8 STEPS TO BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME

Step 8

Protect Your Investment

Now that you have your home and you're all moved in, you need to take some final steps to protect your investment. Throughout the home buying process you have probably gotten to know your agent quite well, and hopefully you've been able to build a relationship of trust. That doesn't have to go away just because the deal has closed, your agent wants you to stay in touch! 

After you buy your home your agent can still help you in the following ways:

1. Handle your first tax return as a new homeowner. Filing taxes as a home owner can be quite different than you may be used to, and you may have tax breaks coming to you. It's also important to keep track of your property taxes and your agent can help you with that. 

2. Keep track of your home's current market value. The value of your home will rise and fall with the market and it's good to keep track. If at some point you choose to sell your home you will want to do so when the value is at a high point.

3. Help your friends find or sell homes. Sometimes finding an agent you like can be difficult, but once you do why not let your friends know? It will save them a lot of time doing an agent search and you can feel confident your agent will treat your friends as well as she treated you. 

4. Find contractors to help with home maintenance or remodeling. Keeping up with your home maintenance is essential to protecting the long-term value of your investment. 

There are two things you should be doing to maintain your home:

1. Keep it clean. We're not talking about sweeping and mopping here, although that's important too! It's really important to do regular maintenance and cleaning of your home's systems, such as heating and cooling units, fireplace chimneys, septic tanks, crawl spaces, and attic spaces. 

2. Keep an eye on it. Be sure to do regular walk around inspections of your home and look for any leaks, cracks, damage, and basic wear and tear. 

Allowing any part of your home to fall into disrepair can lead to hefty repair bills. Often times homeowners fail to pay attention to maintenance problems with their home until they choose to sell it, then they find themselves faced with a large inspection report brought forth by potential buyers. Keeping on top of issues as they arrive can save you a lot of hassle, and money, in the future.

Step One: Decide to Buy a House and Conquer Your Fears

Step Two: Hire an Agent

Step Three: Secure Financing

Step Four: Finding Your New Home

Step Five: Making an Offer

Step Six: Perform Due Diligence

Step Seven: Closing

8 STEPS TO BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME

Step 7

Closing

This is the final step of the home buying process and your agent will take care of most of it for you. The stages of this process include:

Appraisal - Your lender will send out an appraiser to assure the home is worth what you're paying for it, or at least what you're asking to borrow for it.

Title search - A title search will be performed to assure the seller has a right to sell the home and that no one else claims to own the property. 

Final credit and finance check - Your credit and financing will be looked at one final time to assure everything is in order. It is important you don't make any major purchases (car, new furniture) during the home buying process. 

Your agent will keep you notified of each step and how the process is advancing. Even though most of this stage is in your agent's hands, you will have a small list of pre-closing responsibilities you should be on top of. 

1. Stay in control of your finances. As I mentioned above, this is not the time for any major purchases, it could result in you losing the home of your dreams. 

2. Return all phone calls and paperwork promptly. There are time deadlines during this stage that everyone is trying to meet, don't be the one who keeps the party waiting! 

3. Communicate with your agent at least once a week. Send them a text, email. or give them a call to find out how things are going and if you need to do anything. 

4. Confirm with your agent your documents are in order. This should be done several days before closing. Sometimes documents can be misplaced in the mountains of paperwork and emails, so it's best to double check. 

5. Do a final walk-through - A few days before closing you and your agent should do one last walk-through of the property to ensure it's in the same shape it was when you agreed to purchase it, and that all appliances included in the deal have remained. 

On closing day you will be guided through the process of signing by a closing agent and your own agent. The documents you sign will:

1. Finalize your mortgage.

2. Pay the seller.

3. Pay your closing costs.

4. Transfer the title from the seller to you.

5. Make arrangements to legally record the transaction as a public record.

With these clear expectations, and if you follow directions given to you by your agent, closing should be the exciting end to your home-buying journey! 

Step One: Decide to Buy a House and Conquer Your Fears

Step Two: Hire an Agent

Step Three: Secure Financing

Step Four: Finding Your New Home

Step Five: Making an Offer

Step Six: Perform Due Diligence

Step Eight: Protect Your Investment

8 STEPS TO BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME

Step 6

Perform Due Diligence

Unlike other purchases we make, a house can't be returned if you're unhappy with it, which is why property inspections and home owner's insurance are so important. 

The property inspection is completed before you sign the closing papers and will expose any and all problems the home may have. Here are a few things you should keep in mind about inspections:

1. Structural damage. This should always be your main concern as structural damage is often very expensive to fix, if it's fixable at all. If the cost of repairs will be more than 3% of the home cost you should seriously consider whether or not it would be in your best interest to go through or walk away. Any damage that is not fixed can seriously affect the resale value of the home.

2. Minor repairs. Every home will have minor issues and it's best to over look them. Leaky faucets, nail holes in walls, missing light switch covers, all of these things can be repaired easily for very little money. Don't let these minor inconveniences distract you from any big issues that may be present. 

3. Big problems. If your inspector finds a big problem it's best to bring in a specialist. A specialist will take a deeper look at the problem and let you know just how bad it is. Don't be afraid to walk away from the purchase if you feel the problem is more than you feel comfortable dealing with. 

Once inspection is complete and you're satisfied and ready to move on, the next step will be to purchase homeowner's insurance. Insurance will protect you in the following ways:

1. Loss or damage of the property. Although unpleasant to think about, unfortunate things can and do happen. Fires, earthquakes, floods, these are all potential disaster that can happen and you should be sure to get insurance that covers all possibilities. 

2. Liability for injuries. The insurance will also cover any injuries that may occur to people while on your property.

Remember, your home will be one of the biggest investments you will ever make and protecting that investment should be top priority. 

Step One: Decide to Buy a House and Conquer Your Fears

Step Two: Hire an Agent

Step Three: Secure Financing

Step Four: Finding Your New Home

Step Five: Making an Offer

Step Seven: Closing

Step Eight: Protect Your Investment

MONTHLY MID-CENTURY MAKEOVER

Summer is finally in full swing! Garden parties, barbecues, and cook outs are surely taking up some space in your schedule, so what better time than now to give your yard a mid-century makeover? Grab some gardening gloves and let's make your yard the talk of the town!

Getting Started

First thing's first, how do you want your outdoor space to be utilized? Will it be your own private oasis, or a gathering spot for all your friends? Are you going for a woodsy look with a lot of trees and foliage, or do you prefer a wide open space spotted with colorful garden beds? Unlike furniture in a room, plants can't be moved around on a whim once they're in the ground, so have a game plan and know what you want before you begin. 

When choosing plants be sure to do a little research first and make sure they can survive in the climate where you live. Just because a local nursery sells a particular plant does not mean it will thrive in your yard (I found that out the hard way).

There isn't too much difference between the gardens of the 50s and our gardens today, and there really aren't any rules to follow in order to obtain your perfect mid-century yard. Below are some examples of what outdoor living looked like in the 50s, I hope they inspire you to get outside and make the most of your outdoor space. 

Front Yards

It's common practice today for people to erect 6 foot fences around their entire properties, blocking the yard from their neighbors view, but this form of privacy was not popular in the 50s and definitely wouldn't be considered very neighborly. Wide open front yards with inviting pathways, and maybe a white picket fence for decoration, was much more common. 

Flowers, especially roses, were planted around perimeters of the home, creating accent points. 

 

Depending on the size of the home, and of the yard, garden beds could be small and modest, or large and flowing, Small beds were often planted close to the front door to enhance the entrance and make it more inviting 

In larger yards the gardens might spread out away from the home along fences or walkways, inviting people to enter from the sidewalk.

These homes have utilized the natural slopes and hills of their lots to create cascading gardens, and to give the yard a bit of privacy while still keeping it open and friendly. 

This type of gardening may seem like a lot of work, but adding this type of curb appealing can add quite a bit of value to your home! Look carefully at the space you have and maybe make a few sketches to help you decide how best to accent the natural appeal. Then head to the nursery and start getting dirty!

Back Yards

In my opinion, this is where outdoor renovations get fun. The backyard is often much more secluded and it offers much more opportunity to really make the space yours. Here a few ideas people of the 50s had for their spaces.

All the color!! Give your patio a makeover by painting it in fabulous mid-century pastels. And why not add a sporty yellow convertible in the driveway, just for fun?

This is a great example of a Pacific Northwest yard. This family opted for concrete slabs over grass, which can be a great idea if you hate mowing the lawn, or if the pine trees on your property prevent grass from growing.

 

 A very simple outdoor space for anyone who doesn't do a lot of outdoor entertaining, but would like the option to once in awhile.

Another simple outdoor space, with a lovely concrete and stone table! The barn-style split door is a nice addition to this home.

If you'd like the space to be all yours, consider installing a koi pond. The staggering stone slabs give this pond a lovely modern look.

Building your very own brick barbecue was very popular in the 50s and could be a fun summer project. If Lucy and Ethel can do it, anyone can!

This yard is my favorite and comes from an article titled "How to build a guest house and yard for $2000!" Wouldn't that be nice? This little area features a brick "rug", plenty of seating, and the strategically placed shrubs gives it a lot of privacy. Three of the concrete slabs have been replaced with aluminum pans to create reflecting ponds, which is something I hope to do in the future! 

I hope these photos have given you some inspiration for your own yards! Happy gardening! 

8 STEPS TO BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME

Step 5

Make an Offer

You've spent the past month viewing many marvelous homes, and you've finally found the one for you. It's time to make an offer! As fun as the viewing process was, it's time to get serious now and put your business cap on. There are three basic components to to an offer; Price, terms, and contingencies.

1. Price

The price you offer for the home does not have to be what the seller is asking for, but it should reflect the market value of the home. Your agent will do market research and guide you in this process, but the price you offer is your decision alone. 

2. Terms

There are six basic categories that terms fall under;

1) Schedule - This is a schedule of events that happens, and that both buyer and seller must abide by, before closing date.

2) Conveyance - A list of items that will stay in the house when the sellers leave.

3) Closing costs - Generally buyer's will pay their own closing costs, but if you would like the sellers to cover these costs, or if you want them included in the sale price, you will need to write it into the contract.

4) Commission - The commission fee for both your agent and the seller's agent must be written into the contract. It is standard for the seller to pay the commission fees, not the buyer.

5) Home warranty - This covers repairs or replacements for major appliances and systems. You may ask the seller to pay for this. 

6) Earnest money - This protects the seller in the event you back out of the offer. It also shows how serious, or earnest, you are about the purchase.

3. Contingencies

Once your offer is agreed to and signed by the sellers it becomes a binding contract known as a Purchase and Sale Agreement. However, there are still ways for a buyer to back out of a deal without losing their earnest money. By adding contingencies to your offer, you are protecting yourself against unfavorable circumstances that may arise and which would cause you to change your mind about purchasing the home. There are many, many contingencies that may be added to an offer, but I will go over the most common.

1) Inspection contingency -  The buyer is given 10 days to perform an inspection on the house with a licensed inspection company. Once the results are received the buyer will have 3 days to either:

• Accept the report and continue with the home purchase,
• Ask for repairs to be made at the seller's expense and continue with the home purchase, or
• Reject the report and back out of the home purchase. 

The buyer can back out of the purchase in this 3 day time period for ANY REASON. There does not have to be anything wrong with the home in the report, and the buyer does not have to give a reason for backing out. However, once the buyer has agreed to the report as is, or agreed to repairs being made at the seller's expense, the contingency is removed and the buyer can no longer back out of the deal. 

2) Financial contingency - This makes the offer contingent on the buyer's financing coming through. If for any reason financing is denied, the buyer may walk away from the deal.

3) Title contingency - This makes the sale of the home contingent on the house having a clean title. A title search will be done and if there are any liens (money owed) or if the seller does not have the right to sell the home, the buyer can once again walk away from the deal.

As I mentioned before, there are many different contingencies which can be added, but adding too many can hurt your chances of a seller accepting your offer. Too many contingencies may make the seller feel you are not serious about the home purchase, because you are giving yourself too many ways out. Discuss with your agent which contingencies you should use to give your offer the best chances of being accepted, while still keeping you, the buyer, protected. 

The Process

You may be thinking "I have no idea how to write a contract like this!" Well don't worry, you don't have to. In fact, unless you're a lawyer, you aren't allowed to. Your agent will use a legal contract pre-drafted by a lawyer and simply fill in the correct information on the spaces provided. Your agent should explain each and every section of the contract with you, and if at any point you do not understand you should speak up and ask that it be explained again. 

Once the offer is complete it will be sent to the seller's agent, who will in turn present it to the seller for consideration. Legally all offers MUST be presented to the seller, their agent can not choose to ignore your offer. There will be a time limit in which the seller must reply to the offer, usually 3 days. If the buyer changes their mind within that time period and BEFORE a response from the seller is received, the buyer can retract the offer. 

The seller will likely respond to the offer in one of three ways;

1. They can accept your offer as is and sign it, making it a binding purchase and sale agreement.

2. They can make changes to the offer, such as a different price or removal of contingency, and send it back to the buyer. The buyer can then either agree to the new terms and sign it, making it a binding purchase and sale agreement, or they can make changes themselves and send it back to the sellers. The offer can go back and forth indefinitely until both parties agree on the terms, or a party chooses to walk away.

3) They can do nothing. If the seller does not wish to accept the offer, or make a counter offer, they can simply do nothing and the offer will expire. They do not need to contact the buyer. 

The last thing I would like to touch on are personal notes. I have many buyers who ask me if they can include a personal note to the seller explaining who they are and why they would be the best choice for the home. Notes can always be included, but whether or not they help the offer will depend on the situation. Here are some scenarios in which a note may help an offer:

• The home in question will be getting multiple offers and the buyer would like to stand out from the rest.
• The home has been owned by one family for many decades.
• The buyer is making a fairly low offer on the home.

Agents have differing opinions on this matter, some believe notes always help, some believe they never help, and some believe it depends on the situation. Ask your agent for their advice, but remember they can't deny you if you strongly wish to include a note. One more thing you should know regarding notes is that the seller's agent is NOT required to present the note to the seller with the offer UNLESS the inclusion of the note is part of the offer. 

Good Luck! 

Step One: Decide to Buy a House

Step Two: Hire an Agent

Step Three: Secure Financing

Step Four: Finding Your New Home

Step Six: Perform Due Diligence

Step Seven: Closing

Step Eight: Protect Your Investment

8 STEPS TO BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME

Step 4

Finding Your Home

So you've made the decision to purchase a home, you've hired your agent and secured financing, now it's time for the fun part, finding your home! Before you jump in the car you need to sit down with your agent and assess your wants and needs in a home. Viewing homes is a lot of fun, but without an idea of what you're looking for, the home search can go on for weeks or months, not much fun!

Before getting together with your agent, prepare by asking yourself the following questions:

1. What do I want my home near? Do you want a short commute to work? An easy walk to school for your kids? Perhaps you'd like a grocery store or your favorite coffee shop within close vicinity? Or maybe you'd prefer a more secluded home far away from everything? 

2. How much space do I need and why? It isn't unusual to want a large home, but how large do you really need your home to be? Are you planning a large family, or will you live alone? Do you often have overnight guests? Do you fancy cleaning large spaces? Consider seriously how much space you need in order to be happy.

3. Which is more important, location or size? Consider your answers to the previous questions, if you can only have one, which would your prefer? Which is more important? How would your life be affected if you were to get a large house with a long commute, or a smaller house with a short commute?

4. Would I be interested in a fixer upper? A fixer upper home may seem like a cheaper option, but repair costs could be through the roof. Do you enjoy home repairs? Do you have the skills to do them yourself, or will you hire a contractor? A fixer upper home can be a fantastic chance to make your new home your own, but consider funds and time carefully. 

5. How important is home value appreciation? A home is an investment, so appreciation is always important, but how important is it to you really? Will you live in your home for 20 years, allowing it to appreciate gradually? Or are you planning on selling in a few years with high appreciation?

6. Would I be interested in a condo? Some people enjoy the privacy and responsibility of a single family home. Others prefer to pay a fee and have problems taken care of for them. What would you prefer?

7. Would I be interested in new home construction? If you prefer move-in ready homes, this could be a good option for you, however there are older homes which are also move-in ready. Consider the type of architecture and design you find appealing and how much work you are willing to put into your new home to help you with this decision.

8. What features do I want in a home, and which do I really need? There are a lot of features you may want in a home, but they may not be what you need. Make a list of both your wants and needs and consider which are most important. 

Once you have a good idea of the home you're looking for, set up a meeting with your real estate agent and discuss your thoughts with them. Present them with your top 5 needs in a home and explain the importance of each. Your agent will do their best to find you a home that matches your needs, but finding a home with all 5 qualities is rare. Finding a home with 3 or 4 of the items on your list is much more likely, so be sure to rate the importance of each.

Buyers are often concerned their agent will show them homes they aren't interested in, or with qualities they don't like, and they might. This isn't necessarily because your agent wasn't listening to you, they simply feel the aspects of the house you could like will outweigh the aspects of the house you won't like. Most agents want their clients to be aware of all their options. 

If your agent only shows you homes you don't like, or if you feel they don't understand what it is you're looking for, ask to sit down with them and go over your list again. If after a second explanation your agent is still showing you the wrong homes consider finding a new agent to work with. You won't need to repeat any of the previous steps and you can often start working with a new agent the very next day. Of course this is something that doesn't happen often, and most people are very happy with their agents. 

Happy searching!

Step One: Decide to Buy a House

Step Two: Hire an Agent

Step Three: Secure Financing

Step Five: Making an Offer

Step Six: Perform Due Diligence

Step Seven: Closing

Step Eight: Protect Your Investment

RETRO RECIPES: MINI PIES

Summer is officially here! My husband and I spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer, gardening, hiking, picnicking, and we like food that's easy to grab without a lot of mess. Enter the mini pie! These desserts are easy to pack for trips and they look great set out for guests during backyard barbecues. There's no mess of cutting and serving a full pie, and you can make a variety of fillings to satisfy everyone. 

Today I'm making a simple blueberry filling, but you can make any filling you choose, be creative!

Ingredients

Filling                                                                                    Pie Crust

4 cups blueberries                                                                    2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar                                                                           2/3 cup vegetable shortening

5 Tbsp flour                                                                             1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon juice                                                                    4 Tbsp cold water

If you choose to salted margarine or butter in place of the shortening like I did, be sure to leave out the 1 tsp of salt from the crust. 

Directions

Begin by making the filling. If you're using fresh berries, begin by washing them thoroughly and removing all stems. If you're using frozen make sure to thaw them out and drain excess liquid. Add the lemon juice and stir.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, flour. Add to the berries and mix gently until all the berries are coated. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425°

In a large bowl mix together the salt and flour. Add the shortening in chunks like so:

Mix together with your fingers until no large chunks remain and you get a sand-like texture.

Add the water and work into a dough with your hands. You may be tempted to add more water just keep kneading until a dough forms. Adding too much water will making your dough soggy and sticky. 

The original recipe suggests you use individual tart pans, so if you have them use them! If you don't, like me, simply use a muffin tin. Since there's so much shortening in the dough you shouldn't have to grease your pan, but I do it anyway just to be safe.

Roll out your dough on an UN-FLOURED surface to about 1/8" thick. Adding flour to your dough will make it tough and less flaky. Roll your dough gently and quickly, try not to push down too hard with your rolling pin. 

Cut out 12 circles with a 4" cookie cutter. 

Place your circles of dough gently into your muffin pan and fill each with about 1.5 Tbs of the berry filling. 

With your remaining dough you can cover each pie as you'd like. This recipe doesn't give enough dough to completely cover each pie, so I just cut out shapes with my tiniest cookie cutters. Today I've included a Zelda triforce and a Pac Man ghost for my husband who loves retro video games. 

Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Allow them to cool before removing.

Enjoy!