How To Shop For A Home The Smart Way

When shopping for a home, there are quite a few things that can snatch your attention. When you look at a home, it’s very easy to fall immediately in love with it. New homes are clean, decorated perfectly, and many are what you pictured in your dreams. If you don’t shop the smart way though, you’ll end up like many other home owners and find faults shortly after you move in.

When you look at your potentially new home, you’ll want to check and see if you can fit your furniture in the way you want. A lot of homes these days are configured so that the furniture will only fit in one position. Often times, this leaves a television or other device in a weird location, sometimes making your furniture nearly impossible to fit through the doors. This is surely something to bear in mind, as you certainly don’t want to have to buy entirely new furniture.

You’ll also want to be sure that you get the right home for yourself and your family. Even though you may be a young couple now, you may want to get a house with enough room in case you decide to have kids later on down the road. If you don’t get a big enough house and end up having to move, you’ll find that moving with kids is a hard task indeed. If you have babies when you move, you’ll find moving to be even more difficult.

Once your children start to leave home, you may want to look into getting a smaller house. The choice is entirely up to you, and what will work the best for your needs. Anytime you purchase a house though, you’ll want to think about the size of your new home and consider the future needs of your family as well. This way, you’ll have everything covered for years to come and won’t have to look into getting a new home.

You may also want to look at any extras as well. Things like a pool and a hot tub may be a great thing to have, although you should look into the money that regular maintenance will cost you as well. There are a lot of things that may be great to have along with your home, although you should always look at long term costs before you purchase.

Location is also something you’ll need to consider as well. Some prefer to live out in the country, while others prefer the city life. Some prefer to be close to stores and such, while others prefer to be miles and miles away. The location of a home is very important, and in most cases will have a big impact on the price. Living in the city will cost quite a bit of money, although a home out in the country can cost just as much if there is a lot of land included with the property.

Whenever you decide to buy a house, there is a lot of things that you’ll need to consider. Buying a home is no easy feat, with a lot of things you’ll need to decide on. If you give yourself enough time and plan out your budget and the type of home you want, you’ll have plenty of time to make that very important decision. You never want to rush the process, as you could end up with a home that is less than perfect. If you take your time and look at several different houses, you’ll end up in your dream home before you know it. For a buyer’s guide go to: Buying A Home Guide

Home Maintenance Projects-Summer

The wear and tear our homes go through on a yearly basis is enormous. Roofs are aging, as are heating and electrical systems. Plumbing problems may have been accumulating without you even suspecting it. Painting jobs have faded and mold may have been accumulating on roofs and on siding, especially in more of the humid areas.

The thing that's crucial is to take some time to list all the areas that need to be maintained and the little cleaning jobs or sprucing up that is needed to make your home a smooth-running place of refuge and relaxation. It's time to take a look around your house--the attic, the kitchen and bath, the ceilings and walls, and the fireplaces.

Maintenance should start with the major systems and the homeowner can do much of this.

•Check the filters and aerators on all faucets to make sure they're not clogged with deposits.

•Clean them out or replace them.

•Check and replace leaky faucets and lose washers.

•Check and/or replace the filters on the furnace and close the flue of the fireplace.

•Replace filters on the window units of air conditioners.

•Vacuum the intake units in the ceilings to clean them and vacuum the fronts of window fans and the blades and motors of ceiling fans to make them run more efficiently. •Check the filter in the vent-a-hood of the stove and replace or clean it, because it can be dangerous if left with accumulated soot and grease.

Just changing filters, faucet fittings and aerators will mean fewer problems with these items down the road.

Now to a really grungy job that nobody likes — thoroughly cleaning the refrigerator. Pull it out and vacuum the back carefully and thoroughly. The heat generated by the motor can really put a strain on this appliance if it's not cleaned thoroughly and it will run less efficiently.

Pull out and clean the drain pan. It will probably make you gag to see how absolutely filthy it has gotten. Once you’ve done this, bite the bullet and clean out the entire inside of the refrigerator completely with baking soda and water. Place the opened box of baking soda at the back and replace all the food.

It's amazing how the life of any appliance can be vastly prolonged with some cleaning and vacuuming. Do the same with all filters for all appliances in the home.

Next, check pipes and wiring. Any leaky pipes should be noted and if you're handy with a wrench and know how, tightening it may do the trick. If not, at least note which pipes are leaky and call a plumber later to see about them. Much of the wiring that can be seen is in the attic or basement. The rest is behind walls or under insulation.

If you see frayed wires take note of the location and label for later attention. While in the attic look carefully at the mortar in the chimney; where it's chalking and caked scrape away and re-mortar. It's not difficult and any good small hardware store clerk should be able to show you what to buy and tips on how to do this.

Look at all the places that pipes enter the attic and the area around the chimneys and flues. See if there is any daylight coming through at all and make a note. While at the hardware store, get some proper caulk to seal these leaks or openings in addition to working on the chimney.

Don't wait and forget about home maintenance projects. It may take a month to get all these things done, but once completed, you’ll know that some crucial issues in your home have been taken care of and your home will be in shape until the winter months creep up.