Tips For Homebuyers That Work From Home

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1. Find a home with an office: A space that is private, quiet, and set apart from the rest of the home is perfect. This may be an actual office, spare bedroom, a walk in closet, finished basement room or space above the attic, etc. A space works especially well if it gets some natural light. If your home office is "used soley and exclusively for business purposes" you can claim a federal tax deduction for business use of your home.
2. Patio or other nice outdoor space: Working from home can be intense with no co-workers to break up your day. Finding a home with a nice outdoor oasis to take breaks in can relieve some stress and allow you to be more productive. 
3. Check into nearby cafes or bookstores: Working from home can get lonely so you may be tempted to reach out to family and friends on the phone, but this can cut into your work time. Look for nice cafes or bookstores that you can bring your laptop to and work from for a little while. This way you can enjoy some great coffee while being around other people, without being too distracted. 
4. Find a home that's close to a park or walking paths: Finding a home that is nearby a nice outdoor space can allow you to take your lunch breaks outside which will help you to relax and clear your mind. 
5. Find a fenced-in yard: Anyone with pets knows that they definitely crave our attention! If you are inside all day with your furry friends they will want you to focus on them, making it difficult to get your work done. With a fenced-in yard, you can let your pets play outside while you get your work done.

3 Reasons Sellers Need A Realtor To Price Their Home

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1. Home evaluation tools can be inaccurate: Although there are several online tools that can give an estimate of your home's value, these tools are often incorrect by about 5-20%. These inaccuracies mean that you are losing out on both money and buyers if you strictly go by these tools. Realtors may use these tools to begin the home pricing process, but there is a lot more work that goes into the price than simply using online tools. Realtors perform a lot of ground work that the average homeowner may not be able to do.
2. There are many factors that go into the price of a home: Market data is just one component of property value that Realtors will use when coming up with a list price; the rest of the factors are very property specific. The age of the roof, home upgrades, neighborhood info, etc. all come into play when deciding on a listing price. The property specific data is not something that these online tools have access to which can make these home values very inaccurate. 
3. A Realtor's experience plays a big role: A Realtor does a comparative market analysis or "CMA" for every listing. CMAs involve going to a property and thoroughly inspecting both the home and the neighborhood to determine the best price. After completing a CMA, the Realtor will be able to effectively articulate the home's list price to potential buyers and their agents. A Realtor will use their experience and expertise to come to a well thought out price. 

Why Autumn Is Prime Home Selling Season

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• Buyers are still around: A serious home buyer is looking online at homes around the clock and when they find the right one, they take action no matter what time of year it is. Contrary to popular belief, buyers looking at homes in fall/winter may be even more motivated than those looking in the spring or summer because there is less going on and they are more focused on the home search. 
• Less competition: Many people still think that real estate is too slow to list their home during these months so they wait until spring-which is great news for anyone listing their home now. There may be less inventory which means less competition for you! 

The bottom line is, there will be plenty of motivated buyers looking for the right home in a market where there is less inventory. This makes even this fall and winter a great time to sell!

Getting Ready To Sell: De-Cluttering The Kitchen

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When selling your home, it's important to get the kitchen clean, organized and ready to sell since many consider the kitchen to be the heart of the home.

• Clear the counters as best as you can. Put away appliances and only take them out to use them.
• Put rarely used pots, pans, and dishes in storage
• Clean out any "junk drawers"
• Create as much empty space as possible in drawers, cabinets, and the pantry
• If your pantry is crammed full, begin to use as much of it as you can. You don't want to be moving a lot of food when you leave and it will also help to create a clean space that will appeal to buyers
• Clear out as much as possible from underneath the sink. Move any extra cleaning supplies out and make sure that the sink is free from any leaks
• Give the kitchen a scrub down including the counters, sink, cabinets, floors, etc.

Getting A Mortgage After A Divorce

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• You may want to take your name or your ex's name off the mortgage: If you'd like to buy a home and your ex is living in the home you co-own, then your ex should try to refinance in his or her name. Doing this will decrease the debt in your name and increase your chances of getting a mortgage. What happens if your ex can't refinance in their name? If you want to see your ex and the kids stay in the home for awhile, then continue to stay on the mortgage and co-own the home with your ex. If you are going to continue to co-own, attempt to work out the details about how the profits are split once the home is sold. The split may not be 50/50 either, depending on if one spouse is making the majority of the mortgage payments and/or putting money into the home.
• Don't purchase a home during the divorce proceedings: It can be a challenge for a person paying alimony to buy a home. Lenders look at alimony like debt; for example, if a person makes $10,000 a month and gives $3,000 a month to their ex, lenders don't consider the person to be making $7,000 a month-instead they view it like a $3,000 car payment that is made every month.
• Where should you live during the divorce proceedings?: If you aren't selling the home right away and you are both looking for a place to rent, then there are two common situations. One option is to stay in the home with your soon to be ex; more and more couples are choosing this option since it saves both partners money. Another benefit besides saving money while living together is that if the relationship remains civil it greatly benefits the kids. Another option is to rent an apartment near the home while the divorce is being worked out. 
• Don't rush into anything: It can be tempting, but don't rush into buying another home after the divorce. Divorce is extremely stressful and can turn your world upside down, making it difficult to make a good decision. 

6 Money Saving Tips That Really Work

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1. Sort your groceries: After grocery shopping and before checking out, get a second cart and take out all of the items from your first cart that are things you just want, such as chips, ice cream, cookies, etc. Once you do this with your entire cart, add up how much the 'want' items cost and then make a decision; is it worth it? If you decide to part with your 'want' items, put that money you saved in a savings account or travel fund. This grocery shopping strategy can be very eye opening and can help you to make better decisions when shopping.
2. Photograph your receipts: Use the app ReceiptHog to submit pictures of your grocery and superstore receipts and to answer surveys in exchange for 'coins' which can be cashed in to Pay Pal for cash or Amazon gift cards. One user reported earning $80 in the first few months of using the app.
3. Slowly saving: Try the 52-Week Challenge; save $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on. At the end of the year you will have a total of $1,378. This is a great strategy for those who find saving money difficult because it is something that you can ease in to. 
4. From 8 wheels to 4: Selling your second car can save you an average of $675 a month by not having to pay car payments, car insurance, gas and other costs. This can be very doable for someone who commutes by train to work since they may be able to take a bus to the train station.
5. Stash your singles: Try putting all of your singles you come across in an envelope and save them there; consider putting $5 bills away too. You will be clearing out your wallet less often when saving $5 bills versus $1 bills since only 7% of the bills printed by the U.S. Treasury are $5 bills and 29% are $1 bills.
6. Name your account: Try naming your savings account online which will remind you what your are saving for in the first place. For example, if you are saving to help your son buy a car for his 16th birthday, name the savings account "Happy Sweet 16" to serve as a reminder about saving and to motivate you to stay on track.

Little Tips To Make Life Easier

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• Did your little Picasso use your dining room wall to create a work of art? WD-40 cleans most surfaces!
• Did you just paint a flower pot only to have water leaking from it? Put a coffee filter in it.
• Can't get a screw out? Use a wrench to turn your screwdriver.
• Having a hard time drilling into bathroom tile? Use masking tape to prevent the drill from slipping.
• Dirty shower head? Attach a bag filled with vinegar with a rubber band to the shower head, wait a couple of hours, remove the bag and scrub the head. 
• Tired of the dreaded task of cleaning the gutters? Try using gutter guards.
• Make the arrangement of a gallery wall easier but using paper templates before hanging the frames.
• To remove water stains from kitchen or bathroom fixtures, rub the fixtures with a halved lemon, cut side down.