Before Closing On A Home

by: Cecilia Sherrard

Final Walk Through

Do a final walk through as close to the Title Transfer as possible. Check appliances, test outlets with a radio or test device, turn on light switches, Check water faucets and toilets. Make sure any promised cleaning and repairs have been completed. Check that all items included in the purchase agreement are present.

Notify Services & Utilities

Don’t forget to contact services such as: post office, insurance, movers, telephone, utilities, newspaper, etc. a few weeks prior to you moving out to “change over” billing/mailing addresses. You can contact me for a list of local numbers.

Closing Costs

You will have to have your closing cost “monies” deposited in escrow before you can close. Don’t bring in a personal check to pay. Money should be in the form of a certified check or a money wire transfer. Check with your escrow officer.

Don’t Jeopardize Your Loan

Taking out another loan, buying a car, or making large credit card charges before you close can jeopardize your loan commitment. Lenders run a second credit check prior to closing to check for new charges.

Arrange for Mover

Get a couple of written estimates from movers on the services they provide for the costs of your move. Get quotes and contacts a few weeks before close.

Buyers Remorse

It’s common for buyers to feel stressed or remorseful during and after the purchase of a home. Educating yourself about the buying process will help minimize “buyers remorse”. You will probably forget it soon after you move into your new home.

Time to Close

Closing at the beginning of a month, the lender will require you to “prepay” the interest on your loan from the day of closing to the end of the month. Therefore the cash you need to close will be more than if you close at the end of the month. Talk with your lender about this. If purchasing a multi-family home, rents will be prorated.

About The Author

Copyright 2006 Cecilia Sherrard.

Cecilia Sherrard is a top producing REALTOR with Realty One Real Living Cleveland Ohio. She has helped many buyers and sellers relocate and find their perfect home. You can find many useful tips and information on her site http://www.youshouldown.com

Inexpensive Tips To Increase Value Of Your Home

by: Sarah Miller

Did you know that you could drastically increase the value of your home without having to invest heavily in having your home remodeled or refitted? Yes, it’s possible! And you won’t even have to spend as much just to make it happen!

If you are selling your home, getting a good value for it could prove troublesome. But before you throw in the towel and sell your home for a price way below your expectations, you could try doing some inexpensive renovations to increase your home’s value up to 20%. That’s not a bad figure, is it?

Here is a brief walkthrough of the steps you can undertake to make your home worth much more that it is today.

The Kitchen: Bigger is Better

The kitchen is one of the critical areas to address in your efforts to increase your home’s worth. Homebuyers are looking for spacious kitchens that are clean, in good repair and have the necessary furnishings for working.

To make the kitchen look more spacious, try installing lights that will make it look brighter. You could also redo the windows to remove clutter and make it spill in more light. This will have the effect of making the kitchen look bigger. Make sure the floorings and the table tops are in good repair. If it is not beyond your budget you could even replace the current flooring with stone or tile, which is a lot better than linoleum that cracks and tears.

Keep the kitchen in good repair. It doesn’t cost much to have scratches and bumps fixed. If you have busted fixtures or electrical outlets, have them repaired with good materials.

A paint job will do wonders not just for your kitchen but for the whole home. So consider adding a good layer of paint on your home.

The Yard

Simple gardening would do much to make your home more appealing. Keeping the yard in order, and tending to the garden would result more in a yard that would most likely attract buyers.

To stress the significance of a good yard, mature trees will typically add about $1000 to the value of your home. So imagine the impact of a well-tended garden to the value of your home!

The Living Room

Like the kitchen, living rooms must give the impression of space. Some people do so by installing mirrors. However, this technique is also suited to the bedroom. The little repairs like light bulbs and electrical outlets.

Make sure the living room is airy, a coating of light colored paint, installation of good lamps, and a general cleanliness of the living room will contribute much to this effect.

Bedroom

Like the other rooms, the bedroom has to be particularly spacious, airy and bright. Mirrors are particularly effective at accomplishing this effect. Most five-star hotels have to project an impression of space, and they employ this technique to its full effect.

Make sure the rooms have a sufficient number of electrical outlets. The flexibility this offers will add much to the value of your home.

If you plan to install new surfaces, you might also want to consider using natural materials such as stone, marble, quality wood, and others. Studies have shown that many people react favorably to these materials. They also add a feeling of cleanliness to the rooms.

Make the cabinets and closets as large as possible without making the rooms they are in look cramped, you may have to employ a few illusionary tricks here but the results are astounding.

Bathrooms

Use fluorescent lighting instead of incandescent lighting to provide your bathrooms with a light feel. Installing inexpensive amenities to your bathroom like towel holders, racks, shower curtains, shower fixtures and other will enhance the appearance and appeal of your home.

You can mix, match and experiment with the tips given here. The principle of the whole is that you should make your home look spacious, airy, and light. You should also make sure your home looks different from the other homes in your neighborhood. If you can one up their amenities, then well and good! There are other tricks and illusions you could employ that do not have to be expensive at all! So go ahead give your home a good look and start increasing its value today!

About The Author

The above article was written by Sarah Miller on behalf of http://www.quotecity.com, a buzzing online homeowner and contractor community which allows homeowners to find the right contractor for their home improvement projects! Also check out the QuoteCity Blog for more related home improvement articles and resources at http://www.quotecity.com/articles