Moving Tips That Will Make Your Life So Much Easier: Day before and Day of the Move

• If you ordered a packing crew, it will usually arrive the day before loading. Make sure to stay at home and supervise the packing. Pack all valuables you want to take with you by yourself.
• Make sure fragile items receive special attention. Label each box with the contents and location in the new home.
• Collect all house keys and arrange to leave them with the new owners, your real estate agent or landlord. You may want to notify the police if your home will be unoccupied for some time.
• Notify a close friend or relative of your itinerary in case of an emergency.
• Compare the mover's inventory with your records and make sure you agree on the condition of your household goods. You may want to take photographs incase a dispute arises. Make sure you get a copy of the inventory list.
• Give a last minute check to every room and closet before the van leaves. Make sure the water, furnace and air conditioner are shut off, windows are shut and locked, and the lights are switched off.
• Check the Bill of Lading for accuracy and completeness before you sign it. Keep a copy for your records.
• Make sure you have the van driver's name and contact information, and give him contact numbers at the destination. Confirm directions to your new home with your driver.
• Turn off the water heater. Set the thermostat at 15 degrees.

The Stress-Free Guide to Settling Down in a New City - Keep Up Your Hobbies

Keep Up Your Hobbies (or Dig Up Old Ones)

A great way to find people with similar interests to you is to get out and get active with your favorite hobbies, even if they're ones you haven't visited in awhile. If you like electronic music, there's bound to be a group dedicated to that culture. If you are or used to be a gamer, find your local gaming shop and drop in for a Magic: The Gathering Draft. Even if it's something you haven't done for years, it's a great way to get out and meet like-minded people. Meetup.com is a great way to find groups based on similar interests in your area—just type in where you are and what you're looking for and you'll probably find multiple groups getting together during the week. And, if you don't find one (or don't find one that suits you), start your own! Rarely are you the only one with your interests in a given town, and if you can't find anyone, make them come to you.P

Apart from your own hobbies, I can't recommend getting involved with community service and other local organizations enough. That may make you roll your eyes, but it's something you don't need any former experience to get involved in, everyone's always super friendly, and at the very least, you'll get some free DIY skills out of it. Anything that gets you out and social is going to make you feel better than sitting at home doing nothing, so you've got nothing to lose by getting out there.

Meet Friends of FriendsP

If you already have a friend or two in town, you're pretty lucky. Take advantage of it! Even if you aren't best friends with them, accept any invitation you get to hang out—you might find a friend of theirs that you have a remarkable amount in common with. Don't give up after one meeting, either. The more time you spend around people, the more likely you are to become friends with them, even if you didn't originally think you would. After all, are we really in a position to be picky?P

Don't be afraid to contribute to the group, either. Don't let everyone else always make the plans and invite you, or you'll seem like you aren't interested. if you've got a place in that Google Doc you want to go eat for dinner, go ahead and invite all of them out. That way you seem like an actual contributor and not just a tagalong, and they'll be more likely to think of you when other plans come around.P

Take InitiativeP

SEXPAND

You won't meet anybody just sitting at home alone, so when you have the opportunity to get out of the house, take it. Instead of getting takeout and heading home, eat out by yourself. Work in coffee shops. It may feel awkward at first, but there isn't anything wrong with grabbing a book (or your favorite read-it-later service) and enjoying the sunshine a little. You never know when someone will strike up a conversation about what you're reading.P

Again, don't turn down any invitations you get. Even if it's something you wouldn't necessarily do, take the opportunity to get out of the house (unless, you know, it's an invitation to go rob a bank—it's probably okay to turn that down).

Things a New Homeowner Should Do Immediately to Save Money - part 2

9. Replace your air handling filter. When you first move in, you almost always need to replace the air handling filter (don’t worry, it’s easy to do – it takes about ten seconds). Go down to your air handling unit, find where the filter is (it’s almost always a large rectangle), and mark down the measurements (printed around the edges). Then, go to the hardware store and pick up a few of these, then go home and install one of them, replacing the old one. An outdated filter not only doesn’t filter as well, it also has a negative impact on air flow, meaning your air handling system has to work harder to pump out lower quality air.

10. Make sure the vents in all rooms are clear of dust and obstructions. None of the vents in your home should be covered or blocked by anything – doing that makes your heating and cooling work overtime. You should also peek into all of your vents and make sure they’re as dust-free as possible, and brush them out if you see any dust bunnies. This improves air flow into the room, reducing the amount of blowing that needs to happen.

11. Install CFL and LED light bulbs in some locations. CFL and LED bulbs can save you a lot of money on energy use over the long haul, plus they have much longer lives than normal incandescent bulbs. Consider installing some in various places – we usually use CFLs for hall lighting and LED bulbs for closet lighting (though LED bulbs are improving all the time…).

12. Choose energy efficient appliances, even if you have to pay more up front. Unless you were lucky enough to buy a fully-furnished home, you’ll likely have to do some appliance shopping. Focus on reliability and energy efficiency above all, even if that seriously increases the cost you have to pay up front. A refrigerator that uses little energy and lasts twenty years is far, far cheaper over the long run than a fridge that runs for seven years and guzzles electricity. (If you’re worried about the up-front cost, check out tip #16.)

13. Set up your home electronics with a SmartStrip or two. Looking forward to getting your television, cable box, DVD player, sound system, and video game console set up? When you do it, set things up with proper surge protection (to protect your equipment). You might also want to consider a SmartStrip, which allows the on-off status of one device (say, the television) to control whether or not there’s power flowing to other devices (say, the DVD player or the video game console). Having the power cut automatically from such auxiliary devices can save a lot of money over time, especially since many such devices eat quite a bit of power as they sit there in standby mode, constantly draining your money.

14. Air-seal your home. Look for any places where air may be leaking directly into or out of your home. These aren’t just air leaks – they’re money leaks. Thankfully, fixing small air leaks is pretty easy – here’s a great Department of Energy guide to caulking and weatherstripping, which will keep such air leaks from costing you.

15. Plant shade trees near your house. Shade trees naturally cool your home during those warm summer months, reducing the amount of direct rays that hit your house. Lowering the external temperature of your home saves significantly on your cooling bills during the summer, plus it increases your property value. Plant them now, so they’ll grow and shade your house sooner.

16. Take advantage of tax benefits for any improvements you make. For starters, there’s the first time home buyer tax credit, which is essentially an interest-free $7,500 loan from the federal government for new homeowners. This is perfect money to help you with fixes you may need to make when you move in, like buying good appliances or putting in shade trees. Similarly, if you make energy-based improvements to your home in 2009, you can receive up to $500 in tax credit for that purchase, essentially making things like insulation tax free. Your state may have even more benefits, so be aware of all of these when you invest money improving the efficiency of your home.

17. Develop a home maintenance checklist – and run through it for the first time. One final tip – create a home maintenance checklist. This list should include regular home maintenance tasks that you’d want to do on a monthly or quarterly or annual basis. Then, make it a habit to run through the items on this list each month. Doing so will extend the life of almost everything in your home, saving you buckets of money over time.

Things a New Homeowner Should Do Immediately to Save Money - part 1

So you’ve just moved into your nice new home. You’ve unloaded the boxes, unpacked most of your stuff, and are just starting to settle into your residence.

Right now is the perfect time to walk through a checklist of ways to save money on your home. Starting on these things as early as possible will allow you to start saving money sooner rather than later.

Here are eighteen things to check on or do immediately that will reduce the energy and maintenance costs of your home over the long haul.

1. Check the insulation in your attic – and install more if needed. If you have an unfinished attic, pop your head up there and take a look around. You should see some insulation up there, and there should be at least six inches of it everywhere (more if you live in the northern part of the United States). If there’s inadequate insulation up there – or the insulation you have appears damaged – install new insulation. Here’s a great guide from the Department of Energy on attic insulation, including specifics on how much you should have depending on where you live.

2. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius). This is the optimum temperature for your hot water heater. Most people do not utilize water that’s hotter than that, and thus energy used to keep the water that hot isn’t effective. Lower the temperature, save some on your energy bill, and you’ll never skip a beat.

3. Toss a water heater blanket over that hot water heater as well. While most modern hot water heaters are well-insulated, some are insulated better than others and many older heaters aren’t insulated well at all. A small investment in a blanket for your water heater will slowly and gradually save you money on your heating bill over time by keeping the heat in the water instead of letting it spread slowly out into your utility closet.

4. Install ceiling fans in most rooms. Ceiling fans are a low-energy way to keep air moving in your home. Because of the air circulation effect, you can get away with keeping your thermostat a degree or two higher in summer and a degree or two lower in winter, netting a rather large savings. A while back, I wrote a guide to maximizing ceiling fan use – most importantly, the air directly below the fan should be blowing down on you in the summer and should be pulled upwards away from you in the winter – you can use the reversal switch on your fan to switch between the modes.

5. Wrap exposed water pipes with insulation. Exposed hot water pipes lose heat as they move water from your heater to your faucet. Insulating them makes a two to four degree difference in the temperature of the water and also allows hot water to reach your faucet faster. Check the pipes into and out of your hot water heater first, as the first three feet out of the heater (and the last few feet of inlet water) are key. Use good quality pipe insulation for the job – it’s actually quite simple. Find out more about water pipe insulation at the EERE website.

6. Install a programmable thermostat – and learn how to use it. A programmable thermostat allows you to schedule automatic increases and decreases in your home’s temperature. This lets your house naturally warm (or cool in the winter) while you’re at work or asleep, saving quite a bit of energy use, and then when it comes time for you to actively use the house, the thermostat automatically adjusts the temperature of your home back to what you prefer. Such devices save money on cooling in the summer and heating in the winter.

7. Hang a clothes rack in your laundry room (or, better yet, an outdoor clothesline). A clothes dryer can really eat up your energy costs, but it’s convenient for many people. Battle that convenience (and save money) by hanging a clothes rack from the wall in the laundry room and use it for some items – t-shirts and underwear dry great on clothes racks. If you can hang up 20% of the clothes in a load on this rack, you can get away with running the dryer 20% less than before, saving you cash. Even better: if you can, install a clothes line outside where the wind can catch it and hang most of your clothes outside.

8. Check all toilets and under-sink plumbing for leaks or constant running – and check faucets, too. Do a survey of the plumbing in your home before you settle in. If you find a toilet is running constantly, it’s going to cost you money – here’s how to easily fix that constantly-running toilet. You should also peek under the basin of all sinks in your home, just to make sure there aren’t any leaks. Got a leaky faucet? You should repair or replace any of those, because the drip-drip-drip of water is also a drip-drip-drip of money; not to mention the terrible interplay between mold and home insurance.

Ten good reasons to buy a new build home

Cheaper fuel bills, no DIY and a building warranty are just some of the reasons to buy a new-build home, according to local housing industry expert Mark Docherty.

Mark, sales and marketing director for Persimmon Homes South Coast, says it is important that people realise the advantages of living in a new home.

The leading regional builder has drawn up a top ten list of why it is beneficial for people to buy brand new homes.

Top of the list is the huge savings people can make on keeping their home warm as new build properties comply with the latest Government regulations on energy efficiency.

Mark, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the housing industry, said: “Statistics show that energy costs are 55 per cent less in a new build home than any other type of house.

“Buying a home tops the list of the most important and expensive decisions that people make in life so getting it right is critical.”

Persimmon Homes’ Top Ten List of advantages in buying a new build home:

1. Green Living: Massive energy savings as new homes are more efficient.  For buyers this means new energy efficient heating systems, first-rate loft insulation and draft free double glazed windows and doors.
2. Great Incentives: Buying a house from a developer rather than a home owner offers huge benefits.  Schemes including the Government-backed Help to Buy, Part Exchange and Home Change are readily available on new homes. Developers often offer incentives to entice buyers including free carpets, help towards stamp duty and a contribution to legal fees.
3. More time, money and freedom: There is no DIY, maintenance or repairs to do at weekends leaving buyers with the freedom and extra cash to enjoy their spare time.
4. A fresh start: A new home offers buyers a completely blank canvas. There is no need to live with someone else’s décor as everything is new and fresh.
5. Add those finishing touches: When buying a new build off plan buyers have the chance to tailor their new home to their exact specification. Buyers can often choose kitchen cabinets, work surfaces and tiling at no extra cost.
6. No chain: Buying a new home limits the chance of being caught in a time consuming and often disappointment ridden chain.
7. Security: New homes are far safer and more secure than older buildings as many new homes include security locks, burglar alarms and security lighting. Fire safety includes the installation of smoke alarms, fire doors and fire retardant materials.
8. Warranty:  A new-build property comes complete with a 10-year insurance backed warranty from either the NHBC or LABC.
9. Modern Living: New homes are designed to use every inch of the space as effectively as is possible. Research shows that 17 per cent of living space in older properties often goes unused.
10. High Spec Living: Buyers can expect a brand new fully fitted kitchen, bathroom suite, and in some cases an additional en-suite and dressing room. For the top end of the new build market, some developers offer high-spec integrated appliances including cooker, hob, fridge/freezer, washing machines and dishwashers.  

The Stress-Free Guide to Settling Down in a New City - Get to know your neighbors

Ask Real PeopleP

Of course, there's no substitute to the advice of a real live person that you can ask questions and interact with. Chances are, you're bound to have at least one or two people you know that live or lived in the town to which you've moved. Ask them for advice. Call them, go out to lunch with them, or just email back and forth and pick their brain. Ask any and all questions you have, from where are good spots to eat to where are the parts of town you might want to stay away from, or how bad the traffic is at rush hour. 

A really great (and geeky) way to compile this kind of advice is to create a Google Doc and invite the few people you know to collaborate on it. If you can get one person to get the ball rolling, you can probably get a lot of people to join in, adding their favorite places to eat and things to do in town (especially if they disagree with one another—people have a lot of pride in their favorite local hangouts and will gladly offer up their own advice). It can become self-sustaining pretty quickly. Everyone, even the new people I meet each week, are more than willing to contribute to the doc with their favorite spots/hangouts if I invite them as collaborators.P

I also highly recommend crowd-sourcing some responses on Facebook and Twitter, too. You might be surprised how many people are familiar with the area and can give you great advice about anything you need to know. Again, what's really useful about this is it isn't just some random reviews around the net—if you can follow up with people and get all your other questions answered, you'll be a lot better off.P

There's nothing wrong with asking other locals, even if they're just people you meet for a few minutes on the street, in a coffee shop, or elsewhere. Dropping the simple "I just moved here" line works wonders. It's remarkable how friendly and helpful people are to newcomers. They're bound to give you a nugget or two of information you might not have gotten elsewhere, so above all, just be friendly!P

Getting Out and Making FriendsP

The other half of the equation is getting out and finding stuff to do with other people, and forming a group (or groups) of friends. It won't just happen by sitting on your couch watching Seinfeld reruns, so here are a few things you can do to get the ball rolling.

Moving Tips That Will Make Your Life So Much Easier: Two to Three Weeks before the Move

• Verify the date of your departure and contact the telephone, electric, gas and water companies to confirm the date to discontinue services. Notify your realtor or landlord. Make arrangements with utility companies at your new location to start services on the date of your arrival. Absence of vital utility service is very uncomfortable and often leads to unnecessary expenses for temporary accommodations and meals.
• Discontinue newspaper delivery, sanitation and any other regular services.
• Make sure to check fitness club, school or gymnasium lockers for stored belongings.
• Ask your friends or your current doctors for referrals in the new location. Transfer medical records and get all necessary prescriptions. If any family members have ongoing medical or dental treatment programs, arrange for prorated payments with professionals in your new area.
• Check the contents of your safety-deposit box. It is advisable to carry all valuables (such as jewelry, insurance policies, legal documents and important collections) with you or send them by insured or certified mail.
• DO NOT SHIP combustible or flammable items such as oil-base paint, bleach, cleaning and lighting fluids, matches, ammunition and aerosol cans, including hair sprays, shaving creams, deodorants and household cleaners.

Top five reasons for buying a new-build property

HOMEBUILDER Barratt Homes is urging buyers across Derbyshire to consider the cost and lifestyle advantages of owning a new-build home by outlining its top five reasons for buying new.

Sales director Jan Ruston said: "New-build homes rival older properties in a number of ways, some of which buyers may not be aware of."

Here are Barratt's top reasons for choosing new-build over old:

1. Energy efficiency: New build homes are installed with the latest energy-saving measures, which can mean lower gas and electricity bills. In fact, Barratt has calculated that new homes are up to 50% more efficient than similar Victorian properties

2. Safety and security: Purchasers can be sure that homebuilders like Barratt will adhere to the latest building regulations which set standards on everything from fire-safety to ventilation and from electrical safety to quality of workmanship. New-build homes are also often more secure, using the latest security locks and sometimes intercom systems.

3. Low maintenance: Not only are new-build homes free from any niggling DIY issues but every new Barratt home comes with an industry leading five-year fixtures and fittings warranty on top of the standard 10-year NHBC warranty.

4. Less stress: Buying direct from a homebuilder can make the house moving process easier, particularly with schemes such as part-exchange and Movemaker. With Movemaker, Barratt will instruct an estate agent on your behalf who will manage all the valuations, viewings and enquiries for you. They'll even pay the estate agent fees.

5. The personal touch: One of the most exciting things about buying new is that you don't have to do any re-decoration before you move in. A new home is a blank canvas on which home owners can stamp their individual mark. And if you purchase a Barratt Home early in the build process, you can even personalise it with extras from the exclusive Choices range.

The Stress-Free Guide to Settling Down in a New City - Just Moved

Whether you're moving to a new side of town or moving across the country (or beyond), getting settled in a new city can always be a little nerve-racking. Here are some of the best ways to get acquainted with your new home and make new friends. 

Getting the Lay of the LandP

Once you've actually moved in and nailed down the obvious—finding the closest grocery store, drug store, Apple store, or whatever else you need—the town can seem pretty overwhelming. If you're feeling a little lost, here are a few ways to make sure you get to know your new home quickly.

The Obvious: Use the InternetP

The first thing that probably popped into your head is to check out places like Google Maps, Yelp, or Citysearch to find some of the best places to eat, hang, see movies, and so on. There's a reason for that: it works pretty well. If you want to grab a cup of coffee or some lunch, hit up one of those sites and look at reviews of nearby spots. Of course, there's no substitution for trying something out, so don't be afraid to hop around, either. If you find a movie theater that has the highest rating on Google Maps, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best one or the best one for you—so plan to "shop around" a bit before settling into a routine too quickly. That said, the internet should give you a good start.

An especially neat trick, if you're looking for stuff that's near you, is to just bring up Google Maps, center it on your place, then search for *. The wildcard search works on Maps and will pretty much show you everything that's nearby, which is pretty handy when you're just trying to get a sense of what's close.

Habitat for Humanity update

Moving Tips That Will Make Your Life So Much Easier: Four to Six Weeks before the Move

So you found a new place! It’s all wonderful and exciting until you start to think about how much stuff you have.

• Clean out your closets, cupboards, toy chests, shelves, attic, garage and basement. It is a good idea to discard anything you do not want or need. A rule of thumb is if you did not use something in the last year or two, chances are you do not really need it. Consider having a garage sale, gift unwanted items to friends and neighbors or donate them to charities. You may be able to collect a tax receipt on the value of your donation.
• Arrange to collect any advance or security deposits on utilities or rentals. These could be a nice addition to your tight relocation budget.
• Evaluate whether to ship your appliances and old furniture. Consider how old they are and how well they will fit into your new decor. Make sure you do not bring a gas stove into an electric home. Also, if your refrigerator, washer or dryer will not fit in your new home, consider leaving them behind.
• Make a complete list of items to be moved. Decide which plants will come with you and which will stay behind.
• Use up your food. Frozen foods can not be shipped safely. It is likewise unnecessary to carry a heavy load of canned or packaged foods with you.
• Notify the security company and all other regular service providers such as lawn or snow removal companies of your moving date.
• Notify your post office, subscription publications, and other correspondents of your moving date and provide them with your new address.
• Check your homeowner's insurance and make arrangements to renew your policy. You should contact an insurance company at your destination.
• Check the status of your club memberships. The money you paid in advance may be refunded or you might consider transferring the membership to a friend.
• Consult your veterinarian regarding your pet's travel needs and make the necessary preparations
• Collect the items you lent to your friends such as books and CDs and give back all the items you borrowed. Do not forget to return library books and video rentals.
• Research schools in your new neighborhood and register your children. Make arrangements to transfer all necessary school records.
• Check your checking and savings accounts. Plan for transfer of deposits so you will not lose interest. If needed, your bank or Credit Union can be used as a credit reference.
• Plan your moving date and take into consideration your travel plans and the closing date of your new home

Habitat for Humanity update

As of Monday morning, walls are up and painted, cabinets are being installed today, and exterior siding going up with the help of volunteers. A special thank you goes out to ICG Framers, Hunter Electric, Marco Electric, Sims Aluminum, Fidus roofing, Northwest Plumbing, Vatos Drywall, Clark Cooper Painting, Argo Painting, North Florida Wall Systems, and Premier Cabinets.  

How to beat out all-cash home buyers

High-end home buyers face stiff competition where ‘all-cash’ sales dominate

The rise of all-cash deals in places like Miami has made it difficult for high-end home buyers planning to use a mortgage. In response, many of these borrowers are turning to lenders able to close loans quickly or offer a range of financing options.

In Miami-Dade County, for example, 62% of all closed residential real-estate sales in 2013 had no mortgage, says the Miami Association of Realtors. For homes priced $800,000 and above in Miami-Dade, all-cash sales accounted for 58% of the total sales in that price range. The all-cash share in that range was 27% in 2008.

Nationally, 31% of residential real-estate sales were cash-only in 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Ram Selvaraju had to compete against an all-cash buyer when he set his sights on a four-bedroom Spanish colonial-style home in Coral Gables, Fla. Mr. Selvaraju, 35 years old, is a biotech analyst at a New York investment firm; he owns other vacation and rental properties in South Florida and Europe. He planned to rent the home in Coral Gables after buying it.

Mr. Selvaraju decided to make an offer after two reductions left the price at $618,000, but an all-cash offer above that price was submitted before he secured financing for his bid.

Instead of applying for a jumbo loan, which he feared would take too long and have too high an interest rate, Mr. Selvaraju found a nonjumbo loan from a Florida lender for $417,000; a New York bank lent him an additional $130,000 on a home-equity line of credit from his primary home in New Jersey. After the competing all-cash offer fell through, he bought the home in April for $630,000, using his offer that combined a down payment and the two loans. “I wound up paying a lot lower interest rate on a shorter-term loan, than had I gone with a jumbo loan,” he said.

Mr. Selvaraju’s experience in the Miami market is typical for South Florida, says Dan Hechtkopf, a real-estate agent in Miami Beach. Cash deals, especially for condos, are the norm, and it’s harder and harder for even well-qualified jumbo borrowers, he says. “A lot of buyers play this old-school, low-bid game, but here it doesn’t work,” Mr. Hechtkopf said. “Somebody’s just going to come in and pay cash.”

David and Michelle Hendler, both lawyers in Miami, lost out on a townhome to an all-cash buyer in August. Mr. Hendler, 32, said he and his wife later secured a jumbo loan, but chose to put down 35%—the typical amount is 20%—to land another house in the same Miami Beach development. “It’s a serious all-cash market and that makes it tough for a lot of people,” he said.

Miami led U.S. markets in all-cash deals in 2013, followed by Las Vegas and New York, according to data compiled by RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., real-estate research firm.

Mike McPartland, North American managing director for investment finance at Citi Private Bank, says the move toward cash deals is a holdover from the 2008 real-estate and stock-market bust. “There’s still a lot of thinking out there that if all hell breaks loose, nothing can happen to my house and family because I paid cash,” he said.

Moreover, Mr. McPartland said that many condos in vacation spots like Miami and Las Vegas are still in litigation or foreclosure, and big banks may not want the hassle of financing a condo.

Many of his clients, he says, are opting to liquidate assets and pay cash for properties, and then get a mortgage a few months later to recoup their assets by investing again. “Can you find an investment that will outperform a loan of 3.5%? The odds are pretty good.”

And even buyers who need to finance a home purchase aren’t out of luck, says Angela Hernandez, a mortgage officer with FirstBank Florida in Miami, which made $200 million in mortgage loans last year.

“I’ve closed jumbo loans in seven days,” said Ms. Hernandez. Successful borrowers often employ strategies like Mr. Selvaraju’s, using a combination of second mortgages, home-equity lines of credit, and quick closings to beat all-cash buyers. “There are always options, so long as you go to the right lender,” she said.

Here are tips for borrowers in markets that reward cash.

• Be patient: Some all-cash buyers and their offers can appear and disappear, especially if the buyer is overseas. Your financing-contingent offer still might have a shot, especially if you’re willing to put down a large down payment.
• Flexibility is an advantage: Sometimes a line of credit on another investment property, or a home-equity line of credit, can help make your offer look even better. It may not be all-cash, but more-cash is better than less-cash.
• Know the market: Work with your real-estate agent and loan officer to find sellers that are open to accepting bids with financing. 

Daniel Goldstein is a personal-finance and real-estate reporter for MarketWatch.

New Homeowner: Leaving Your Apartment

Congratulations are in order!  All good things must come to an end, but you have graduated into Homeownership!   So assuming that your stay has been a pleasant one, and you're on somewhat good terms with your landlord, here's what you can expect:

Be sure to give plenty of notice— 30 days is customary.

Clean the place up. Remove nails and spackle over holes. You don't have to shampoo the carpet or repaint unless the place looks like an absolute war zone.

Check to see if your landlord or the housing department at your school has something like an inventory sheet to use as evidence that you've left the place in good shape. (If not, borrow someone's digital camera to create your own evidence.)

If you're thinking of subletting, check with the landlord first to see if a sublease is necessary or even legal. Remember, you're liable for your sublettor's behavior.

Thinking of just up and leaving? Don't. It's against the law.

Security deposits. A landlord can subtract "wear and tear" from your deposit. The landlord has 30 days to deal with security deposit matters, so be sure to leave a forwarding address.

If you are leaving on good terms, try to get a written recommendation from your landlord to present to another prospective landlord as proof of your "good character."

Habitat for Humanity affiliates Habijax construct 25 new homes and complete 25 rehabilitation projects in 6 days!

Habijax, the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA), and Builders
Care will construct 25 new homes and complete 25 rehabilitation projects in
the New Town neighborhood in 6 days beginning June 9th - June 14th. 

Homes will be built, rehabilitated and repaired during the "blitz build",
with a goal for Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the country to
complete 200 homes nationally during the one-week event. 

Our team is volunteering their time to participant in the national Habijax
Home Builders Blitz 2014. We are building 2 homes in 6 days for 2 very
deserving and wonderful families.

Homes are already underway at the construction site. Slab poured, framing
completed, and roof and wall boards completed. All completed in just a few
hours. A special thank you to ICG Framing and Fidus Roofing!

Buying a home can beat renting in less than a year

It doesn't take long for South Florida homeowners to see the value in buying over renting, a new report shows.

In Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, buying a home beats renting it after just 1.2 years, according to a first quarter analysis by a real estate website. At the same time in 2013, buying was better than renting in South Florida after two years.

The “break-even” point is less than a year in some local communities, including Lake Worth (six months), Margate (seven) and Coconut Creek (eight). For a full list, click here.

Among the 35 largest metro areas nationwide tracked by Zillow, the tri-county South Florida region had the fourth-shortest break-even point, after Riverside, Calif., (less than a year), Orlando (one year) and Tampa (1.1 years).

To realize the advantage in buying, homeowners have to stay put the longest in Washington, D.C., (4.2 years), Boston (four) and Phoenix (3.3).

Traditionally, owners have had to stay in their homes for five to seven years before buying beats renting, Zillow said.

“Rents keep rising, and mortgage interest rates remain very low, which is helping to skew the rent vs. buy decision toward buying for those who can afford it,” Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries said in a statement. “Many renters may ask themselves why renew a lease, when you can break even on the same home in less time in many areas.”

But Humphries points out that renting remains a “far less frustrating option for many people” who don’t have the money saved for a down payment or who want to remain mobile for job opportunities.

Seattle-based Zillow said it factored in all possible costs for buying and renting (up-front payments, closing costs, estimated monthly rent, mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, utilities and maintenance costs). The firm then used historic and expected home value appreciation rates to determine how long it would take before buying becomes a cheaper option than renting.