Came across this link, courtesy of Scott Levitt at Oakley Signs. It adds a whole new dimension to what you can do with your iPad and bring more tech into your kitchen. Here's a link to the story:
http://www.ikeahackers.net/2012/06/ipad-flush-mounted-in-kitchen-cabinet.html
Technology News, Tips and Thoughts for You And Your Home
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
The Home Buying Process...The Short Version
Copyright 2012, David Orr, REALTOR® | e-PRO | Green | REO Specialist
Next, you need to determine what your dream home will look like. Big yard, small yard? Three or more bedrooms? Two or more bathrooms? Big kitchen or small, fireplace or not, tall ceilings or standard 8 ft. high?
Essentially, you want to have a basic understanding of what you want and need - so that when you start looking, you can focus on which homes provide the most of what you're looking for.
One of your REALTOR®'s jobs is taking all your wants, needs and desires in a home and trying to match them up with homes currently available. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the "perfect" home doesn't exist. But what is available will be close.
You may need to compromise on some of your desires. As long as you find a home that meets all of your needs, some of your wants, and if possible some of your desires - then you will have found your "perfect" house.
And all of those things that make up your dream home must fit into your price range (the amount that the bank or lender has pre-approved you for.
Once a short list of potential homes is found, it's time to review them to see which come closest to your dream home. Today, a lot of this review is done with searches - like those I will send you. This saves a lot of time and gasoline, while helping to insure that the houses you actually go out to see are closely matched to what you're looking for.
So, you now have your short list of possible homes. The next step is to visit them, look inside, get a feel for the neighborhood, see whether the house is a good fit for you and your family.
After you've found the one home that you believe matches up the closest with your dream home, your REALTOR® will help you write up an Offer to Purchase.
With an Offer to Purchase, you are telling the owner of the house how much you will pay, any special concessions you want from the seller, how much earnest money you have provided, and when you wish to take possession of the property. As your REALTOR®, it's my job to make sure that the Offer to Purchase is written in a way that best promotes YOUR best interests, because I work for you.
Please understand. It's not a contract unless the buyer and seller are in full agreement and have signed the Offer to Purchase. If you make an Offer and the Seller rejects it, there's no contract. Or, if the Seller counters your Offer and you don't like the conditions of the offer, there's no contract.
If the Offer to Purchase is accepted, that's when it becomes a Contract to Purchase. It's at this point that you would get a home inspection performed by a licensed inspector. (A provided brochure of local businesses and service companies can help you decide which inspector to use.) You will also be provided with a list of things that need to be taken care of prior to closing - so you'll have a smooth transition into your new home.
The home inspection is normally completed within the first 10 days of the Contract to Purchase. After the inspection, if there were any major defects in the property; or any health or safety issues - the Seller would be required to fix these. If they failed or refused, that would end the contract, and you get your earnest money back. Most of the time though, any health or safety issues found are fixed ASAP by the seller.
In addition to the inspection, you'll need to get Homeowner's Insurance prior to closing.
Be sure to check with your current insurer, to see if you can get a significant discount by bundling your home and auto insurance.
After all the inspections are completed and any issues taken care of, the next date is the Closing Day. Closing is when the buyer and seller sign all the paperwork involved in transferring title and ownership of the property. (In our area, the closing will typically be handled at either an attorney's office or with a title company.)
At the closing, you'll be required to sign all the paperwork. If it's a cash sale (no mortgage required), the closing is fairly brief and not a lot of signing required. However, if you're using a mortgage - be prepared to sign a lot of documents. Also at closing you will receive all the keys, security codes, and garage door openers for the house.
The only thing left to do now is to move into your new home!
Contact Information:
David Orr, REALTOR ® | e-PRO | Green | REO Specialist
Cell 334-614-0004
http://www.HomesPhenixCity.com
era@homesphenixcity.com
ERA Platinum Brokers.com
- Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage – so you know how much home you can purchase
- Make a Wish List – what you want for your new home
- Find the Home – review properties your REALTOR® will help you find
- Put in an Offer – written offer to purchase. If buyers and sellers are in agreement and all sign, then we have a Contract.
- Inspections, Insurance and More – once you have a contract, it’s time to have the home inspected, to get homeowner’s insurance, and prepare for moving day
- Closing – signing the paperwork at either an attorney or title company’s offices, getting the keys to your new home.
- Moving Day – after you’ve closed on your new home, it’s time to move in!
Next, you need to determine what your dream home will look like. Big yard, small yard? Three or more bedrooms? Two or more bathrooms? Big kitchen or small, fireplace or not, tall ceilings or standard 8 ft. high?
Essentially, you want to have a basic understanding of what you want and need - so that when you start looking, you can focus on which homes provide the most of what you're looking for.
One of your REALTOR®'s jobs is taking all your wants, needs and desires in a home and trying to match them up with homes currently available. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the "perfect" home doesn't exist. But what is available will be close.
You may need to compromise on some of your desires. As long as you find a home that meets all of your needs, some of your wants, and if possible some of your desires - then you will have found your "perfect" house.
And all of those things that make up your dream home must fit into your price range (the amount that the bank or lender has pre-approved you for.
Once a short list of potential homes is found, it's time to review them to see which come closest to your dream home. Today, a lot of this review is done with searches - like those I will send you. This saves a lot of time and gasoline, while helping to insure that the houses you actually go out to see are closely matched to what you're looking for.
So, you now have your short list of possible homes. The next step is to visit them, look inside, get a feel for the neighborhood, see whether the house is a good fit for you and your family.
After you've found the one home that you believe matches up the closest with your dream home, your REALTOR® will help you write up an Offer to Purchase.
With an Offer to Purchase, you are telling the owner of the house how much you will pay, any special concessions you want from the seller, how much earnest money you have provided, and when you wish to take possession of the property. As your REALTOR®, it's my job to make sure that the Offer to Purchase is written in a way that best promotes YOUR best interests, because I work for you.
Please understand. It's not a contract unless the buyer and seller are in full agreement and have signed the Offer to Purchase. If you make an Offer and the Seller rejects it, there's no contract. Or, if the Seller counters your Offer and you don't like the conditions of the offer, there's no contract.
If the Offer to Purchase is accepted, that's when it becomes a Contract to Purchase. It's at this point that you would get a home inspection performed by a licensed inspector. (A provided brochure of local businesses and service companies can help you decide which inspector to use.) You will also be provided with a list of things that need to be taken care of prior to closing - so you'll have a smooth transition into your new home.
The home inspection is normally completed within the first 10 days of the Contract to Purchase. After the inspection, if there were any major defects in the property; or any health or safety issues - the Seller would be required to fix these. If they failed or refused, that would end the contract, and you get your earnest money back. Most of the time though, any health or safety issues found are fixed ASAP by the seller.
In addition to the inspection, you'll need to get Homeowner's Insurance prior to closing.
Be sure to check with your current insurer, to see if you can get a significant discount by bundling your home and auto insurance.
After all the inspections are completed and any issues taken care of, the next date is the Closing Day. Closing is when the buyer and seller sign all the paperwork involved in transferring title and ownership of the property. (In our area, the closing will typically be handled at either an attorney's office or with a title company.)
At the closing, you'll be required to sign all the paperwork. If it's a cash sale (no mortgage required), the closing is fairly brief and not a lot of signing required. However, if you're using a mortgage - be prepared to sign a lot of documents. Also at closing you will receive all the keys, security codes, and garage door openers for the house.
The only thing left to do now is to move into your new home!
Contact Information:
David Orr, REALTOR ® | e-PRO | Green | REO Specialist
Cell 334-614-0004
http://www.HomesPhenixCity.com
era@homesphenixcity.com
ERA Platinum Brokers.com
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The REAL Benefits of Owning versus Renting
Let me start out by saying that sometimes - you just have to rent. As a former renter myself for many years, I know that firsthand.
Be it lack of credit, marriage/divorce issues, life changes...there are times when renting really is the best option.
Mortgage
Interest Deduction (MID) - As a homeowner, if you have a mortgage, part
of your payment to the bank each month includes interest you're paying on your
loan. Most, if not all, of that interest is deductible on your income
taxes. (Your situation may be different - but in general, homeowner's can
deduct the mortgage interest paid on their homes. The best way to know is talk
with an accountant or tax preparer who should know your situation.) As a
renter, you don't get this deduction. While you may be paying your landlord's
mortgage - the landlord is the one getting the interest deduction/tax benefits.
Not you.
These are just a few of the benefits of owning your home. What others do you know of?
Be it lack of credit, marriage/divorce issues, life changes...there are times when renting really is the best option.
However, life goes on and situations eventually change. And
when they do change, you should know why it's important to consider buying your
own home as opposed to paying monthly for your landlords' home (i.e.: rent).
So here, in no particular order, are the benefits of owning
your home versus paying rent:
Being part of a community - as a homeowner, you
have an inherent interest in what is going on in your neighborhood and town.
More so, than if you were renting. The pride of ownership is a big part of
this, because you want where you live to look good, and be good for yourself,
your children and your neighbors.
Building equity (read "Making money")
- as a homeowner, your home is considered real property. It has a value that
can go up and down, but mostly up. Even when the economy is doing the
loop-dee-loop, your home is your home. If you had purchased a home in a new subdivision in 2003 for say, $150,000; the market value of your home today
(2012) would still be at least $189,000. (If the housing market hadn't dropped, that same home today would be worth $215,000 or more.)
Consistent monthly payment - If you're paying
rent, it's likely that your rent went up over the past couple of years. But nothing
else changed. You're still renting the same apartment or house. The only change
is that now - you're spending more just to stay in place. As a homeowner, your monthly payment may have
increased slightly. This would be due to home insurance and property taxes.
As a homeowner, even with the increase - you still have benefits that a
renter does not.
It's YOUR home - You can paint the inside and
outside whichever color you choose. There's no assigned parking - you'll likely
have your own garage or carport that you don't have to share with the
neighbors. Normally, you can play your music loud in the house and no one
will complain because there's no one living upstairs or down. You can choose to
plant trees or not. Or to put in a swimming pool (that you don't have to share with the entire neighborhood) - or
not.
Peace and quiet - You don't have dozens of
people living all around you, like you do with an apartment. With your own
home, comes a yard and property lines. If you choose, you can put up a fence to
keep your yard private and free of the neighbor's pets. Try that in an
apartment.
These are just a few of the benefits of owning your home. What others do you know of?
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The very first thing you need to know about buying a home
A question that comes up almost daily is "How do I buy a home?"
Some folks will spend months searching for the "perfect" home, sizing up neighborhoods, locating the best schools, and well...wasting their time. Why would I consider all of these things - which are all part of the process of finding a home - to be a waste of time?
Money. The dream is there, but they haven't taken the very first step in the home-buying process. They haven't applied for a mortgage. Instead they are spinning their wheels looking for the perfect home - which by the way, doesn't exist. But more on that in a minute. Many times those wanting to buy a home are prodded on by well-meaning relatives and friends - who, many times - have incorrect information on how to go about buying a home.
Whether you buy or build your home, somewhere after moving in you'll realize that the home is missing something. It could be that you forgot to have the cable guy install more than one jack in each room. Or building your home too close to a property line, so that you can't install that swimming pool you always dreamed of having off the back porch. Or even that you dreamed of being prepared for power outages but forgot to install a Generac generator when the house was being built.
(That last item is from personal experience. It was talked about and researched and talked about some more. Everything lead to installing a natural gas Generac generator to protect us from those times that the electricity would fail and leave us to play dominoes by candlelight. And all of that research and talk were forgotten in the whirlwind of decisions that come about when you're having a home built.)
But I digress...the very first thing anyone considering buying or building a home should do is take care of where the money will come from. And how much.
You need to know that when you put in an offer to purchase a home - your perfect home - that you at least have a chance of getting it. And it must be in your price range.
This is a fairly straightforward process. You would approach your bank for a mortgage, or get some suggestions from a REALTOR, who works with several lenders all the time.
You apply for a mortgage. The lender will need several bits of information from and about you, such as: where you work, how long have you worked there, how much you earn, what bills you have, your credit score and others.
After the lender enters all this data into their system, they can then tell you two things. One, whether they can lend you the money or not. And two, how much money they can lend you.
The best lenders will also explain to you what you may need to do, if they can't lend to you today. They will outline the steps you need to take, so that in six months to a year, you'll be able to finally get that mortgage and your new home.
If your lender says anything that includes the word "qualified" - tell them you want to be approved, not just qualified. Qualified just means they think they know something about you. But you haven't actually been approved for a mortgage. (Getting approved requires you to provide documentation such as: pay stubs, tax returns, etc. The lender fully checks you out and approves you for a mortgage.)
When you're approved, the lender tells you for how much and sends you out into the world to find your home. In some cases, you can even lock in your interest rate. When you're just qualified, you're sent out and told that once you find something...give us a call. And we'll see if we can get you approved.
So remember...get fully approved for a mortgage, and then go find a REALTOR to help you find your "perfect" home, well almost perfect.
:)
Some folks will spend months searching for the "perfect" home, sizing up neighborhoods, locating the best schools, and well...wasting their time. Why would I consider all of these things - which are all part of the process of finding a home - to be a waste of time?
Money. The dream is there, but they haven't taken the very first step in the home-buying process. They haven't applied for a mortgage. Instead they are spinning their wheels looking for the perfect home - which by the way, doesn't exist. But more on that in a minute. Many times those wanting to buy a home are prodded on by well-meaning relatives and friends - who, many times - have incorrect information on how to go about buying a home.
Whether you buy or build your home, somewhere after moving in you'll realize that the home is missing something. It could be that you forgot to have the cable guy install more than one jack in each room. Or building your home too close to a property line, so that you can't install that swimming pool you always dreamed of having off the back porch. Or even that you dreamed of being prepared for power outages but forgot to install a Generac generator when the house was being built.
(That last item is from personal experience. It was talked about and researched and talked about some more. Everything lead to installing a natural gas Generac generator to protect us from those times that the electricity would fail and leave us to play dominoes by candlelight. And all of that research and talk were forgotten in the whirlwind of decisions that come about when you're having a home built.)
But I digress...the very first thing anyone considering buying or building a home should do is take care of where the money will come from. And how much.
You need to know that when you put in an offer to purchase a home - your perfect home - that you at least have a chance of getting it. And it must be in your price range.
This is a fairly straightforward process. You would approach your bank for a mortgage, or get some suggestions from a REALTOR, who works with several lenders all the time.
You apply for a mortgage. The lender will need several bits of information from and about you, such as: where you work, how long have you worked there, how much you earn, what bills you have, your credit score and others.
After the lender enters all this data into their system, they can then tell you two things. One, whether they can lend you the money or not. And two, how much money they can lend you.
The best lenders will also explain to you what you may need to do, if they can't lend to you today. They will outline the steps you need to take, so that in six months to a year, you'll be able to finally get that mortgage and your new home.
If your lender says anything that includes the word "qualified" - tell them you want to be approved, not just qualified. Qualified just means they think they know something about you. But you haven't actually been approved for a mortgage. (Getting approved requires you to provide documentation such as: pay stubs, tax returns, etc. The lender fully checks you out and approves you for a mortgage.)
When you're approved, the lender tells you for how much and sends you out into the world to find your home. In some cases, you can even lock in your interest rate. When you're just qualified, you're sent out and told that once you find something...give us a call. And we'll see if we can get you approved.
So remember...get fully approved for a mortgage, and then go find a REALTOR to help you find your "perfect" home, well almost perfect.
:)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
From Green REsource Council article: REALTOR® Buys First Ever Chevy Volt
From the Green REsource Council article, written by Elyse Umlauf-Garneau, 01.24.2011: REALTOR® Buys First Ever Chevy Volt
The owner of the first Chevrolet Volt is Jeff Kaffee, a real estate practitioner. Kaffee...got his car, a plug-in hybrid, in December 2010. Just this month, the Volt was named the North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show.
The owner of the first Chevrolet Volt is Jeff Kaffee, a real estate practitioner. Kaffee...got his car, a plug-in hybrid, in December 2010. Just this month, the Volt was named the North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show.
Electric Vehicles Coming On Strong in Oregon
Here's some news from an article I read in Inc. Magazine the other day ( http://bit.ly/i5ECoZ ) about electric vehicles or EV's.
It appears that Portland Oregon of all places, has become somewhat of a mecca for all vehicles electrical. A quote from the article, "Portland has had some of the earliest, most enthusiastic leadership around electric vehicles," says Chelsea Sexton, an alternative-fuel expert. "And the industry tends to align with where the market is."
It appears that Portland Oregon of all places, has become somewhat of a mecca for all vehicles electrical. A quote from the article, "Portland has had some of the earliest, most enthusiastic leadership around electric vehicles," says Chelsea Sexton, an alternative-fuel expert. "And the industry tends to align with where the market is."
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Fuel Cells Provide Campus Power (from Smarter Technology)
Fuel Cells Provide Campus Power
One of the world's largest fuel cell arrays—2.8 MegaWatts—will be installed in San Diego's Energy Innovation Park at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) campus. FuelCell Energy (Danbury, Conn.) is installing the giant fuel cell capable of powering 2,800 homes—along with two others in the city of San Diego—to provide a renewable store of electricity. In cooperation with the city of San Diego and BioFuels Energy there, the project will turn methane from wastewater into electricity.
One of the world's largest fuel cell arrays—2.8 MegaWatts—will be installed in San Diego's Energy Innovation Park at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) campus. FuelCell Energy (Danbury, Conn.) is installing the giant fuel cell capable of powering 2,800 homes—along with two others in the city of San Diego—to provide a renewable store of electricity. In cooperation with the city of San Diego and BioFuels Energy there, the project will turn methane from wastewater into electricity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)