Timing Is Everything: When And How To Move
In the next few months making a move can become increasingly more complicated say industry experts.
"June to September is really known as the high season for the moving industry," says John Bisney, Director of Public Relations for the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA).
It’s a popular time because kids are out of school and people are trying to get the move done before the children have to return to class.
"So if you can avoid moving during June to September you’re probably going to get better service and have more options," Bisney.
However, Bisney says, "If you do have to move between June to September, then it’s better to move in the middle of the month and the middle of the week as opposed to doing it at the end of the month when everybody wants to do it."
AMSA certifies movers and holds them accountable to higher standards and a code of ethics. The association says most people don’t take moving very seriously and they assume that everything will go alright. But Bisney says careful consideration is a must when moving.
"Because people don’t move that many times, maybe it’s their first move, or maybe it’s been a few years since their last move, they will treat it as a less important decision than it needs to be given the fact that [movers] are going to have custody, at least temporarily, of all their belongings," says Bisney.
So, if you’re gearing up for the big move, AMSA has some advice to simplify and ensure a smooth process. I spoke with Bisney about the top five consumer moving tips.
The most important thing to do is to start with a good foundation. Just like the purchase or sale of your home should involve experts who have your best interest in mind, hiring movers also requires thorough investigation of all your options.
"It really comes down to do a little bit of your own homework to make sure you’re getting the best deal and that you’re dealing with the right people," says Bisney.
Start by calling a few service companies. Bisney says consumers should be wary of over-the-phone and Internet estimates. "Get three written in-home estimates and when you do that, make sure you show the mover everything including anything in the attic, the basement, the garage, storage areas, etc. Typically two of the three estimates will be pretty close in price, in weight, and in service," explains Bisney. He adds, "We say to avoid movers who have unusually high or low bids; that might be a red flag."
Another important tip is to be cautious of any carriers or movers that are asking for a big down payment to either hold a date or reserve service. It’s not that a down payment is uncommon in the industry rather it is how much money is being requested that could be a warning that something isn’t right. "There’s nothing wrong with asking for a reasonable small down payment just in case you cancel on them last minute. But it should not be hundreds of dollars," says Bisney.
"The moving business can be a very complex business and it has its own jargon," says Bisney. That’s why making sure you ask plenty of questions. Don’t leave things to chance. If you feel the moving company isn’t being straight-forward with you then consider another option. Get all the details and information up front because you never know when you’ll need to reach the company and the driver.
Make sure the movers have your cell number because you might be in transit too. It’s good to have the drivers full name, and truck number that way you can call the company if something changes with your plans.
Take your valuables with you. Cash, important papers, jewelry, medications–anything that you really would never want anything to happen to should be taken with you or sent ahead with a traceable service carrier.
Where you are moving to also affects what you need to know. AMSA says if you’re moving from one state to another be sure to get and read the required Inter-state shipment booklets/documents. Inter-state shipments are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Administration which has more regulations than for an Intra-state move.
Finally, know who you’re dealing with and be sure you have investigated the company’s reputation. This can be the most challenging thing to do for consumers who are frequently in a hurry and often leave moving details to the last minute.
A good way to find out more about a company is to go through associations such as AMSA. "We set certain standards and by being a member of our association, they have agreed to abide by them," says Bisney. While policing the entire 3,700 members isn’t possible, Bisney says the association does its best to keep track of how its members are conducting business.
"We offer a certified moving consultant credential that means that you adhere to certain ethical conduct and that you represent fundamental competency in terms of moving household goods," explains Bisney.
Movers go through an application process, pass a certification exam, sign a code of conduct, pay annual dues to the association, and are required to participate in an annual re-certification process to keep their certification status.
Making a move doesn’t have to be a headache if you take some time to plan ahead. So while you’re home is sitting on the market, don’t fret about when it’s going to sell, instead do your due diligence and get ready for the big move.
Written by Phoebe Chongchua
First Time Buyers’ Dos And Don’ts
If you are a first time home buyer, you have a lot to learn.
Working from a blank slate you must build an understanding of the housing market, determine what you can afford, land a loan and hone in on a home that’s a good fit for your lifestyle.
The transaction will likely become your largest asset ever so there’s little room for error.
It is a daunting task, but you can ease your concerns if you take the process step-by-step, watching your footing as you move along the path toward the American Dream.
Below is a list of "Dos and Don’ts" to help first timers turn that stress into the self-confidence you’ll need to move closer to your first home.
The list focuses on areas first-timers typically stumble over in their initial home buying attempt. Knowing what you could face will help you avoid some of those trip ups.
The Dos:
DO examine your credit standing. You need to know your credit standing. You may need to request corrections if there are errors. You may need to adjust your habits if your credit behavior is less than sterling. And you need to take those steps before seeking a loan. Your credit report is free from AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally regulated place to go. You can stagger retrieval of your credit report from each of the big three credit bureaus, getting one from a different agency every four months. Your report is free, but you may have to pay a nominal fee for your credit score (a numerical scoring of your creditworthiness) depending upon your state law and other factors.
DO explore a mortgage pre-approval or commitment. An early green light on a loan will put you in a good negotiation position when you find your dream home. It will also help you shop within your budget.
DO line up a dream team of professionals. You may need a real estate agent, attorney, mortgage broker, home inspector and others to be your professional eyes during your home search.
DO buy for your lifestyle. Your first home may not be your last, so try to anticipate how long you’ll live in your home and buy based on plans for the duration. Raising kids, starting a business, taking on a new job, housing Grandma could all impact the size or type of home you need first.
DO heed housing priorities. Separate your "wants" from your "needs" so you know where you can compromise to stay on budget.
The Don’ts:
DON’T get taken by the first house or neighborhood you see. Keep an open mind and spend sufficient time finding the right fit in a house and neighborhood for your needs.
DON’T buy more than you can afford. Lenders will often loan you as much as your financial condition warrants, but that may not be what you can comfortably afford. It’s better to live with a comfortable mortgage on a smaller home than to struggle every month paying a mortgage on a house with more room than you really need. The down payment, closing costs, monthly expenses and taxes must in total all be within your income and savings range.
DON’T treat your home like a stock portfolio. Homes appreciate and depreciate in cycles which often aren’t so predictable. Don’t expect your home’s value to skyrocket. Buy a home because you need a roof over your head, not for a quick profit.
DON’T try to time the market. Pinpointing the bottom of the market almost always happens after the market has started to turn up. How, otherwise, can you see the bottom? Focus on personal lifestyle needs, not market trends, in terms of timing your home buy.
DON’T sign for a confusing mortgage. Shop around for the best loan, read every detail of your loan contract and get some help understanding terms and provisions that confuse you. Avoid exotic, "creative financing," multi-option loans you don’t understand. Again, lifestyle is key. Get a loan that fits.
Written by Broderick Perkins
Tax Rebate Uses For Buyers
What should a smart home buyer do with that fat federal tax rebate check?
Well, it’s not that fat, but it could come in handy for buyers before, during and after the home buying transaction.
The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 includes, among other provisions, tax rebates, bureaucratically dubbed "economic stimulus payments."
Starting in May, the U.S. Treasury Department will begin sending rebates to taxpayers, who had $3,000 of income and filed a 2007 tax return and have a valid Social Security number. Eligible taxpayers will receive up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples). Parents will receive an additional $300 for each eligible child younger than 17.
If you are a retiree, disabled veteran or low-wage worker who is otherwise exempt from filing a tax return, you must file a tax return this year in order to receive a rebate.
The rebate — both the basic component and the additional funds for qualifying children — begins to phase out for individuals with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) over $75,000 and married couples who file a joint return with AGI over $150,000. The combined payment is reduced by 5 percent of the income above the AGI thresholds.
You can estimate what your tax rebate take might be with the Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator online.
And here are a few things you ought to consider doing with that unexpected windfall, if you are a home buyer — before, during and after your home purchase.
Save it. If you don’t have that three to six months-worth-of-income emergency savings fund, now’s a good time to begin. Stuff happens around the home when you least expect it. And you’ll need some pocket money for incidentals during your home purchase. Look for a savings account that offers the best return. Online bankers generally offer the best interest rates, but shop around for other liquid savings, checking or investment accounts you can start up for the amount of your rebate.
Rent a safe deposit box. After you buy a home, you’ll need somewhere to securely stash all those important documents including your mortgage note, title and escrow papers, insurance policies, home improvement contracts, tax returns and estate documents. In many cases, the rebate will give you enough cash to rent a safe deposit box for decades. The boxes cost from $10 to $100 a year, plus a key deposit. If you sock the cash in an interest-bearing account and let the bank automatically withdraw the fee each year — or do it yourself manually — you’ll earn a small return in the process.
Buy a home inspection. Even if the seller offers his or her own inspection you want your eyes on the prize as well. Home inspections are good deal for resale, as-is (so that you know what "as-is" is) listings and new home purchases as well, given the possibility of new home defects. If your inspection costs only a few hundred dollars and you get a rebate for $600 or more you can save a portion of the rebate for an inspection years down the road, say when you want to check the condition of your home, put it on the market, or to inspect the next home you buy.
Buy enough homeowners insurance. For small homes, condos and townhomes the largest rebates available will cover many policies for a year. That doesn’t mean only buy what your rebate can afford. Make sure you buy enough replacement value coverage. If you work at home, use the rebate to buy extra business coverage as well as special liability coverage for your business.
Complete deferred "green" maintenance. Caulk the windows and doors. Add insulation. Have your furnace or HVAC (heating-ventilation-air conditioning) system inspected and cleaned. Swap out incandescent bulbs for CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) and otherwise make your home more energy efficient and you’ll get your money back from savings on utility costs.
Splurge, but shop around. The real purpose of the tax rebate is to get you to spend money on stuff in the retail sector that will help kick-start the economy. If, after buying a home, you have you financial basics covered, shop around for the best deals at the lowest cost on goods and services for your home. For example, for around $1,000 Consumer Reports found Panasonic, Samsung and Sony offering the best 32 inch LCD TVs and LG, Samsung and Hitachi offering the best 42 inch plasma models. The key is to get the most "stuff" for your money.
Buy quality services. Consumer Checkbook, for a subscription fee of $34 for two years, will give you ratings on good service workers. The independent rating service is affiliated with and somewhat like Consumer Reports, except it rates services rather than goods in seven metropolitan areas. There are other local consumer service groups and so-called rating services but none of them offer the scrutiny provided by Consumer Checkbook. Among services to consider before and after moving into your new home, Checkbook offers ratings on appliance repair, carpet & rug cleaners, fence builders, home security firms, house cleaning services, plumbers, roofers, tree care specialists, window washers and a lot more.
Written by Broderick Perkins
Winterize Against Pesky Intruders
Here’s another reason to plug holes, stop gaps and otherwise winterize your home. Pests that get in can be just as expensive as heat that gets out.
The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) says the last thing you want in your home for the holidays are the kind of unwanted guests that can turn out to be real creeps.
Roaches can trigger asthma. Mice can gnaw through electrical wires and insulation. So can rats. All three will get into your pantry.
Yeech.
Unfortunately, just as you want to stay inside where the warmth is delightful, so do vermin and they can be quite frightful.
“Pests adapt to the changing environment and seek refuge indoors during the colder months,” says Cindy Mannes, spokeswoman for the association.
“During the winter, rodents such as house mice become one of the most common invaders and can cause serious property damage in and around the home,” she added.
Mice can squeeze through spaces as small as a nickel.
NPMA experts offer these tips for winter pest proofing:
Written by Broderick Perkins
Stone is a Growing Trend for Home Décor
It’s as old as time, but as popular as ever. Stone is rapidly making its way into homes as perhaps one of the fastest growing decorating trends. The European Old World look brings with it not only a luxurious style but also an ease and comfort that gives a home personality.
Homeowners are leaving behind the once-preferred 70’s looks of wall-to-wall carpeting throughout the house, linoleum kitchen floors and vinyl tiles in the bathroom, and instead choosing natural stone, Versailles patterns, travertine, and limestone, with honed-matte finished surfaces. For countertops, homeowners are using two tones, finishing their kitchen island in maybe limestone and the surrounding kitchen countertops in granite materials for a unique style.
At one time granite and marble were only seen in office buildings, while rustic style stone only was used in vacation homes.
“People are trying to personalize their homes more than they did before. Before you used to go through the house and you’d do everything pretty much the same overall. Now people are bringing in different types of materials like glass tile, mosaics, different designs, different sizes, textures, into the same room. They tend to want to give each room more personality by adding different types of products,” said Giovanna Gomes, President of Stones Unlimited on Miramar Road.
What is completely losing a place in homes is the white tile countertops that was the staple in every home for decades. “White tile used to be typical when building or remodeling a house. Now we’re seeing all white ceramic tile is being replaced with solid surface countertops such as granite which has no grout lines and is easier to care for,” said Lilliana Bosforo, Director of Fabrication for Stones Unlimited.
There are many different choices, sizes, textures and styles of stone. Pricing varies depending on the type selected. Some very expensive flooring is even brought back from old chateaus and farmhouses in Europe that are scheduled for demolition. The 100 to 200-year-old stone material is brought to the US for cleaning, sanitizing, sizing and cataloging.
The chic look and durability of stone makes it appealing to homeowners. But experts caution that before it’s put in homeowners should understand the maintenance required and the issues that may come up. One of the most common problems is stains. Because stone is very porous, if you spill things on it, the stone can easily absorb the liquid. However, proper care such as sealing the stone can alleviate this problem.
Gomes also said that you should consider how much foot traffic you have in various areas of your home before putting in stone floors. “Honed surfaces are usually the best because they’re matte finishes so they don’t wear like a polished material would. A polished marble will scratch and if you drop something acidic it’ll etch which means the polish will be removed in that particular area. So there are more maintenance issues with polished surfaces,” said Gomes.
However, honed surfaces show less wear pattern. Gomes said you can also be more aggressive with your cleaning, “It’ll always look beautiful.”
For countertops Bosforo recommends granite because it is dense and easy to maintain. “You’re going to have your least amount of problems with a granite over marbles or limestone which some people do put those in their kitchens, but we let them know that there will be more maintenance with a marble or a limestone and, of course, you’d want to do it honed,” Bosforo said.
Another reason granite is recommended over marble or limestone is because acids in some foods can etch the stone and cause it to leave marks or rings on the materials.
When deciding which stone to choose, keep in mind these handy tips from Stones Unlimited:
1. Granite is most suitable for kitchens and bar counters because it is the most dense. It also resists hot and cold. Acidic foods will not etch the polish.
2. Marble is not as dense as granite but is more so than travertine. Marble works well for bathroom flooring, on back splashes and fireplaces.
3. Travertine is not as dense as marble but is more so than limestone.
4. Limestone is the softest and most porous of the stones. It requires more frequent sealing.
5. Slate is an excellent choice for outdoors or indoors.
Written by Phoebe Chongchua
No More Dark Rooms: How You Can See the Light
There are times when most of us have walked through a home and thought, “this would be a great room if only it had more light.” Leaving the dark side behind doesn’t mean you have to have a window that lets you see the light. There are plenty of times when a window to the outside either isn’t possible or would still not reveal enough daylight. That’s where Solatube International can literally shed some light.
“It really looks like a light fixture, only it’s sunlight,” says Cynthia Sener, Director of Marketing for Solatube International.
But don’t confuse these devices with the more massive skylights. Instead, these dome-shaped products that sit atop homes direct light to specific areas inside.
Basically domes on the roof transfer light through highly-reflective tubing into various selected rooms creating diffused lighting.
These Tubular Daylighting Devices (TDDs) are gaining in popularity because of the ability to effectively capture even low-angle light and transfer it inside a room.
“It’ll even capture moonlight. That’s actually one of my favorite things about it is that you can put it in your bathroom and you always have a nightlight,” says Sener.
If it’s daytime and you want to turn down the lights, it’s just as easy as turning off an electric light. Using a Daylight Dimmer switch, homeowners can dim out the light. This comes in handy especially when homeowners place this type of lighting in major entertainment areas such as family rooms where people might want to watch TV or movies during the day.
Where are the best places to put these devices? Any room that you would want to let the light shine in. Sener tells me the most popular rooms are bathrooms, especially ones that may not have a window. Showers, laundry rooms, closet, and workrooms are also popular areas for these devices.
“Take a hallway, for instance; suddenly you can add art to the wall because now you can really see the art versus having to add a lot of lighting there,” says Sener.
The company works to creatively bring light to any area. The product can bring light into a room through tubes that even have to turn sharp angles.
Sener says that the company recently installed TDDs in two areas for a client. However, the client had solar panels all over his roof making it hard to find a spot to put the systems in place.
“So we had to go quite a distance across for one of these two rooms; he put one in the bathroom and then in the hall immediately outside. Well, the bathroom was easy because we could get to the roof and angle it down through his attic space and then drop it into the bathroom. But the hallway was tricky because it was right underneath all these solar panels. We actually went about 10 feet over to where the area had light again — it wasn’t in the shade from the solar panels. We took that tube and two 90-degree and a 45-degree angles and it literally just shot down his hallway through his attic space and then dropped down and I’ll tell you, you could not see the difference between the bathroom and his hallway and they were right next to each other; only the distance of the tubing was significantly different.”
Sener says the TDD is engineered for the homeowner’s peace of mind about a common concern. The domes don’t leak because of their unique design. “We have a seamless flashing which allows it to have weep holes and such that takes that water right down the roof like you would any other rain; it wouldn’t come into the diffuser or the product itself,” says Sener.
So if you’re tired of being in the dark, maybe it’s time to go tubular and let the light shine in. For more information visit solatube.com.
Written by Phoebe Chongchua
