Buying Your First Home? Learn These 5 Essential Home Maintenance Skills as Soon as Possible

New homes can be scary. But when you take the time to think about it, and plan ahead, maintaining a home is easier than you think – a manageable mix of experience and common sense. Here are five skills that will help maintain your new home for years to come.

Fixing A Toilet

It’s not as daunting as it sounds. Just remember that toilets work with gravity – the water wants to flow freely. Don’t be afraid to open that tank up and adjust the floater and valves as needed. Occasionally run the water (flush the toilet, turn on the sink) in unused rooms, like the guest bathroom, to keep the pipes clear and functioning.

Dealing With Animals

Sometimes your animal neighbors invite themselves in. While it’s always better to use professionals if you have a large-scale or persistent pest problem, there are steps you can take to minimize animal visitors before it comes to that. Check for termites by looking for raised, hollow tubes along the wood (tubes filled with bugs). If you have mice, and know how they’re getting in, block their holes with steel wool and set friendly traps – ones that capture instead of kill. But make sure to release the captives far from your home.

Electricity and Water Awareness

Know how to shut off your electricity and water, just in case. Find the shut-offs when you first move in. And take the time then to test the breakers and label them, clearly, directly, with permanent marker. That way there is no confusion if one gets tripped.

A Regular Deep Clean

On a regular basis, give your house a deep clean. Scrub the bathrooms, clean the kitchen appliances and floors/walls. Doing this will not only prevent the accumulation of dirt and grime, which could lead to bigger problems later on, but will also give you a chance to do a run-down of your house and see what needs fixing/updating/replacing.

Be Prepared

Gather your home maintenance kit (Home Maintenance for Dummies has examples) before you need it, and keep it up – if you use all the nails, replace them. It’s also a good idea to make a maintenance calendar with notes on what needs to be done when – this makes it easy for the homeowner, and anyone they need to step in. Finally, in being prepared, don’t forget to maintain your fire and carbon monoxide detectors with regular checks and battery changes (suggested every six months, regardless of battery life).

Your first step in preparation is to contact your local real estate agent, who can help you get started on your road to home maintenance.

Planning The Perfect Memorial Day Barbeque

While the focus is often on the Fourth of July when it comes to backyard celebrations, Memorial Day is often a popular choice as well.  In many parts of the country, the weather is finally becoming warm enough to truly enjoy the outdoors as the summer season kicks off.  Memorial Day is the perfect time to gather friends and family together for the perfect backyard barbeque.

What’s On The Menu?

With all the other activities that are planned for the Fourth of July, the menu is often simple.  Since Memorial Day is usually more low-key, consider going the extra mile when it comes to the food you choose to serve.  Barbecued ribs are a finger licking good favorite that everyone will appreciate.  They can be a little expensive, though, so they might only be a good choice for a small gathering.  Another fun choice is to slow-smoke a pork shoulder or other piece of meat.  It takes a long time, but that true smoky barbeque flavor simply can’t be beat!

A homemade coleslaw or pasta salad is always a classic choice for a side dish, but you can also consider taking it up a notch with some homemade baked beans.  Made in the slow cooker, they are an easy choice to prepare ahead of time.

Fun And Games

Set up some fun games for people of all ages to add to the fun.  Classics like a three-legged race, a water balloon toss, or a cake walk are always popular choices.  You can also consider getting a piñata filled with small toys and candies for the young children.

A treasure hunt around the neighborhood is another great way for everyone to have a good time, and works especially well if your neighbors are joining your barbeque.  Create a list of things to find and send out teams on the hunt!  When everyone comes back, have prizes for the teams who have been successful!

Memorial Day is a great way to start off the barbeque season and have friends and family over for a great time.  Take advantage of your long weekend and plan a great barbeque everyone will be talking about.

Food And Drink!

When planning any menu it is always important to balance taste and nutrition.  It is also important to a have a theme and, since this is a Memorial Day picnic, choosing menu items that are simple to prepare and eat outdoors, as well as All–American, is your best bet.  Things like burgers and hotdogs are great for backyard picnics.  Fried chicken is another great main course idea, but if you want something more portable a hero sandwich is an easy choice.

To complete your meal, items like potato salad, garden salads, and coleslaw are inexpensive and easy to prepare sides, but if you are looking to get more creative then consider a nice pasta salad or a seven-layer dip.  Lastly, don’t forget dessert!  Staples like apple pie, brownies, or cookies are all great and easy choices.

For drinks you’ll want to provide several choices and some non-alcoholic beverages to make all your guests happy.  Lemonade and other fruit-based drinks will make the kids happy and are also great mixers.

Decoration Ideas

The easiest way to decorate for your Memorial Day picnic is to use red, white, and blue.  Set your picnic table with a blue tablecloth or blanket and add red and white napkins, plates, and cutlery.  You can also continue this theme by adding an arrangement of red, white, and blue carnations or other flowers, and add a few small flags to give it that finished look.

Memorial Day is a great time of year to host a party for family and friends, and these ideas can help you get your summer season started with a fun and inexpensive picnic.

 

Making An Offer: Negotiating Your Buying Price

There is perhaps no more exciting and nerve-wracking time in the home buying process than when you decide to make an offer on a home.  If it is accepted, you will be on your way to owning a new home—if not, you will be forced to make some difficult decisions.

Your REALTOR® will help you get through the process of making an offer on a home.  He or she can give you advice on how much to offer and what concessions you will make.  But there are a few decisions you will have to make yourself, and be prepared to stick to them.

How High Will You Go?

If your initial offer on the home of your dreams is rejected, the seller will usually come back with a counter offer.  In most cases they will ask for a higher purchase price and may refuse some of the items you requested in your initial offer, such as repairs to be done to the home prior to the sale.  This is a normal part of negotiations, but especially for first time buyers it can feel like a very frustrating process.

When the counter offer comes back, you will have to decide if the purchase price is one you can live with.  Is it within your budget?  Is it a fair market price for the home?  Your REALTOR® can give you the answer to this second question, but the first is up to you to decide.

What Is Non-Negotiable?

What parts of your offer are you unwilling to back down on?  If the house really needs a new roof and you don’t want the expense and hassle of taking care of it yourself, then don’t back down.  It might be worth paying a little more in the purchase price with the agreement that the seller will have the roof replaced than to pay less for the house and have to do it yourself.

Decide in advance which items are completely non-negotiable, and stick to your guns.  If the seller won’t budge, be prepared to walk away.  As hard as it might be to say goodbye to that home you want, you have to be realistic about what you can afford and what work needs doing on the home.

It is very easy to get caught up in the excitement of negotiating and the desire to own that particular home, but try not to let emotions rule your decisions.  After all, once you sign those papers and the deal is final, you won’t be able to change your mind.

 

Ways To Thrill Mom On Mother’s Day

A mother is someone who looks after you, takes care of you when you are sick and is always there to show you just how much she loves you.  Every May, we celebrate our love for mom with Mother’s Day and, although we don’t always know just what to get that could possibly express our gratitude, it is possible to surprise your mom with something special.

All That Sparkles

Every woman loves to shine and jewelry is always a favorite.  Instead of just browsing the jewelry counter and picking out the first thing that catches your eye, look for that special item that says something about her personality.  Does she like to shop?  Perhaps a charm bracelet featuring a shopping theme would be ideal.  If you want to let mom know that you are with her always, consider giving her a heart locket and placing a photo of you and mom inside.  You can also engrave certain types of jewelry for a truly personalized gift.

Just Relax

Every mom wants to relax.  Afterall, she spent many years working hard to make sure that you had everything that you needed, so isn’t it time that she kicks back and relaxes on her special day?  You can thrill your mom on Mother’s Day with a vacation that includes a spa weekend, a short cruise or other favorite pastime that she would enjoy.

May I Take Your Order?

If you are looking for the perfect way to surprise mom, try cooking her favorite dinner and serving it up with her favorite dessert.  Best of all, make sure that you let her know everything is taken care of, including the clean up.  After all, this is Mother’s Day and it wouldn’t be complete without a little pampering.

Time Is Precious

If you really want to make your mom happy on Mother’s Day, spend some quality time with her.  It’s always nice to give a gift, but nothing can take the place of spending time with those who you love.  Go shopping, watch a movie or just go out to dinner together.  Whatever you do, make time for your mom.

 

What A REALTOR® Can Do For You As A Buyer

When we think of selling a home, the services a REALTOR® can provide usually seem worth the cost of their commission, but what about as a buyer?  What can a REALTOR® do for you as a home buyer, and is the commission worth the services they can provide?  Here are five great reasons you should hire a REALTOR® when you are in the market for a new home!

REALTORS® Can Help You Determine Your Budget—With a few simple pieces of information, a REALTOR® can help you pre-determine what kind of budget you may be looking at for your new home, and can match you with potential lenders that are right for you.

REALTORS® Have Access To Resources You Don’t—While a lot of real estate listings are available online, there are still resources and listings that are only available through a REALTOR®.  If you are looking for something very specific, having their insider knowledge may be crucial to finding that perfect home.

REALTORS® Can Read Between The Lines Of Listings—There are a lot of catchy phrases that often appear in home listings, and your agent can tell you what they really mean.

REALTORS® Increase Your Negotiating Power—A REALTOR® cannot only increase your ability to negotiate things like price, they can also give you advice on things like contingency contracts and required paperwork.

A REALTOR® Can Help You Navigate Through The Closing Process—The closing process can be a complicated process, and a REALTOR® can make sure all the details are addressed and that you are making a good financial investment.

Purchasing a home is a huge financial investment, and having a professional REALTOR® looking after your interests through the process is important.