1. To remove the salt deposits that form on clay pots, combine equal parts white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. Apply the mixture to the pot and scrub with a plastic brush. Let the pot dry before you plant anything in it.

2. To prevent accumulating dirt under your fingernails while you work in the garden, draw your fingernails across a bar of soap and you’ll effectively seal the undersides of your nails so dirt can’t collect beneath them. Then, after you’ve finished in the garden, use a nailbrush to remove the soap and your nails will be sparkling clean.

3. To prevent the line on your string trimmer from jamming or breaking, treat with a spray vegetable oil before installing it in the trimmer.

4. Turn a long-handled tool into a measuring stick! Lay a long-handled garden tool on the ground, and next to it place a tape measure. Using a permanent marker, write inch and foot marks on the handle. When you need to space plants a certain distance apart (from just an inch to several feet) you’ll already have a measuring device in your hand.

5. To have garden twine handy when you need it, just stick a ball of twine in a small clay pot, pull the end of the twine through the drainage hole, and set the pot upside down in the garden. Do that, and you’ll never go looking for twine again.

6. Little clay pots make great cloches for protecting young plants from sudden, overnight frosts and freezes.

7. To turn a clay pot into a hose guide, just stab a roughly one-foot length of steel reinforcing bar into the ground at the corner of a bed and slip two clay pots over it: one facing down, the other facing up. The guides will prevent damage to your plants as you drag the hose along the bed.

8. To create perfectly natural markers, write the names of plants (using a permanent marker) on the flat faces of stones of various sizes and place them at or near the base of your plants.

9. Got aphids? You can control them with a strong blast of water from the hose or with insecticidal soap. But here’s another suggestion, one that’s a lot more fun; get some tape! Wrap a wide strip of tape around your hand, sticky side out, and pat the leaves of plants infested with aphids. Concentrate on the undersides of leaves, because that’s where the little buggers like to hide.

10. The next time you boil or steam vegetables, don’t pour the water down the drain, use it to water potted patio plants, and you’ll be amazed at how the plants respond to the “vegetable soup.”

11. Use leftover tea and coffee grounds to acidify the soil of acid-loving plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, gardenias and even blueberries. A light sprinkling of about one-quarter of an inch applied once a month will keep the pH of the soil on the acidic side.

12. Use chamomile tea to control damping-off fungus, which often attacks young seedlings quite suddenly. Just add a spot of tea to the soil around the base of seedlings once a week or use it as a foliar spray.

13. If you need an instant table for tea service, look no farther than your collection of clay pots and saucers. Just flip a good-sized pot over, and top it off with a large saucer. And when you’ve had your share of tea, fill the saucer with water, and your “table” is now a birdbath.

14. The quickest way in the world to dry herbs: just lay a sheet of newspaper on the seat of your car, arrange the herbs in a single layer, then roll up the windows and close the doors. Your herbs will be quickly dried to perfection. What’s more, your car will smell great.

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To arrange a private viewing or to learn more about this home and homes like it, please visit our Plymouth and Northville Real Estate homepage at  www.bobbake.com or simply contact Carrie, Plymouth and Northville Associate Broker, at 734-788-2398 -  carrie@bobbake.com or Patrick, Plymouth and Northville REALTOR,at  734-272-8375 – patrick@bobbake.com.

If you have a home to sell in the Plymouth and Northville area and would like a private consultation, please feel free to contact us to discuss your needs in confidence. We are specialists in the local area with the experience and knowledge to assist you throughout your home buying and selling process.

Here are 5 tips for the First Time Home Buyer…

1. Do some research

Sounds obvious right? But so many buyers go into it blind. Although there are many professionals that will help you along the way, you will only help yourself if you do a little research before and during your home buying process.

So what kind of research? Use the internet to…

• Search for neighborhoods

• Research home styles

• what you might like or dislike in your next home

• school districts

• neighborhood features

• different activities in these areas

2. Have an idea of what you are looking for

After you do some research, make 3 lists…

List 1: What you HAVE to have

List 2: What you would LOVE to have

List 3: What you DO NOT want

Having these lists will not only make your life easier, but it will allow your real estate agent to show you the homes that best fit your wants and needs. Even the most experienced real estate agents are not mind readers, show them and tell them what you want so they can help you find the perfect home.

3. The Cost

There is more to buying a home than just the purchase price. Closing Costs, Inspections, Appraisal, Moving Fees, Homeowners Association, Homeowners Insurance, and other fees are often a surprise to unprepared buyers.

• Closing Costs

• Inspections

• Appraisal

• Moving Fees

• Homeowners Association

• Homeowners Insurance

4. Get Pre-Approved

Typically when you write an offer on a home, you will present your loan pre-approval letter. This means you have spoken with a lender and they have run your credit score and information to determine that you are pre-approved for a home loan. You will not be fully approved until a loan application is filed and processed. This does not happen until your offer has been accepted on a home and you go under contract.

TIP: Getting pre-approved for a loan will also give you a chance to interview lenders along the way. Find one you feel comfortable with and of course, ask for referrals!

5. Find the right Agent

Having the right real estate agent is so important. No matter if it is your first home or third home, you want to feel comfortable and confident with your pick. So do some research, ask for referrals and interview agents before jumping in with both feet.

• Condo and co-op sales in Manhattan were very strong last month with the highest number of contracts signed in the last six years.  Contract activity increased 25% for condos and 24% for co-ops year-over-year.
• Manhattan condo average price per square foot increased 11% compared to last year and surpassed last month’s record high to reach a new high of $1,695 per square foot. Buyers have felt motivated to act quickly as shown by a 41% decrease in average days on market from April 2012.
• Manhattan co-op average price and median price increased 21% compared to April 2012. Co-op inventory increased 6% from March 2013, but was substantially lower than last year, down 24% from last year.

Tucson Real Estate
Sales volume was up 13.35 % over April, 2012
Avg Sales Price up 9.33% over April, 2012
Avg List Price up 8.08% over April, 2012
Median Sales Price up 17.16% over April, 2012
New listings up 32.2% over April 2012

Northwest Tucson Real Estate
Inventory down 25% over last year
New Properties under Contract up 4% over last year
Closings up 9% over last year
Median Price of Sold Homes up 16% over last year

Today, I spent the day several hundred feet underground, crawling, walking and climbing around with Daryll Henderson of Henderson Mines research Ltd and some other keen mine/ cave rescue team members. In places, the lodes (areas of rock where the metal ores run strongest and have been mined) ran hundreds of feet up towards the surface and are thirty to forty feet from the sloping ground you are standing on to the ‘ceiling’ of rock at a forty five or steeper angle above your head.

At one point we passed through a section of mine which had seen a very recent collapse with a single 100 tonne block of stone blocking a former route. After a check for safety and pausing to admire the sheer size of the fall, we crawled through a gap and pressed on.

At every stage of the trip, we saw beautiful deposits of Copper, Iron and other minerals including Gypsum in the raw and forming their own stalactites and stalagmites as they dripped through the rocks in solution. We also found an old packet of Woodbines from the 1950’s, a whole host of contemporary rubbish, dumped at the bottom of one (now sealed) shaft and plenty of evidence of previous trips by School of Mines students and, of the original miners who worked this lode from the late 18^th Century to the early 20^th.

Whilst I have always known how important it is to have a mining survey when you buy a property, it’s not until you see massive cave falls and underground caverns being held up by ancient timbers that are now showing severe signs of decay and splitting under the tremendous pressures of rock above them, that you realise just HOW important a thorough survey by a competent professional such as Daryll actually is. Link to Daryll’s Facebook business page: http://on.fb.me/Z5zp7g

Chris Wood

I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave constructive criticisms or ask questions below. If you could also take a second to rate my blog and pass it on to others who you think may find it interesting that would be great. Thanks.

About Chris Wood: Chris is an estate agent with over 25 years of property experience. His business, PDQ Estates Ltd is based in Penzance and Helston, West Cornwall. He has worked with all sizes and types of businesses from single office independents to the management team and board of RBS and Tesco. A former President Elect of the NAEA and board member of NFoPP until he resigned in 2009, Chris has always championed the highest professional standards for estate agents in the UK. No stranger to the media, he has appeared on various programs including BBC, News 24, ITV, independent and BBC radio and is a regular contributor to trade journals, local and national Newspapers. Chris is on KloutLinkedIn Ecademy Facebook and Twitter Married to Amanda, he lives in Penzance with their children who are slowly flying the nest, his two dogs and his elderly Uncle. In his spare time; Chris likes to keep fit and is a long-standing member of the Territorial Army. In 2010 he mobilised for a tour of duty in Afghanistan with 1 Rifles as part of 3 Commando Brigade.

Real estate investing is always good and sometimes it’s red hot. When it’s hot dozens of real estate seminars begin rolling across the country and thousands of people spend thousands of dollars for investing education. One good resource is to have an Agent who is Investor friendly! Call me and let’s chat! Laura Key 310.866.8422

Real estate investing is always good and sometimes it’s red hot. When it’s hot dozens of real estate seminars begin rolling across the country and thousands of people spend thousands of dollars for investing education.

It’s startling to learn that of all those thousands of eager folks who attend these seminars only about 5% buy even one investment house. Why? The real estate gurus sell the “sizzle” and make profiting from real estate sound easy. The truth is that it’s simple, but not easy.

Here’s a quick plan that will enable anyone to begin building financial independence.

There are basically four steps to investing in single family homes:

1. Buy homes below full market value. Yes, people really do sell homes for less than the home’s full value. The key is to understand that most home owners will only consider a purchase offer that is all cash and within 5% to 10% of their asking price.

The successful investor learns to find financially distressed home owners who have no choice but to sell for less than market value. They have lost their job or been suddenly transferred; they are divorcing; they been living beyond their income; the family has been overwhelmed with medical bills and, not uncommonly these days, their money has gone to support a drug habit.

Those are examples of motivated sellers. They have to sell and they will accept something other than a conventional, all cash offer.

2. How do you find motivated sellers? You work at it! Like any business it is important to develop a little marketing plan. One that is simple, yet very effective, is the one that was proven 75 years ago by the Fuller Brush company; door to door sales.

You are selling your skill as a home buyer to people who must sell. Your are there when they need you and you have the skill to help them solve at least part of their problem. With door to door prospecting you will learn more and buy more homes quicker than any other method. However, most people just won’t walk door to door for three or four hours per week. OK, there are other ways.

You can watch public notices for the announcement of foreclosure sales. Meeting with a home owner right after they’ve received a notice that they are about to lose their home allows you to deal with a very motivated seller. Other public notices that provide buying opportunities include probate, divorce and bankruptcy. You can follow the Homes For Sale listings in your local newspaper or Internet site.

You can telephone the names found in these notices or, and this is the least time consuming, send a postcard expressing your interest in buying their property. It will produce buying opportunities, just not as many as personal contact.

3. After you’ve found a motivated seller you must understand how to frame offers that provide benefits for both you and for the home owner. A good real estate investor quickly learns that this is not a business of stealing property, but of solving problems in a way that benefits the seller.

The home owner is in a tight spot of some kind and you can save them from public embarrassment and, in most cases, give them at least a little cash to get a new start.

No investor can afford to leave cash in every deal. No one but Bill Gates has that much available money. You must use creative techniques like, leases, option and taking over mortgage payments. Little or no cash is needed for those deals. You can find plenty of reasonable priced educational material on those subjects in book stores or on EBay. The same education that seminars sell for thousands of dollars.

4. You make your profit when you buy! Never make a purchase until you’ve carefully determined exactly how you will get to your profit. If you hold it as a long term investment will the monthly rental income more than cover the monthly mortgage payment? Will you sell the deal to another investor for fast cash? Will you do some fix-up and sell the property for full value? Will you quickly trade it for a more desirable property? Have a plan before you buy.

There you have four steps that even a part-time investor can execute in three to four hours per week. What’s the missing ingredient? Your determination and perseverance. If you will unfailingly follow the plan for a few months you will be well on your way to financial independence.

CALL ME TODAY TO HELP BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO! Laura Key 310.866.8422

Are you still renting a home or apartment for yourself or your family? If so, you’re losing money. Besides losing out on making money with real estate, renters don’t get the same satisfaction of home enjoyment that benefits home buyers. If you’re renting, call me today to find out how to to buy your own home. Call me today! Laura Key 310.866.8422

Are you still renting a home or apartment for yourself or your family?

If so, you’re losing money. Think about these three ways you lose money by renting:

1. You’re paying for someone else’s mortgage payment. You’re missing out on the appreciation that the property gives to the landlord. Appreciation is a term used in accounting relating to the increase in value of an asset, which means in real estate terms, added value to the property. Over the past five years, houses appreciated significantly, making many new real estate investor multimillionaires.

2. Renters don’t get to freeze their monthly housing expenses like home buyers can. Of course, many home buyers get mortgage payments with adjustable interest rates and their payments go up over time. However, these payments will not go up over the long term like rising rents. Just think about how much an apartment costs today compared to ten years ago. A two bedroom apartment in Lake Elsinore, California leases for $1,000 today. The exact same apartment rented for $325 in 1996, when it was brand new. Home buyers who had low monthly payments in 1996, who did not refinance their mortgage, enjoy low payments and don’t have to worry about rising rents.

3. Renters don’t benefit from tax advantages. Home owners get income tax deductions. Tax deductions for interest costs, for instance, save tax payers thousands of dollars.

Emotional Satisfaction of Home Ownership

Besides losing out on making money with real estate, renters don’t get the same satisfaction of home enjoyment that benefits home buyers. Many landlords won’t allow you to paint your walls in colors that you desire. Also, you won’t feel like fixing up the property with custom window coverings and you get little say in flooring materials. Because you can’t make your personal statement, you won’t feel like you’re HOME as much as home owners who feel emotionally connected to their property.

How to Buy Your First Home

The biggest barrier to home ownership is often accumulating funds for a down payment. People think they have to have thousands of dollars for a down payment. However, if you have good credit and a decent job, you can get a mortgage for a home with zero down. And you can finance some of your closing costs as well as ask the seller to help you pay a good portion of your purchase costs. With today’s mortgage finance plans, you may be surprised to find out how much of a home you can afford with payments similar to what you currently pay in rent.

You may have to go out of the major metropolitan areas to buy a home. That’s why so many people commute in Southern California. Affordable housing costs much less in outlying areas. But so do the rents. If you’re renting an apartment for $2,300 in Los Angeles, you could buy a $500,000 home in Wildomar. Our daughter just purchased a home in December 2005 and her mortgage payment, for a 3,000 square foot new home, costs less than $2,300. With her tax savings, she will pay even less than renting a small apartment closer to downtown L A.

If these amounts sound high to you, check your local area. Perhaps your monthly rent is only $1,000 and houses cost less than $200,000. Talk to a mortgage loan officer and see how much of a home you can afford.

If you’re renting, make one of your priorities to buy your own home.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

Every week hundreds of new listings come on the market in Ottawa.  While every house is not suitable for every one, this series is going top highlight 5 properties that have recently hit them market, and who might find them interesting.  These properties are taken from our Weekly Hot Lists of properties for sale in Ottawa.

Priced Low – High

For more Affordable Freeholds, Byward Market Condos, Barrhaven Homes, Glabar Park Homes, or Civic Hospital area homes  sign up for weekly updates.

Resources for lower-income homebuyers

Programs available to give low-income people a chance in difficult market

By Carolyn Said at SF Chronicle

San Francisco — Wakeelah and Andre Davis “always wanted to own a home and had been saving up,” said Wakeelah, an AC Transit bus driver. Like many first-time home buyers, especially those of modest means, they were consistently outbid by investors who could pay all cash.

“I kind of gave up for awhile,” Wakeelah Davis said. Then she came across a Richmond two-bedroom. The online listing said it would only be sold to people who wanted to live in it. The listing asked, “Tired of being beat out by cash offers?

“That sparked my interest to come back and try,” she said. “I thought maybe I’ll have a chance.”

The ad had another unusual requirement: It asked prospective buyers to write a letter about themselves, their house-hunting quest and their ties to the community.

“I told them I was born and raised in Richmond and I love the area. I graduated from Kennedy High and that’s where my son wants to attend,” said Wakeelah, whose son Dre’onn, 13, is now in middle school.

Even though theirs wasn’t the highest offer, the Davis family was selected to buy the house.

The seller was a nonprofit with a mission to buy, renovate and resell foreclosed houses only to owner-occupants under the unwieldy name “Foreclosure Recovery and Asset Building Management Project.”

“We want to help low- to moderate-income families get into homeownership so they can increase their self-sufficiency,” said Nicole Taylor, CEO of the East Bay Community Foundation in Oakland, which provided seed money for the program as a project of Self-Help Community Development Corp. “The idea was that maybe we could help families turn around their lives by providing them with an opportunity to buy this key asset that can grow in value.”

The mission also includes boosting local communities.

“We seek families who have roots in the community so they can maintain their family ties and help neighborhoods by having more stable families,” said Paul Staley, vice president of Self-Help Community Development Corp.

Pilot program

In operation since 2010, the program has handled just 18 homes, mainly in Contra Costa County, although it’s branching into Oakland. Taylor sees it as a pilot program and hopes to find funds to expand.A variety of similar programs exist that buy, fix and resell foreclosures to homeowners. Some use funds from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which was set up to help communities hard-hit by foreclosures and blight but is winding down.

But all such programs “are just a drop in the bucket,” said Maria Benjamin, executive director of Community Housing Development Corp. of North Richmond, which provides financial education to prospective home buyers, including those in the Self-Help program. “They are few and far between; there just isn’t enough money.”

Besides the resold-foreclosures programs, there are a variety of resources for low- and moderate-income people seeking to buy homes (see box). Though not enough to meet demand, it behooves prospective home buyers to learn about them, experts said.

Some advocates say the government should be doing much more to encourage and support lower-income homeowners.

Sasha Werblin, economic equity director at Berkeley’s nonprofit Greenlining Institute, which tries to extend opportunities to people regardless of race or income, listed several policy areas where she hopes legislators and regulators will take action.

They include pushing banks to create “sustainable mortgage products that work for middle- and low-income borrowers,” she said, adding that it’s critically important that borrowers demonstrate income to pay back loans, to avoid a repeat of the subprime lending disaster. Another step would be a bank-backed pool of funds for down-payment assistance, she said. She’d also like to see lenders pay closer attention to borrowers’ payment history, giving credit for a history of on-time rent and utilities payments – something that current credit scoring systems don’t take into account.

“We’d like the administration to take a more comprehensive and proactive stance about homeownership for everyone,” she said.

Wish list for help

Sheri Powers, director of the homeownership center at Oakland’s Unity Council, works directly with prospective home buyers. Her wish list for government help includes a way to urge banks selling foreclosures to sell to owner-occupants rather than investors.

“If they are serious about stabilizing communities, giving preference to buyers who want to occupy homes would make a huge difference,” she said. “Right now, they just want to sell as fast as possible. If an investor has cash, they’ll just lap it up – even if it’s $20,000 or $30,000 lower” than financed offers that take longer to close.

Resources for home buyers

A variety of programs provide help for low- and moderate-income home buyers, ranging from advice to money. Each program has different criteria.

Counseling and education

Find an agency near you for home-buyer education workshops and information on financial-assistance programs.

Neighborworks agencies, www.nw.org/network/nwdata/homeownershipcenter.asp

– HUD counseling agencies, www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm?&webListAction=search&searchstate=CA

Down payment and financial assistance

Most programs have income and/or geography requirements. Many large cities – including San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Alameda, Hayward and San Leandro – offer programs. Do a Web search of your target city and “down payment assistance.”

– California Home Financing Agency (CalHFA), www.calhfa.ca.gov/homebuyer/programs/chdap.htm, provides a deferred-payment junior loan of up to 3 percent of the purchase price.

– Wells Fargo East Bay CityLift, www.unitycouncil.org/citylift-main-page-2/L. Down-payment grants of $20,000 are available for about 150 home buyers in nine participating East Bay cities.

– California State Teachers’ Retirement System, www.calstrs.com/home-loan-program. The retirement system is working to restart its down payment assistance program for teachers.

– CHF Platinum www.chfloan.org. Down payment assistance for low- and moderate-income borrowers in California; works only with FHA loans

– WISH (Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership), www.fhlbsf.com/community/grant/wish.aspx. Federal Home Loan Bank runs through participating banks. Provides 3-to-1 match for down payment funds. Must be used in conjunction with a local down payment assistance program, for instance from a city, county or employer.

– IDEA (Individual Development and Empowerment Account) www.fhlbsf.com/community/grant/idea-profile.aspx. A matching loan for households that participate in a home buyer education and savings management plan.

– Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC), www.calhfa.ca.gov/homeownership/programs/mcc.pdf. This federal program allows qualifying homeowners to deduct a larger portion of their interest payments from their tax bill. Lenders are willing to account for this in calculating borrowers’ income.

Low-down payment loans

FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and VA (Veterans Affairs) loans are two key sources for people with lower down payments. Counselors recommend a couple of other options for lower-income borrowers that do not require the extra cost of mortgage insurance.

Union Bank Economic Opportunity Mortgage, www.unionbank.com/EOM

– CitiBank HomeRun, www.citibank.com/citimortgage/employee/lowdown.htm

Homes for sale

Neighborhood Stabilization Program, hudnsphelp.info/index.cfm?do=viewGranteeAreaResults The federal NSP program, which gives money to local governments to buy, fix and resell foreclosures, is winding down. This site details local grant recipients, some of which may still have homes for sale.

– Freddie Mac lets home buyers subscribe to lists of its foreclosed homes for sale in their area, www.homebase.homesteps.com

– Fannie Mae has an online database of its foreclosures for sale, www.homepath.com

– Several Bay Area cities offer “below-market-rate” units for sale to lower-income homeowners. Search the city’s name and “below market rate.” San Francisco’s program is at http://sf-moh.org/index.aspx?page=299

– Homes from the self-help program are listed at East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation www.ebaldc.org/ and Community Housing Development Corporation www.chdcnr.com/

Read more: http://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/Resources-for-lower-income-home-buyers-4512719.php#ixzz2TJ1Xx5Rt

I read this article at:  http://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/Resources-for-lower-income-home-buyers-4512719.php

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.

Email Sabrina & Susan at:  Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Visit our Website at:   http://thecatonteam.com/

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Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

http://ajourneythroughhomeownership.wordpress.com

Thanks for reading – Sabrina

I decided today that I would just add some encouraging notes to those of you who are going to be future buyers and/or renters. Buying and/or renting can be an extremely exciting times for you and you earned in. I bet you saved and worked extremely hard to have this opportunity, I congratulate you.** high five** There are a few things I have witnessed throughout the years of being involved in Real Estate that all buyers and renters should look into while buying or renting.

First I encourage buyers and renters alike to start early. Buyers I would recommend that you begin your searching months ahead of your desired time frame to find your home. Of course, this is only after you have go through the pre-approval process (as discussed in a previous blog). During the pre-approval process I would recommend you start figuring out which neighborhood you would like to live or perhaps what amenities you’d like to have access to. I would definitely research school ratings as well as crime rates. I recommend NEVER go on what your best friends cousin has to say about the neighborhood but rather do the work yourself. Trust me it will pay off and give you peace of mind and SAVE you TONS of time. 

Renters I would implore you to look between 45-30 days out from your expected move date. I encourage renters to have a shorter span to look because owners of rental properties are not looking to have their home or investment be “held” for months on end for prospective tenants. They want a qualified individual(s) in their home ASAP so that they can have the money rolling in sooner rather than later.  

Remember to an owner or seller look at the numbers and a good owner or seller would not become emotionally involved in the transaction and you have to think this way in order to get into their mind. You must think like the owner or seller to make your offer stand out above the rest and that rings true with buyers or renters.

Now let’s say you have pre-approval and you have found the neighborhood you want to be in, now is the fun part. {What follows can apply to bother buyers and renters}. You can go about this in two ways. 1) you can find yourself a qualified Real Estate agent – you have to do your homework through because all agents are not created equal you need one who knows where to look for homes, how to present and offer in the right manner and that’s just the tip of the iceberg 2) you can do the searching on your own as well as all the other duties an agent would do for you. In short you have to be an agent (and remember it’s a full time job) it’s not impossible but be very cautious with all the legal documents and procedures. I have witnessed too many people attempt to do it on their own and they mess up. It wasn’t because they were incapable, they were just unaware. Please proceed with caution. 

Now let’s say you have searched high and low and you (or your Realtor)  has found you your dream home. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!! You have to be ready to JUMP on it. You have you be prepared both financially and mentally to put an offer in on the home right than. You have to think to yourself, I saw the home and liked it, someone came before me and saw the home and liked it and someone is coming after me to see the home and will probably like it. If you think this way you will put the offer in right than an there. 

If you are working with a Realtor they should know what the offer needs to look like and whether or not you should put in an offer above asking price. Offers above asking price are the norm in today’s market, so I would be prepared. As well, have the agent call the owner or listing agent on speaker phone with you in the room and have they ask them about if there are any offers on the table or what is the owner/seller looking for in an offer. Most importantly have them ask if the home is still available. These ideas go for both renters and buyers alike. 

Once the offers are in than proceed with caution. Get your appraisers and inspections lined up as well as your commitment letter from the bank if you are buying. If you renting make sure to have your proof of income, good faith deposit and application. As well, make sure to have all your ducks in a row so that the closing is smooth. NOTE: Always check with your States/Cities laws or proceedings with purchasing or renting and make sure your Realtor is aware of them as well.

Well there you go, just the tip of the ice berg but definitely some items to think about and ponder. I hope it helps. 

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns just pick up the phone and call/text me at 954.610.9112 or email: acevedoremax@gmail.com I am here to help. 

Happy buying, selling or investing – there has never been a better time to do it than now!

interesting video with some good TIPS:

Nope, there’s only one solution right now.  I have to get a better job, build credit and reapply for a better loan in…a month.  Fingers crossed.

It’s going to be a great weekend to get out and find that new house to call home! See you there!

Click on the link below for a list of Open Houses this weekend
Prudential Showcase Properties’ Open Houses

355 Orchard Falls Drive, Spring Lake, NC 28390

$229,900
Anderson Creek Club
3 Bedroom 2.5 bath with Finished bonus room
Hardwood, tile and carpet!
Fenced back yard, trex decking.

Awesome Deal for Anderson Creek Club!!!
Call Joy
910-723-8136
thewrighthome2009@hotmail.com

119 Colonial Hills, Lillington…..

$129,900
3 Bedroom 2 Bath
Gorgeous Front Porch!!!
Brand New 6ft Pvcy Fence
New HVAC and Hotwater Heater.
Fresh Paint!

VERY VERY VERY motivated Sellers!!!

Call Joy for more info.
Joy Wright 910-723-8136
thewrighthome2009@hotmail.com

HOT TUB!!!! $131,000
Great Home near Ft. Bragg
4 bedroom 2 bath!
Great backyard, fenced in, deck, lots of STORGE!
Brand new Carpet!
A must see..

Call Joy for more details.
Joy Wright
910-723-8136
TheWrightHome2009@hotmail.com

Overhills Creek $168,950

4 Bedroom 2.5 Bath
All Bedrooms are very good size. Master is large with sitting room.. Large closets. Master bath has seperate tub and shower!
HUGE Yard..
Call Joy for more details.
910-723-8136
thewrighthome2009@hotmail.com

Incredible HOME! Incredible PRICE!!
$219,900 for Anderson Creek Club Home!
Beautiful hardwoods, tile, and Carpet..
Fenced backyard with deck.
3 Bedroom with HUGE finished Bonus room..

This is a must see!!!!
HOA includes Lawn Maintenance

Let RebateState & New Millennium Realty, full service REALTOR’S help you sell your home or purchase a new one and get up to 40% CASH BACK from commission at closing.

CLIENTS BEFORE COMMISSIONS…
That’s what we’re really about. With RebateState and New Millennium Realty you receive full representation like you would with any other full price REALTOR, but you also receive great client care and a REBATE. We are NOT a discount brokerage that provide only limited services. We are full time, full service REALTORS that really care about you and the home you want to buy or sell. With our brokerage, you can get up to a 40% rebate from commission at closing. That is money that you can use however you want. If you are buying a home put it towards improvements, or the furniture that you need to go in your new home. If you are selling a home put it towards that long awaited vacation! The great thing about the rebate is you can you it however you want. In fact, we will work harder for you than anyone else. We have to, our business depends on it. View our testimonials and see all the satisfied clients. After having a FULL SERVICE REALTOR take care of you every step of the way, the REBATE is a nice bonus to get.

For more information call 801.477.SOLD or http://www.rebatestate.com

We give our clients our absolute, 100% full service and attention. Call us today and start planning what you’re going to do with your Rebate Check!

You can’t judge a book by its cover, nor a neighbourhood by its looks. Ultimately, you want to buy a house or condominium that will still be in a desirable place to live 10 or 15 years from now. Depending on your own particular needs and tastes, some of the following factors may be more important considerations than others:

•        Style of homes & condominiums

•        Quality of schools

•        Property values

•        Crime rate

•        Future construction

•        Proximity to: schools, employment, hospitals, shopping, public transportation, cultural activities, highways, beaches, parks, shopping, recreation and spiritual or community organizations (such as churches, temples, mosques, etc.)

If you’re a first-time buyer with limited financial resources, it’s a wise purchasing strategy to buy a home or condominium that meets your primary needs in the best neighbourhood that fits within your price range. Stay tune for part 2 next week . Have you been qualified for a mortgage yet? Fill out the contact form and start the process now.