newspapers, local gossip etc. that the sky is falling rapidly and that their investment is no longer worth what it was one year ago.

This advertisement of the fall of real estate prices and the end of the price appreciation stops the appraisers’ from appraising the properties correctly. Instead of using the standard comparable. The appraiser checks a box and states that property pricing are declining and begins to cover himself/herself with lower and lower values for the property. This causes the banks to tighten up on underwriting guidelines making it harder to refinance their way out of the foreclosure.

Without the refinance the homeowner either has to do one of the following:

1) Restructure the mortgage causing higher payments. Problem with a restructure is that it costs more monthly for a short period of time. Usually very hard for the homeowner to come up with the money.

2) Sell on the open market. Problem is that market time has risen to the point where the foreclosure process is faster than the tie they have to sell the property.

3) File for bankruptcy. This normally costs $2,500 for the lawyer, filing fees and 10% of the plan debt to the trustee. It also has a 75% failure rate.

Consequently our FSP becomes a very viable option for the homeowner.

We are in this market now so find your local newspaper articles and put them in your book to show the homeowners what is happening out there. Make your presentation and then close the deal.

The locators biggest problem during this time is the manager (Investor) has more trouble pricing the properties because of the downward spiral of the market.

Market In Equilibrium:

An even market is when a property is sold within 61-100 days of listing. Inventory is usually six months or less. This is the market that is the easiest to procure deals. It allows the investor to feel warm and fuzzy knowing almost to the penny that the property he/she is purchasing is worth what they think that it is worth.

The Newspapers simply go on to another story and leave the real estate market alone or have articles stating that the market is stable.

Locator in Equilibrium

The locator in a stable market has the best of all worlds. Prices are staying steady keeping the manager happy and all is quiet regarding real estate in the newspapers.

Again it is an easy presentation. The homeowner has seen his equity disappear and no longer knows what the value of the real estate is and just wants to get out from the obligation.

The homeowner is left with one of the three options of a down market:

1) Restructure the mortgage causing higher payments. Problem with a restructure is that it costs more monthly for a short period of time. Usually very hard for the homeowner to come up with the money.

2) Sell on the open market. Problem is that market time has risen to the point where the foreclosure process is faster than the tie they have to sell the property.

3) File for bankruptcy. This normally costs $2,500 for the lawyer, filing fees and 10% of the plan debt to the trustee. It also has a 75% failure rate.

Consequently our FSP becomes a very viable option for the homeowner.

So what does this all have to do with the Fresh Start Presentation (FSP)? Remember the Fresh Start Presentation is the Homeowner Options slide show that you have. It goes through the advantages and disadvantages of the seven (7) options available to the financially distressed homeowner.

They are as follows:
1) Sell on the Open Market
2) Refinance the home
3) Restructure the mortgage
4) File bankruptcy
5) Borrow from friends and family
6) Let it go to foreclosure
7) Sell to an investor

Well each type of market has different advantages and disadvantages to the locator.

Use the newspapers to translate into a selling benefit during your FSP. We need to educate the homeowner that we are in a period where houses do not sell for last years prices but that they are actually going down in price each and every day. Time as usual is the enemy of a homeowner in this situation.

A good locator that wants to maximize his sales would do the following:

1) Read the local newspaper where your route is and cut out the articles that will help get the homeowner off the price they thought it was worth. Copy the article and give it to the homeowner when talking about the price.
2) While he/she is reading the article tell the homeowner that the property may be worth 3,4,5,6,7% less by the time they actually move out, the property is repainted and put on the market by the company.
3) This risk is for our company to worry about unless the homeowner decides to try to sell it on his own.

Real Estate Agents - Evolution of The Shark

Or survival of the most dishonest

Real Estate agents are regarded poorly by the general public. To be fair, there are many conditions that impact on a real estate agent. These impacts can either spit them straight out of the industry or have them evolve into sharks. In many cases it becomes survival of the most dishonest.

Now before all the trustworthy hard working real estate agents groan and moan, about another person giving their industry a hard time, please read on. I believe it is the system in many cases that is broken, and it is that system which shapes many a real estate agent into that predatory shark.

Firstly, becoming a real estate agent isn’t difficult. Most states within Australia have a real estate institute where you can complete a course in under a week. (I completed my course by distance learning in one night and I am no mental giant. The before mentioned groaning agents are really agreeing with me now!)

In the US you can complete a course online and be accredited. All it costs is $99 US.

We are talking a very easy entry point to become a real estate agent.

Now that you are a real estate agent – with your suitable qualifications, you expect people to trust you with their single most expensive asset, typically their home! Sounds a little bit out of whack right from the start doesn’t it?

Now from an external point of view, real estate looks like a pot of gold. Commission rates of between 2.5% to 3.0% to sell a house. A property worth $500,000 represents a commission of approximately $12,500 to $15,000.

“WOW, I should be able to do one of them each week and earn $650,000 per year. Finally an industry that pays me what I am worth.”

And thus the evolutionary cycle begins. You have an easy entry and the prospect of a huge amount of money. Sounds damn perfect. In fact so perfect it attracts a huge amount of willing entrants with that simple view. Most may I say have the full intention of doing real estate far better than what they have experienced when dealing with real estate agents themselves. Ahhh the noblest of intentions.

The problem is, it attracts far too many people.

Now we have a vast amount of agents all vying for that property sale. The industry cannot support all the agents that are working within it. People rush to enter this industry and there simply is not enough property sales or money to go around.

Now we have the 2nd most critical issue in the evolutionary cycle from person with best intentions to shark real estate agent. COMMISSION ONLY.

Most agents are on commission only. This means they only get paid when they make a sale.

Any agent competing against a vast number of agents for any one property sale, if they don’t say the right things, they won’t get the job. Which means they don’t get paid. It means agents learn to say what ever it takes to get that property listed for sale and then whatever it takes to get it sold. It ‘s the only way they get paid. It’s survival of the most dishonest, because many times, potential buyers and sellers really don’t want to hear the truth.

Yes, I can hear Jack Nicholson bellow out to all buyers and sellers…”You can’t handle the truth”

Typically agents will say the property is worth more to the owners. This way they will have those owners sign up with them. Because most owners like to think their property is worth more. It’s a simple human trait called greed. (Michael Douglas just stepped in and added his line “Greed is Good”)

But for the real estate agent it’s a simple numbers game. The more properties they have for sale the better the chances they will make a sale and therefore get paid.

Guess what comes next? Agents learn that it is far easier to sell something cheap. Everyone wants to buy a bargain so the agent pursues a process of marketing the property with such clichés as “marriage bust up”, “owner desperate”. “bank instructs to sell” and “owner wants all offers”. They are simply aimed at attracting the most buyers with the lure – BARGAIN BUYING. Now the poor owner at this stage is horrified at this approach, but the agent convinces them it is the way to attract the most interest. They should know - they completed a course within a week!

Conditioning follows, stage 3 in the evolutionary process. The agent will now try to get the owner to accept less for their property. The buyers won’t offer more – because they are the bargain hunters, so the agent tells the owner with all sincerity – this is all the market will offer. Cheap is easy to sell. The faster an agent can convince an owner to accept less the faster they get paid. This is largely the whole auction process. Auctions are designed by agents to get paid as fast as possible.

The sad thing about most of this is that the larger franchise groups have corporate training which promotes these processes as the best way to get a result for their clients. Many an agent is brainwashed with corporate training that simply focuses on evolution of the shark.

Now whilst all these activities are occurring, we have the 4th issue in the evolutionary process. VALUE FOR MONEY.

Buyers and sellers assess the agents’ activities. Most buyers and sellers will have at least one unhappy experience with a real estate agent to describe. Yet they both know the agent is paid handsomely.

The owner has the added grief of being very aware, that they pay for the advertising, the sign, the internet, the brochure, which will attract the buyer that they then have to pay for again. Yes, that is exactly what occurs. Sounds quite stupid when you say it like that! The agent may throw it around they can organise a better sign or get a cheaper ad etc, but usually the owner is required to pay. They have training for this process as well. It’s called Vendor Paid Advertising.

Lets not even talk about agents suggesting they have better negotiation skills. They do, it has been finely honed by corporate training to get the owner to accept less and pay for all the advertising.

So, with all these processes in mind, the general public are very dubious about the honesty and integrity of any agent they deal with. The agents counter this with expressions such as “Buyers are Liars” and “Vendors are Benders”.

And the evolution is finished. You have a shark or you have someone leaving the industry. Survival of the most dishonest, well it would make for a funny reality tv show.

Da dum, Da Dum, Da Dum, I think I hear the agents circling my home right now.

7 Tips to Real Estate Agent's Success: Tip #1 First and Foremost YOU are a Business

Real estate agents work for a broker, but are independent, commissioned sales people. This means that you are a small business and must run your practice as a business. Again, remember you are a small business owner.

Within the training curriculum in becoming a real estate agent, the training focuses on the knowledge about laws and policies with very little addressing that the real estate agent is an independent business owner. Since agents must work with a broker, this relationship suggests that only the broker is the business owner. Yet, the real estate agent is a paid independent contractor or a sole proprietor.

Changing this belief is where each real estate agent must begin if she or he truly wants to have a successful real estate practice. And to change this belief is not simple because of the very reasons why the person decided to join this profession. After all, real estate is considered to be an almost turnkey business with the added benefit of not having to manage all that business stuff. With incredible income potential, this profession, as reflected through the over 2 million registered real estate agents, continues to attract new agents.

Since many individuals enter this career profession with the assumption that the broker is the business owner, they fail to begin planning their business simultaneously as they are learning the business of real estate. These assumptions may include that the broker will handle all administrative actions such as communications, provide all marketing materials and will pay for those additional business expenses such as office space, taxes, etc.

What a new or even existing agent can do is to construct an affirmation or what I call a positive belief statement that simply states: I am a business owner who operates a successful real estate practice that is growing each year. This simple statement helps to reprogram the brain and replace the existing belief that the broker is the business owner with a new belief that the real estate agent is the business owner.

Moving And Relocating Tips

I know how stressful and chaotic moving and relocating can be. We moved from one part of Tucson to another in March of this year, and then in June we bought a home and relocated to Colorado. Here are some of the lessons we and others have learned.

1. Make and use lists. We all forget things, even after remembering them several times. Put them on that list during one of these times. Make a list of things to do before the move, including getting school documents transferred, filling out change of address forms, returning borrowed books and movies, transferring prescriptions, getting maps, and arranging utility shut offs and start ups.

2. Call the moving company and make the reservation a month ahead. You don't want to discover that they are booked up on the date you need them. We found out that the type of van we wanted wasn't available, but this was easily resolved because we started the process early.

3. Sell and throw away things. Carefully consider what you need to keep. Many people spend hundreds of dollars to move things that will probably be thrown away some day. It isn't just about the expense either, but also about the hassle. When you are moving and especially when you are relocating to another city - this is the best time to get rid of the things you really don't need.

4. Have a rummage sale. This is a good way to get rid of those things, and you might even raise enough money to pay for the move. Again, it is best to be rid of your things before the move. We went to a after-the-move rummage sale the other day. What a shame to pack and pay to move all those things just to have to work to sell them for pennies later.

5. Start packing early. not only is it difficult to predict how long it will take until you are doing it, but you never know how much time you'll have later. Starting early means avoiding running around looking for boxes and packing materials at the last moment.

6. Pack an "essentials" box for when you arrive at your new home. This should have the things you need to make your arrival easier, like toilet paper, paper plates, soap and such. Carry the box where it is easily accessible.

7. Let everyone know where you are relocating to. Give family and friends of your new address and phone number(s), and do this before you have the current phone shut off. Call all your credit card companies with your new address. Change the address on any subscriptions too.

8. Check weather reports for moving day. You don't want to arrive in a snowstorm with your coat packed away somewhere. You will also need to allow for extra moving time if the weather is going to slow down traffic.

9. Save all your receipts. Keep receipts for moving expenses, like gas, hotel rooms, and anything else related to moving and relocating. Ask your accountant or tax preparer if you are eligible for a tax deduction for moving expenses. Usually you are, if the move is for employment purposes.

10. When you move into your new home, try to reestablish your routines quickly. If Friday night is normally movie night, don't break with the tradition. Moving and relocating are less traumatic if you have some consistency in daily life. If you're moving with children, this could be one of the more important moving tips.

Copyright Steve Gillman. Visit his website for:

1. A photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500.
2. A free book on how to save thousands buying your next home.