The paper said “Cute Starter Home — Needs a Little TLC”.                                                                            

So, what does a little TLC mean? Usually this means the home needs work, many times a lot of work. Unless your a do-it-yourselfer, you might want to steer clear of these homes; however, if your handy and up for the challenge you might save a lot of money on a home like this.

It is absolutely imperative that you get, in writing, a list of all of the defects the seller knows about. Give this list to the home inspection service you use so they can verify and add to it.  Most home inspection services will tell you what’s wrong, how it can be fixed, and the severity. This isn’t part of the appraisal, it is a separate detail; a home inspection will ensure the overall health of the house that you are about to buy.  

If the problems found are minor, such as the carpet is worn or the house is in need of paint, most likely this will not cause the deal to fall threw. Many times it will just give the buyers more room to negotiate. Unless you’ve done this before, you may find a good agent is invaluable in negotiating for you.   If you want the house painted and the shower head fixed, and it’s in the contract, the seller must perform. If the roof needs repair and you want it fixed, spell it out in the contract. The appraisal may then stipulate that the value is based upon the roof being repaired. This may lead to your lender requiring these repairs are complete before you close, after all, you and the seller agreed upon this repair.

But what if the seller doesn’t agree, the home is “as is” or they want to wait until after the closing?  Let’s say you want new carpet throughout the house and while the seller agrees, he does not have the money to replace the carpet before the deal closes. The seller is also concerned should he replace the carpet the buyers may not qualify for the mortgage. Often at this stage a “seller concession” is made. Using the example above, instead of installing new carpet the seller agrees to a $3,000 carpeting allowance to be settled at closing. No new carpet, just $3,000 to the buyer to go and buy new carpet from the seller’s funds. Makes sense, right? Wrong, the lender will not allow the seller to hand over cash at closing. Paying $3,000 in buyer closing costs is fine, lowering the asking price by $3,000, or installing the new carpet before closing are all fine; however the buyer and seller cannot exchange cash; even if they had agreed to it in writing or in the sales contract. 

Buying a fixer-upper can be a rewarding experience: however, I would advise anyone who is thinking of buying a foreclosure or a home that needs a little “TLC” to hire a real estate agent who can help steer you in the right direction and help construct a sales contract that will cover these issues. If you are not serious and educate yourself about the process you may get burned.

Learn what features consumers are looking for in design and construction this year.

By Hannah Shipley, FrontDoor.com | Published: 7/20/2010

During a panel at the 2010 International Builders Show, Eliot Nusbaum, executive editor for home design for Better Homes and Gardens, explained that practicality and price are fueling decisions on how homes are designed and built.

Nusbaum says the homeowner of today is "looking for a home that fits the entire family — from a multi-tasking home office, to expanding storage space needs, to a living room that can adapt to advancements in home entertainment and technology."

A Smaller Home

Today’s consumers are buying homes with less square footage. Purchases of smaller homes are up 36 percent from last year.

But just because a home is small doesn’t mean homeowners are sacrificing precious living space. Open concept floor plans are the resounding trend in smaller homes, where higher ceilings and an easy flow maximize perceived living space and allow rooms to serve multiple purposes.

Energy Efficient Appliances

Saving energy and money go hand-in-hand when using Energy Star appliances in the home. These eco-friendly products use less electricity, thus helping to lower your utility bill

Efficient HVAC Systems

Today’s HVAC systems are far more efficient than those of a few years ago. Not only do they bring increased comfort and improved air quality to the home, but they also use less energy and help to lower utility costs.

An Efficient Design With Lots of Storage

Homebuyers are looking for ways to maximize space and make better use of a home’s square footage.

An efficient design, with an open floor plan and multi-functional rooms, is complemented by a lot of storage.

With more people buying small homes, unique and practical storage solutions allow homeowners to have enough space to stay organized.

More Natural Light

Going with the theme of eco-friendly living, homes that maximize natural lighting don’t require as much energy to stay well-lit inside.

Plus, by adding more windows (or just larger ones) to bring more natural light into your home, you’ll make your living space feel larger and get better outdoor views.

A Separate Laundry

Being able to keep the family’s personal items out of sight is a luxury many homeowners want in their home. No one wants to feel like the washer and dryer are in the middle of the cooking or entertaining area.

A home with a separate area for laundry, whether it’s a designated room or just a space away from the higher traffic hot spots, offers a world of convenience.

An Outdoor Living Area with Private Backyard

A well-constructed porch, deck or patio can do wonders for a home’s perceived square footage. Plus, with proper landscaping, the backyard can allow for outdoor fun and relaxation without feeling like the whole neighborhood is watching.

Eat-In, Partially Separated Kitchen

A designated spot for dining in close proximity to the kitchen is important to homeowners, as is a partially separated kitchen. Being able to maintain an easy flow of space while keeping the kitchen from overflowing into other parts of the home allows families to dine together with ease, but it keeps the hustle and bustle of a kitchen from taking over the rest of the house.

Guest Bedroom and Bath

You want your overnight guests to enjoy their visit. You don’t want them feeling like they’re taking over an office or living room by sleeping on a foldaway couch.

A guest bedroom with additional bath may seem like an extravagance, but the extra living space adds value while also offering guests a private area where they can feel more at home.

A Comfortable Family Gathering Space

Think of a family room as a combination of a formal living room and a den — a place where the family can gather together for fun and relaxation. With family time a priority, many homeowners are coming up with new and inventive ways to customize a designated space to share with their loved ones.

A Home That Multi-Tasks

Today’s home office is more than just a desk and some shelves. Homeowners want a designated, functional space that allows them to work away from the rest of the family and not have to run back and forth throughout the home to get things they need. They are integrating features for productivity and convenience, such as a media system with TV, Internet and phone service, and refrigerator and freezer drawers for enjoying drinks and snacks without leaving the room.

Improved Home Electronics

Today, technology can integrate all sorts of home systems, allowing devices to "talk" to each other and share information. Home entertainment systems can be designed to stream content from your TV, Internet or DVDs. Smart phones can be connected to your alarm system, security cameras and lights so you can access and activate them when you’re not at home. Plus, energy dashboards let you monitor the energy you use and how much it costs.

Large Three-Car Garage

The garage has come a long way from being the place where you park your car. A large garage is a necessity for homeowners with multiple recreational vehicles, like motorcycles or boats. Other people will section off part of the garage and use it for storage, as a workout/gym area or as specialized work space, like an artist studio or workshop

A Low-Maintenance Exterior

Homeowners don’t want to spend time and money continually repairing siding, re-sealing the deck or dealing with other home exterior hassles. They want healthy landscaping and a beautiful home without having to keep up with all the maintenance.

Thanks to more durable building materials, like vinyl, cement fiber siding and composite woods, exterior upkeep is much easier. Plus, low-maintenance landscaping requires less water and less time for weeding, mowing or pruning.

If you’re shopping for a home, you may be considering new homes, short sales and foreclosures. The best deals will depend on your local market — and how much patience you have.

By Amy Hoak of MarketWatch

The nation’s housing inventory is cluttered with foreclosures, short sales and homebuilders willing to make a deal. If you’re in the market to buy a home today, you’re likely weighing the benefits of each type of property available for purchase.

Don’t be fooled. Not all bank-owned foreclosures are sold at deep discounts. Not all builders are slashing prices. Short sales can be a crapshoot, with some buyers enduring months of waiting and still not getting the property.

All things considered, it’s possible that your best deal is purchasing a traditionally sold existing home, so don’t count those out of the running.

To get the most for your money, it’s important to understand the local market’s inventory; market dynamics will have a lot to do with how various types of homes are priced. Also, do some soul-searching to determine how much risk you’re willing to take and the amount of time and money you’re willing to invest in a home.

You won’t be alone: "Buyers are more educated these days. They’re coming to us with a good sense of what they’re looking for," said Diann Patton, real-estate agent with Coldwell Banker.

At the very least, go in knowing what you can afford and in what neighborhood you’d like to live, said Leonard Baron, a real-estate professor at San Diego State University. Since most properties find their way to local multiple listing services, shoppers also can decide what type of home they’ll buy after finding one that fits their needs, he said.

Bank-owned properties
Foreclosures reclaimed by the bank, often called bank-owned properties, are often sold at a discount. However, the size of the discount depends on the market you’re in.

A recent report from Zillow.com found that the typical discount for bank-owned properties, compared with a traditionally sold home, averaged 20% to 30%. According to separate data from RealtyTrac, an online marketplace of foreclosure properties, the average discount on bank-owned properties was 34% in the first quarter.

There is more than one reason why the selling price of a foreclosure is lower than a traditional home.

"The seller is typically a bank, and would like to move (the property) off the books as quickly as possible. A traditional seller is interested in getting a certain price and is willing to stay in the market," said Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist.

Also, the condition of the home can be an issue. A buyer who wasn’t able to make mortgage payments also probably wasn’t able to keep up with needed maintenance. One of the biggest mistakes homebuyers make when buying a foreclosure is underestimating how much it’s going to cost to repair it, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac.

Others agreed. "It usually costs a lot more than you think," Baron said. "You can add value to a property by rehabbing it, but probably not more than the cost you put into it."

For the lower price, buyers also need to accept that they’re most likely purchasing a home that has been sitting vacant, which comes with its own set of issues because small problems — a leak, for example — can become big ones if no one is there to notice them. These homes also may have limited seller disclosures, because the owner — the lender — hasn’t been living in the home and thus has less information to disclose.

Home inspections are generally recommended regardless of what type of property you’re buying, and they’re essential in the case of a bank-owned property.

Location matters, too, in the pricing of a bank-owned foreclosure. In places with the highest incidence of foreclosure, bank-owned properties garnered the smallest discounts, compared with traditionally sold existing homes, Humphries said. "The places that did not have very many foreclosures right now had large discounts," he said.

Another way to look at it: A homeowner aiming to sell his home in a market where a large percentage of sales are foreclosures will likely have to price it like a foreclosure just to be competitive.

Short sales
Patton said that in her California market, short sales offer some of the best deals. A short sale is when the seller owes more on the mortgage than the home is worth, and the lender agrees to accept less for the property to make a sale.

But even if you save money on a short sale, you could pay in other ways, she said.

Although lenders and government programs are trying to speed up the process required to complete a short sale, a buyer could still wait months just to find out he or she failed to get the home, Patton said. The home is discounted partly because of the uncertainty that the buyer experiences, she said.

"You need to understand there’s a reason why they’re less money — you have to play the game," she said. "You have to be patient."

The market generally discounts short sales by 5% to 8%, compared with traditional sales, said Travis Hamel Olsen, chief operating officer of Loan Resolution Corp., a national pre-foreclosure asset manager.

New homes
In many markets, the supply of new-home inventory is dwindling. That has caused pricing in the new-home market to stabilize, said Ken Lee, product analyst for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, the research arm of media company Hanley Wood.

That is, fewer bargains may be available for new-home buyers.

"There is less flexibility on the builders’ side to negotiate prices," Lee said. Plus, with supply more in control, "there’s not as much urgency to drop prices to move the homes that are currently sitting on the market."

Buyers typically pay a 20% premium for a new home, compared with a traditional (nondistressed) existing home, but that also varies by location, Lee said. In his area of Philadelphia, a new home might cost $300,000, where a similar existing home would sell in the mid $200,000s, he said.

That isn’t to say builders won’t find other ways to make a deal. They’re still willing to throw in incentives, like finished basements, as a way to sell a home, Lee said. But if you’re looking to get the lowest price on a home, this might not be the best route.

And if there are distressed sales in new communities you’re considering, proceed with caution.

"A lot of foreclosures in the area will drive down the prices of nonforeclosure homes," Humphries said, and that can extend to new-home inventory. It’s not impossible to find foreclosures and vacant properties in communities that aren’t even finished yet, he said.

Some fun facts about Minnesota!                                                                            

Capital City: St. Paul

Nickname: North Star State / Gopher State / Bread and Butter State

Motto:  L’Etoile du Nord (The star of the north.)

Statehood: May 11, 1858 (32th)

Origin of State’s Name: Based on the Dakota Sioux Indian word for “sky-tinted water,” referring to the Minnesota River or the state’s many lakes.

Largest Cities: Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Bloomington, Duluth, Rochester

Border States: Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Land Area: 79,617 sq. mi., 14th largest

State Bird: Common Loon ~ Dating back 60 million years, the common loon is one of the earth’s oldest living bird species. Its name comes from a Norwegian word that means “wild, sad cry.” Approximately 12,000 make their homes in Minnesota. Loons are large black and white birds with long black bills. Clumsy on land, they are excellent divers, underwater swimmers, and high-speed flyers.

State Fish: Walleye ~ A favorite fishing catch, inhabit waters in all parts of the state, but mainly the large, cool lakes in northern Minnesota. Their eyes are sensitive to light, so they go to deep dark waters during the day and move to shallow lake areas at night. The record walleye in Minnesota weighed 17 pounds 8 ounces. 

State Flower: Pink and white lady’s-slipper ~ The pink and white lady slipper is one of Minnesota’s rarest wildflowers. Thriving in swamps, bogs, and damp woods, they grow slowly, taking 4 to 16 years to produce their first flower. Sometimes they live for 50 years and grow four feet tall. They bloom in late June or early July. It is illegal to pick the lady slipper. 

State Tree: Red Pine or Norway Pine ~ The Norway pine, also called the red pine because of its reddish brown bark, stands 60 to 100 feet tall, with a trunk 3 - 5 feet wide. Its needles are 4 - 6 inches long and grow in pairs. The tallest Norway pine in Minnesota is in Itasca State Park. It is over 300 years old and stands 120 feet high. 

State Song: Hail! Minnesota

State Grain: Wild Rice ~ Wild rice grows naturally in the shallow waters of lakes in central and northern Minnesota. For many years, all the wild rice produced in the world came from Minnesota. It is harvested from lakes in the traditional Anishinabe Indian way, from canoes. It is also planted as a farm crop. 

State Muffin: Blueberry ~ Wild blueberries are native to northeastern Minnesota, growing in bogs, on hillsides, and in cut over forested areas.

State Mushroom: Morel ~ A spongy-topped mushroom that pops up in fields and forests in spring time, are considered a rare delicacy by mushroom hunters. 

State Gemstone: Lake Superior Agate ~ These unusually beautiful quartz stones are banded with rich red and orange colors derived from iron ore in the soil. Found in northeastern and north central Minnesota, they are often polished to make jewelry. 

State Drink: Milk ~ Minnesota produces about 10 billion pounds of milk a year and ranks fifth in dairy production among the states. 

The “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” Minnesota got its nickname because there are more than 12,000 lakes throughout the state. Its name comes from the Dakota (Sioux) word for the Minnesota River’s “sky-tinted waters.” The Minnesota Territory was formed in 1849 from what had been part of the Northwest Territory, and Minnesota joined the Union in 1858. The state flower is the pink and white lady’s slipper, and the capital is St. Paul.

Located just southwest of the “Twin Cities” of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Carver County is the least populated of the seven metro counties, but is the state’s fourth fastest growing county as well.  With the population expected to more than double by 2030.  It is geographically one of the metro area’s smallest counties, but takes great pride in being an upscale community with beautiful natural surroundings.  Our county offers the ideal combination of a picturesque setting and an attractive professional opportunity.                                 

Carver County is home to over 50 of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes, and 70,000 Minnesotans who fish, sail, and otherwise enjoy them. This suburban Minneapolis County has made physical fitness a major goal and is home to an array of recreational activities, including renowned golf courses, beautiful pristine lakes, and miles of hiking and biking trails with some of the most breathtaking parks. 

At gocarvergo.org, you can figure out where to head for swimming, running, and biking, and even plan out a hike using an extensive interactive map. For big-city pursuits, Carver is only a half-hour from the center of nearby Minneapolis.

Our rich history represents the culture, passion, and pride that have made our county what it is today.  These attributes come together to make Carver County the best place to live, work and play. No wonder our residents rank among the healthiest people in the nation. Add in top-notch schools and safe streets and you’ve got a place that’s tough to beat

If you’re in the market to purchase a home in Carver County, I can assist you with all your real estate needs and connect you with local services and professionals to assist with your transaction. Call me @ 614-418-1304 or email me at Tom@TomSchooley.com

Homebuyers should be prepared for extra costs and delays as cautious mortgage lenders order stricter reviews.

By Marcie Geffner of Bankrate.com

Homebuyers and sellers who expect an appraisal to sail through to closing without a hitch may be surprised to discover that home appraisals today can be problematic. The reasons for the change are complex, but there’s no question that mortgage lenders have started to demand more reviews and do-overs.

Rob Johnson, vice president of lending at San Diego Funding, a mortgage company in San Diego, attributes the increase in home appraisal reviews to lender-specific requirements imposed because of past problems with certain types of home loans. For example, a mortgage lender might demand more scrutiny of an appraisal if the borrower has a marginal credit score or high debt level relative to income or if the property was a foreclosure that was fixed up and flipped by an investor.

Appraisals may lag home prices
Home prices are also a factor. When prices are on the rise, perhaps because buyers have bid more in a multiple-offer situation, appraised values might still be lower. The reverse is also the case.

"Any time you have a market in transition, appraisals aren’t going to keep up because the appraisal is based on historical data," Johnson says.

Inadequate "comps" can present problems as well. ("Comps" are recent sales of nearby homes that are similar, or comparable, to the home that’s the subject of the appraisal.) The mortgage lender may deem the comps inadequate if the homes were too far away or were sold in such nontraditional circumstances as a short sale or foreclosure or if the sales occurred too long ago. If the comps aren’t sufficient, the lender may order a review or second home appraisal to verify that they were chosen correctly.

"If (the appraiser) can’t find three comps within that area and has to expand, that is where you start to get appraisal reviews or secondary appraisal requirements to make sure the appraisal was valid or that (the lender) was comfortable," Johnson says.

The term "second appraisal" generally refers to a new, start-from-scratch valuation. An appraisal review could be a "desk review," in which the appraisal gets a second look by an office-bound person, or a "field review," in which the appraisal is subject to another drive-by or in-person inspection of the property. A review is more common than a second appraisal.

New guidelines distance lenders from appraisers
Leslie Sellers, president of the Appraisal Institute in Chicago, says a lender might order a new home appraisal if the first one was based on factual errors or the appraiser wasn’t competent in the area.

Some second appraisals, he adds, result from a misunderstanding of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, guidelines that were meant to prevent undue pressure being placed on appraisers to inflate home valuations, but that may have caused some lenders to cut off communication with appraisers.

"The banks are thinking they can’t even talk to the appraiser," he says.

Sellers can offer comps to appraiser
An appraisal review can cost several hundred dollars while a second appraisal generally involves a second full fee, says Sara Schwarzentraub, owner of Inter-State Appraisal Service in San Diego. These costs usually are paid by the buyer.

"It’s commendable that the lenders are being cautious and having stricter criteria to protect themselves, because in the long term that protects everybody, but it does make it more costly," she says.

Home sellers can offer the appraiser information that might affect the appraiser’s opinion of the home’s value. This information is best handed over before the appraisal is prepared.

"If you know of a sale that’s similar to your house and it was a foreclosure, short sale, divorce or anything of that nature, make the appraiser aware of that," Sellers says.

Real-estate brokers can help buyers and sellers find comps to offer the appraiser, Johnson says. If the broker believes comps may present a problem, the buyer and seller can plan accordingly.

"A good real-estate agent is aware of these issues. Many times, an agent will call us and say, ‘I know we are going to have problems with comps on this," he says.

Neither the buyer nor seller can choose the appraiser, but Sellers says buyers can insist on a minimum competency, which he defines as having local market knowledge and being certified as well as licensed.

Buyers and sellers also can agree on longer time frames for the home appraisal contingency and closing date. Schwarzentraub says that asking for a 45- or 60-day closing, rather than 30 days, is not unreasonable.

Buyers are entitled by federal law to a copy of any appraisal for which they’ve paid a fee. Buyers should look over the appraisal and notify the lender of any errors that could have affected the appraiser’s opinion of the home’s value.

Here’s a room-by-room guide to saving money and benefiting the Earth while still enjoying some summertime fun.

By Kimberly Palmer and Maura Judkis of U.S. News & World Report

Before the summer temperatures — and summertime utility bills — start to make you sweat, you might want to consider making a few changes to cut your energy consumption. You can shave dollars off your monthly bills without sacrificing comfort as long as you plan and get creative. Here’s a room-by-room guide to saving money this summer — and benefiting the Earth at the same time.

In the basement: Geoff Godwin, division vice president of Emerson, the country’s largest provider of heating and cooling systems, says cleaning air-conditioning filters every month and getting your system checked by a professional once a year will ensure that it’s functioning as efficiently and inexpensively as possible. "A lot of people don’t do that — they ignore the AC system until something goes wrong," he says, and then they end up buying a new unit instead of making minor fixes.

If you need a new air conditioner, an energy-efficient one might be eligible for a tax credit (check at www.energystar.gov). When you’re shopping around, look for a unit with a seasonal energy-efficiency ratio of 16 to 21, the highest level of efficiency. Another option is a geothermal heating and cooling system, which uses pipes running from the more stable, ambient temperatures 5 feet underground into your home, where they pump heat in or out, depending on the season.

Throughout the house: "Make sure your house is leak-free," says Ronnie Kweller, spokeswoman for the Alliance to Save Energy, or else "nice, cold, expensive air is going out the cracks." You might want to consider assigning this task to a professional. Through the Energy Star online directory, you can find a local auditor who will use diagnostic equipment to test your home for areas where air conditioning might escape. Your auditor will probably do what’s known as a blower door test, which lowers the air pressure in your home and reveals leaks. He or she may also take a photo of your house with a thermographic camera; the red areas of the photo will indicate where better insulation and sealing are needed.

If you don’t want to shell out money for an energy auditor, you can perform a casual energy audit yourself. Efficiency experts recommend feeling around baseboards, windows, doors, light switches and electrical sockets for air leaks. Air can escape or enter anywhere that two different building materials meet. Kweller also recommends walking around your house with incense to see if the smoke blows in when you pass windows. Kweller says old wooden windows are especially prone to this kind of leakage.

If you find problem areas, seal with foam or caulking, which you can find at a hardware store. Insulation that meets certain efficiency criteria is eligible for federal tax credits. Kweller says properly sealing your house can save up to 20% on your utility bill.

Using a programmable thermostat so that the temperature automatically rises when no one is home during the day can yield annual savings of about 30%, Godwin says. While about 25 million households own programmable thermostats, only half of those people take advantage of them.

Replacing older light bulbs with compact fluorescents not only reduces your electricity bill, it can help save energy on air conditioning since fluorescents generate less heat, Kweller says. She estimates that each bulb can save about $50 over its lifetime.

In the living room: There’s nothing wrong with hosting movie nights this summer, but make sure you shut your entertainment center down when the evening’s over. Simply turning off a television set doesn’t put a stop to so-called "vampire power" — the power that devices consume even when they’re not in use. That’s why you should either unplug your electronics or use a Smart Strip, which cuts power when it’s not needed.

If you’re in the market for a new television, check energy-efficiency ratings. The Energy Department bestows its Energy Star rating to sets that use about one-third less energy than regular televisions. In general, LCD televisions use less energy than plasma screens, but both use more than older sets.

Remember to turn the power off or unplug your digital photo frames when you’re not gazing at those illuminated photos. Over a year, leaving one on costs about $9 — not a lot, but when thousands of people are doing the same thing, it adds up.

In the kitchen: Baking a cake or casserole in the summer will force your air conditioner to go into overdrive. Plus, eating hot food will only make you want to turn the thermostat down. But you don’t have to survive on cold pasta salads and gazpacho this summer. Instead of using your oven, consider an outdoor grill or toaster oven for small amounts of food.

If you’re up for a challenge, try baking cookies on your car — yes, your car. Nicole Weston of the “Baking Bites” blog developed a method of baking cookies with the heat that collects inside cars on steamy days. She suggests parking in the sun, using a thermometer to help monitor the temperature, and protecting your dashboard by putting a barrier between it and the baking sheet. (It should be at least 95 degrees outside and the baking takes around 2½ hours.)

In the bathroom: If you don’t want to spend money on a low-flow toilet, you can still make yours more efficient by dropping a soda bottle filled with sand or water into the tank. It will use less water each time it flushes. Ivan Chan of carbonfund.org adds that small steps such as turning the water off while brushing your teeth or shaving can save a substantial amount of water (and money on your water bill) each year. He also recommends installing a water-conserving shower head.

In the bedroom: Stay cool while you sleep with an overhead fan instead of pumping air conditioning throughout the entire house. Shutting the doors and vents of unused rooms can also lighten the load on your air-conditioning unit.

Outside: A way to reduce cooling costs in the longer run is to plant trees or shrubs so that your house is more shaded, especially on the sunnier side, Kweller says. (For a quicker fix, draw the blinds or shades when you’re not home.)

Buying your first home is exciting, although the experience can be unnerving for some. If you are like other home buyers, you probably have in mind exactly what you’re looking for. However, if you cannot see past the hideous wallpaper, funky fixtures and avocado green carpet you might miss out on a house that has great potential.                                                                                                                    

One of the first things you should do is get pre-approved for a loan and calculate the maximum amount you can afford before making an offer. Do not look at houses that are priced at 5 percent above what you’re prepared to offer, otherwise you might be disappointment if you find that perfect home, but it is priced outside your budget.

The floor plan is probably the most important factor of a home; however if a floor plan is not to your liking, remember you can always adjust or add on to it at a later time. If you are looking for an existing home and will need to remodel or expand to meet your needs, the estimated cost of renovations should be taken into account when calculating how much you can afford.

Other things to consider:

The Walls - Although the walls are the easiest to remedy, they can also make a strong first impression. If the walls need a new coat of paint, are covered with wallpaper or painted a color you find in bad taste, imagine them clean and painted in your favorite color.

Flooring - Like the walls the carpets and floors might be old or outdated; they too can be easily replaced. You can even negotiate for the carpet in your offer, especially if you are in a buyer’s market.

The View - Old, ugly, filthy windows and window treatments can make your view seem less than desirable. Again, these things can be replaced or cleaned, so unless your view is of a brick wall, do not dwell too much on what is undoubtedly a correctable fix.

Landscaping - Your best bet is a moderately landscaped yard, because you can always improve the landscaping without overspending. Landscaping is one of the easier projects to tackle. Plus you get to choose the design you like if you start from scratch.

Storage and Garages - You can never have too much storage space, which explains why so many newer homes have garages for three cars. But if the home has a converted garage, which is now a bedroom or storage, do not give up. Converted garages can almost always return to their original state, without much cost or labor.

Kitchen - The most popular room, many new homebuyers want the kitchen to be modern with stainless steel appliances. Do not let the color combinations upset you, there is nothing a fresh coat (or two) of paint cannot do to brighten up the kitchen. Also, if you like the house enough to make an offer, you can install new appliances or re-do the entire kitchen complete with new countertops, cabinets and floors.

Pools - If you are adamant about a swimming pool, buy a home with a pool already installed, pools are expensive and most times you cannot recoup those costs when you sell; let someone else lose revenue. The cost of repairing a pool is minor compared to installing a new one, so if you are looking for a house that has a pool, which seems to need some work, it will still be better to repair it rather than installing a new one.

When you make your offer, consider what you cannot live without, and your budget. Also make sure you hire a professional home inspector to inspect the house. If the home is in good condition make an offer accordingly. Above all, remember that unless you build your dream home from scratch, you will never find a home that could not use some minor improvements. If you can look past the previous owner’s bad choice in decor and focus on the core of the house and its potential you just might find the home of your dreams. It may take some work, but in the end all your hard work will be worth it.

By Chris Morris • Bankrate.com                                                                                                                                            

Ever since the 2008 financial meltdown and real estate crisis, banks have made some dramatic changes to their lending policies. That’s making it harder for the self-employed to secure a mortgage.

If you own a company and are in the market for a home, here are a few ways to ease the process and boost your chances of getting the loan.

Have a history ~

If your business hasn’t been around for at least two years, securing a mortgage is going to be difficult. Self-employed borrowers used to be able to depend on stated-income mortgages — loans made without tax documents or bank records to verify income levels — but those days are gone.

Today, lenders want proof of stability before considering adding you to the books. They look for “a pattern that justifies the decision they’re going to make,” says Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research and policy development for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“They want to be sure the borrow will be able to handle the payment over time. … If someone is just starting a business, that’s going to be problematic,” he says.

If your business is in the same line of work you’ve had for years, some banks will make a concession and allow just 18 months of tax and income records. However, you’ll need to have a near-perfect credit score and meet all other requirements of the loan.

Know the paperwork — and have it handy ~

Stated-income loans are things of the past, so you will need to document every penny you make. Every bank has its own requirements, so find out what they are before formally applying for the loan. “The most important guidance I can give is to understand what the paperwork requirements are,” says Cameron Findlay, chief economist for Lending Tree in Charlotte, N.C. “Having that paperwork in advance definitely helps your case. You’re able to go to someone and say ‘Here’s my paperwork, now give me a good faith estimate of what that loan is going to be.’”

Meet in person, not via phone ~

Online and telephone-based lending programs are convenient. But because they’re remote, you don’t have much wiggle room. When you decide to apply for the loan, go to your bank in person and meet with a mortgage loan officer who specializes in loans for the self-employed.
These experts are familiar with the bank’s variety of loan packages. Should you fail to qualify for one type of mortgage, they might be able to steer you to a different sort of loan. “The borrower may be fixed on one program,” says Dena Kwaschyn, underwriting executive at Bank of America Home Loans. “But based on how long they’ve held the business, the maturity of profile and their asset situation, there may be a product that’s more amenable.”

Consider taking a tax hit ~

One of the advantages of self-employment is the wide range of things you can deduct from your taxes. However, driving down taxable income with those deductions may make it more difficult to secure a mortgage. “If you earn, say, $100,000 and write off a lot of expenses throughout the year to drive down gross taxable income, that plays negatively into how a lender looks at your overall gross income of that year,” Findlay says. “Lenders look at taxable, reportable income, so write-offs work against you.” It’s a painful step — and often an expensive one — but you can often refile for those “forgotten” expenses after securing the loan. Check with an accountant before doing so, however.

A beefy bank account helps ~

Being liquid is never a bad thing when you’re applying for a mortgage, but it’s even more crucial when you’re running a business. Self-employment generally causes income levels to fluctuate from year to year, and banks want to be sure you can cover the bills in lean times.
Having a year’s worth of mortgage payments liquid and in reserve in a savings account or other savings vehicle can boost your application’s prospects. It may even be more important than a beefy down payment, which generally only helps you get a lower rate.

Consider a co-signer ~

Don’t yet have two years of records under your wing, but still ready to buy? A qualified co-signer can help secure a loan. However, make sure the prospective co-signer has his or her own finances in tip-top condition. Borrowers who have less than two years of records “will need to have a very strong co-applicant on the transaction,” Kwaschyn says. “Typically, we look more favorably on someone who will occupy that home with them,” Kwaschyn says.