Real Estate Information

- First, check with your municipal codes for accessory buildings, garden sheds, and see what permits you need to add one to your yard. If you already have one, you’re one step closer to your party hut. 

- Decide on what will fit in your space, then shop pre-fab shed distributors, Pinterest for DIY material-repurposing ideas, or online for downloadable building plans.  

- How do you want to use your space?  Will it be an entertaining area, a place to relax, or a low-budget pool house? Make a budget for decorating and extras, and stick to it. 

- Once you have your building in place, choose your decor and paint scheme:   

- Beach-inspired colors are bright, and you can include an old surfboard, vintage buoys and signal flags found at tag sales. 

- Rocking chairs, light colored walls, natural elements, and floral seat cushions make for a country retreat. 

- Go modern with simple folding chairs, which offer a storage bonus, simple green succulent plants in sleep pots, neutral colors, and a sleek bar of polished wood. 

- Send guests a message of fun in the sun with a palm-frond roof, tiki torches, lots of wood elements and an open-air bar for a tropical feel. 

- Create a small pool house with space for lounge chairs, as well as hardware for hanging clothes and towels, and storage for pool toys.   

- Lighting can be tricky if you don’t have electricity running to your outdoor structure.  If you decide to fully wire the place, have an electrician take care of this aspect.  You want it well-lit, but not a shining beacon--soft lighting is perfect for Summer night entertaining. 

- Give self-charging solar lights a try.  LED’s associated with solar lighting have come a long way, and can be bright without being harsh. 

- Battery-operated LED lights are an excellent alternative, and come in many designs to complement your decor.  Strings of Chinese lanterns and vintage-style bulb covers can be found in many styles in home centers and online. 

- You may not want to deal with the cost of a hiring an electrician to wire your new party pad, but using solar power on your small building is easier than you may think.  Home improvement centers have small solar kits that you’ll need to light the night without adding to your utility bill. 

- Solar-powered ceiling fans for outdoor use are easily found online, as well as stand-alone units.  Moving air will keep you and any guests comfortable.   

- Begin budgeting now, if you do not already.  Homeownership has more expenses involved than renting, and you need to be able to manage your money properly. 

- Check your credit score and correct any mistakes, or do what it takes to bring your numbers up. 

- Start saving towards your down payment.  

- Be realistic.  You know about how much you can afford, so don’t start your initial search in the luxury homes sections. 

- Once your financial things are in good working order, shop around for a loan, and talk with the lender about your pre-approval amount.  Knowing how much you can afford will help keep you in check when it comes to the house searching. 

- Don’t balk at browsing other homes besides houses--there are affordable townhomes and condominiums that could be perfect for you as your first home purchase. 

- Think about your community options--do you want to live in a managed community (HOA), a rural area, new construction in a planned community, or an older suburban neighborhood?  Each can affect how much you pay in HOA fees, taxes, or maintenance costs. 

- If you have renter’s insurance, and you should, you’ll note that a homeowner’s policy costs more, because it covers much more than just your belongings.  Speak with your insurance agent about a quote so you can budget accordingly. 

- On the chance that you decide to relocate, you can choose to rent your property and become a landlord yourself.  You will have money from the rent to pay towards your mortgage payment, or, if the house is paid for, begin building a nest egg. 

- Purchasing a newer house than what you’re renting can save money in the end, because of less up-front maintenance, as well as being more energy efficient, thus having lower utility bills. 

- You can add crown molding to your rooms with little carpentry know-how.  Plaster-covered foam molding is available in many styles, and anyone with a measuring tape, hand saw and some paint can install it.  This Old House has a how-to for this easy update. 

- Clean up and, if necessary, paint your front entry door.  Add a new light sconce, and get a new welcome mat. 

- Electrical outlets are usually not something you think about upgrading, but outlets with a built-in USB port are available at home centers, and are impressive to potential home buyers because of the convenience they offer.  Put them near the kitchen counter, and a few in the bedrooms for easy access. 

- Cleaning the grout in the bathrooms, or even re-grouting can make your floor and tile look shiny-new. 

- Upgrade your doors’ and cabinets’ hardware for every room if it’s outdated. 

- Paint rooms a neutral color; grey and beige--even a mix called “greige”--are trendy right now if you don’t want all-white walls. 

- Add potted flowers or plants to your front entry for a welcome sight--just don’t forget to water them! 

- Check your crawl space for any falling insulation, and replace it. 

- Change out any dated light sconces and chandeliers. 

- A new shower curtain and decorative towels can do wonders for your bathroom. 

- The right backsplash in the kitchen can really make it stand out and look like new.  There are many DIY options, and the self-stick products on the market now make this task go much faster for the novice. 

- A chair rail and wainscoting in the dining area adds a nice eye-catching architectural detail. 

Most experts advise taking down your window curtains while your home is on the market, but you want some color on the windows.  A cornice box is an easy project to try, and cover them with your (now) old curtain fabric. 

- We shower more in the Summer, so conserve by shortening your shower time by just two minutes, and save 150 gallons of water per month! 

- Keeping our landscaping green uses a great deal of water, and if you have a sprinkler system, make sure the timer is set for morning or evening, and that the showers aren’t falling on the driveway.  Pay close attention to the weather, and turn off the timer whenever a good chance of rain is predicted. 

- Keep a pitcher filled with water inside the fridge for a thirst quencher instead of running the water from the faucet and waiting for it to get cold. 

- Cut your grass on a higher setting, because the longer blades help shade the turf, and in turn, holds water better, so you’ll have to water it less. 

- For the garden, landscaping and lawn, use a drip irrigation system instead of sprinklers or hand-watering with the hose.  Water is directed to the roots, where it needs to be. 

- When the car needs cleaning, take the bucket and sponge to a car wash instead of washing it at home, and save about one hundred gallons of water!  

- Purchase and set up rain barrels under gutter spouts or areas of the house where water runs off the roof.  You can get some very sophisticated barrels with faucet attachments for gravity-watering with the hose, and covers to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs. 

- Placing a cover on your pool not only helps keep it clean, but it can save the pool water from evaporating.  The Spruce lists several swimming pool water-saving tips. 

Instead of washing fresh vegetables from your garden under running water, fill a large bowl with water, and give them a bath.  Once they’re clean, use the leftover water for houseplants or potted plants outside. 

- Growing native plants will help cut down on water usage, as they are adapted to your local climate.  Contact your local cooperative extension agent to find out how to plant a native plant garden. 

- Place a five-gallon bucket with small holes in the bottom near plants or a tree that need a drink, and fill it with water.  The holes will allow the water to trickle out at a slow pace, and soak the soil, where the water should be, instead of the leaves. 

- If you’re reading this, odds are you are a Facebook user, and your personal data may have been used by an outside data analysis firm.  Gain some insight into your privacy settings, and how to change them and your personal data information from trustedreviews.com. 

- Using Facebook to log into websites like Pinterest, GoodReads, and other social media sites is convenient for you, but it also makes that website privy to your connections’ information as well.  Set up one email account for use on social media, and don’t use it for anything that requires signing up with personal information.  

- Almost every website now has an info window that pops up that informs you that they use cookies to store your activity.  Some cookies can embed trackers that gather info as you surf the internet.  Take a few seconds every time you browse by clearing them from your browser settings. Digital Trends shows you how to delete them from the most popular internet browsers, including your mobile browsers. 

- Whenever you’re using free WIFI in public places, their internet service providers can see what you’re doing while using their connection.  A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can protect your personal information from being seen by encrypting it.  While there are free VPNs available, some will cost you.  PCMag lists their favorites according to your usage--from general browsers to world travelers. 

- Once you’ve finished using a website where you have an account, log out.  If you’re out and about, and the data you’ve stored on whatever device you’re using is sensitive, opt out of the free WIFI and use your data instead.   

- Did you know you could browse privately?  Click on your browser’s menu and choose “Private Window” or, in the case of Google Chrome, “Incognito Mode.”  While using this feature, nothing you do will be stored in the browser’s history. 

- Some browsers don’t share any of your personal information, or at least, share a limited amount.  Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Tor are free, and are always doing their best to keep surfing the internet safe for their users.  Mobile browser apps are available as well. 

- To see what your credit score is, request a free credit report from all three reporting agencies.  Check each report for errors, and report them to both the credit bureau and company that reported it. 

- If there is a legitimate collection on your credit report, pay it as soon as you can, but it will not be removed from your credit history for seven years, although it will be marked as paid. 

- Old debt on your report that was paid in full and on time is better for your score than having it removed.  So if you’ve paid off an account in good standing, leave it as long as possible. 

- If you have a history of keeping your payments on time, that’s great, because late payments hurt your score.  Stay current by setting reminders to mail payments before their due date, or set up automatic payments through your bank. 

- Pay off your credit cards!  This is so important, because the more outstanding debt you have, the lower your score.  Pay off the smallest balance first, and the larger balances can be paid off sooner by increasing your payments, or send equal payments twice per month if the creditor allows. 

- Canceling a credit card that you’re trying to pay down sounds like a great idea, but it isn’t, according to FICO™.  It’s better to simply pay off the card, and use it as minimally as possible--charging to it once a month for a take-out dinner keeps it active. 

- Don’t have a credit card?  Shop around for one with a good interest rate, and apply.  Having at least one credit account in good standing is better than none at all for those who haven’t really started establishing a credit history. 

- Applying for loans or credit with multiple agencies can hurt your score.  Avoid new credit accounts while you’re trying to bring your score up. 

- If you are truly hurting financially, and don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, contact a reputable credit repair agency that can assist you in getting your bills paid, manage your finances, and increase your home purchase chances. 

- A bean teepee is a fun and relatively easy project.  Assemble three 8-foot poles in a tepee shape, make sure you give them a good push several inches into the soil, and tie the poles together at the top with jute twine.  Continue using the twine to make a loose net so the vines will have support, just make sure you leave one section open for a doorway.  Plant pole bean seeds at the “base” of the poles and webbing, and watch them grow, and the kids will soon have a little hideaway with fresh beans close by for a snack. 

- Once your garden is planted, have the kids paint rocks as decorative row markers. 

- Hummingbird feeders are a common sight, but how about butterfly feeders?  Make this one from PBS Parents with a clean ketchup bottle, fake flowers and a few other household items.   

- If you don’t have room for a full garden, try a few plants that can be grown in clean five-gallon buckets.  Make sure there’s a drain hole in the bottom, add about an inch of gravel, broken old clay pots or old bricks, and add a good potting soil/compost mix.  Plant cherry tomatoes, bush beans, cucumbers, or zucchini, following the planting guidelines. 

- Plant recipe-specific plants:  have a spaghetti sauce or pizza row with tomatoes, oregano, basil and bell pepper; a salsa row can have tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, peppers and onions; plant chamomile, any type of mint, or lavender and make tea! 

- Sunflowers are always an amazement to children because they grow so tall.  These beautiful giants can be grown in many layouts using a garden hose to make the design, leaving room for a path if you’re planting a mini-maze, then planting the seeds along the way, and sunflowers can even be trained to make a little house.   

- Grow flowers whose blossoms open at different times of the day:  morning glories, daylilies, four o’clock, evening primrose and moonflowers. 

- A garden based on favorite storybooks is another good way to get them to dig in the dirt.  Plants based on The Tales of Peter Rabbit, Stone Soup, and Blueberries for Sal are just a few ways to engage children in growing and eating what they’ve grown. 

- Adding a water feature doesn’t have to mean a huge pond with waterfall--small pond containers are available at garden centers, as well as water plants.  Create a mini pond with this guide from Better Homes & GardensⓇ.  

Any friends that have recently bought or sold their home can get you started on a reference list.  Ask them what they liked most/least, and what they would do differently. 

Look to the internet for initial research.  Go down your list and search for each Realtor’s listings, blogs, and testimonials. Record contact information of Realtors you’re most interested in. 

Call each Realtor and set up an appointment to meet for a Q&A session. 

Before your first meeting, familiarize yourself with real estate professionals terms, as each title has a different job. 

Have this list of questions to ask on hand at every meeting: 

- How long have you been in real estate? 

- Are you in the real estate business full-time or part-time? 

- Do have more buying or selling experience? 

- How many homes have you sold in the past twelve months? 

- Do you specialize in any certain neighborhoods or locations? 

- How many clients are you working with now? 

- What’s the best mode of communication for you? 

- Do you utilize the internet and social media to list your homes for sale? 

- What makes you stand out in our local market? 

- What should I know as a seller/buyer? 

- A good Realtor welcomes these questions and will be honest with you when they answer them. 

- Don’t be surprised if the real estate pro interviews you as well! They need to know about you as much as you need to know about them. 

- Meeting with potential Realtors help you see their personalities, and having good chemistry is essential to your Realtor-client relationship.  You will be spending a lot of time with each other. 

- References with contact information are essential and can help you seal the deal with the right real estate professional for you and your needs. 

- If the Realtor is new in the field, don’t count inexperience against them.  They should be eager to add your sale to their portfolio and want to offer you a great experience.