The Move

You have found your new home! The moving day has arrived. I love to organize, so setting up a new home is fun for me. But, the packing process and emptying of a house makes me a little itchy. It is so chaotic. Just keep in mind, this step does not last forever.

Packing

I have moved across the country, and I have moved two miles away. How to pack for each move is different. When you are doing a long move, everything must be packed well. When you are moving close, I tend to take short trips between the two houses. I would take a car load, and if possible unpack the car. By the time my furniture came, a lot of my new home was already set up.

Long moves, require more organization. For long moves, label all my boxes the same in the same place. The side is the best. Anything that is packed last is normally useful things needed for everyday life. I mark these boxes so that I will know to unpack them first. The Buzzfeed staff suggests using a clear tote for this and that it “includes things like a box cutter, paper towels, trash bags, eating utensils, select cookware, power strips, phone chargers, toilet paper, tools, etc. The clear bin allows you to see inside; it also separates itself from the myriad of cardboard boxes,”

Moving

If you are moving yourself, it is easy to forget the important things you need to do to protect your belongings. The most likely to be damaged is your furniture. The corners and decorative items that stick out are the most vulnerable. I like to get a huge roll of plastic wrap. These are special moving rolls. There is a special art to wrapping your furniture. I put towels, bedding, etc. around the things I want to protect and then use the wrap to hold it in place. You need to wrap it enough to keep it safe, and yet, not too much that it is impossible to pick up and move with a few hands. The move will be easier if you take this good advice from Moving.com: “pack heavy items in small boxes and lighter items in larger boxes.” The moving step is where your properly labeled boxes will save you some pain. When there are a lot of people bringing in boxes, having every box and new room labeled will lessen the chaos.

Unpacking

The first thing I do is unpack those last packed boxes. I set up one bathroom as soon as possible. Then, I set up the essential kitchen things. Last, I make our beds. The first night sleep in your new home will be so great when you are sleeping in your familiar bed, and then wake up to be able to drink your morning beverage of choice first thing. It always puts me into a good frame of mind. It is a good start to beginning a new life in your new home.

Here are some great moving tips from What's Up Mom:

Moving Tips

Top 10 Packing Tips to Get Your Home Packed and Moved

Ten Tips for Surviving a Move with Kids

The Home Search

Find the right home for you with a smart search. http://smartdenverrealestate.com/10-home-search-tips/



 

It is now time for the home search. Now, this can be the fun part. It also comes with its fair share of stresses. Laura Gaskill of houzz.com gives good advice when she says, “it's probably the most important purchase you will ever make, so take a few deep breaths and make a plan before diving in — you'll be glad you did.” The best advice is to enjoy this step, but be careful to not let your emotions take control. It can be so easy to get so attached to a home that you do not make good decisions. Try and find a good balance between your heart and mind.

 

Before you ever look at a home, and after you have a reasonable price range, it is time to start a list with three parts. The first part is for your absolute needs for a home. This needs to be a bare-bones list. Think of the things that you would be miserable without. The second part, create a list of things that you really want. These things are not luxury items, but things that would make your house a home. The third part is the dream list. Keep reality in mind, but go ahead and dream. After you have a good list, then share it with your realtor. Have a good conversation about your list. There was a time when I did not do this. My poor realtor ended up showing me about 100 homes. When I finally choose a home, she was surprised by my choice. We had never really had a conversation beyond my bare necessities, so that was all she showed me. I could have saved a lot of time by having a more comprehensive list.

 

Then schedule a good block of time to look at homes. Leave enough time between appointments that you do not have to rush through each home. You need to take you time and get a real feel for the home. When you are looking at homes, Christopher Middleton suggests that you “take your own pictures... Film your visits on your phone, too. That way, you have something to refer to when the properties start to blur in your brain.” Right after looking at home, I write down some quick notes about what I liked about the home and what I did not like. Those notes, with the pictures, will help you make the best decision while you are logically thinking.

 

When all else fails, go with your gut. I have looked at so many homes now, and moved so many times that I really rely on that feeling. Although, even after I have gotten that "vibe," I still let that feeling sit a little to make sure I feel that way after a little time. Remember to balance your time well, you do not want to rush into a decision, but do not take so long that the home you finally decide on is gone.

10 Tips For Winning A Bidding War

Anti-Checklist: What Not to Do While House Hunting

House Hunting Tips for First-Time Buyers
 

Starting the Process

The first step in getting your first home is starting the mortgage process. You need to be prepared for what mortgage specialist Joe Metzler calls "the flaming hoops of loan underwriting." It requires a lot of patience and preparation. But, the reward is your own home at the end of the journey.

 

 Don't worry, you can survive this process and the mounds of paperwork
http://mortgagedailypress.com/getting-process-todays-mortgage-market/

 Pre-Qualification

Karin Beuerlein of FrontDoor.com says that “if you want a ballpark idea of how much a bank will loan you so that you can shop within your price range, pre-qualification is a quick and easy way to find out.” This step is normally just a phone call to a lender. This is hard to put a lot of faith in, since they do not even check your credit for this. I would recommend skipping this step and just move to the pre-approval. Having a pre-approval is more concrete, and if you have that when you start house hunting, you are ahead of the game.  And home sellers love to see that you already have it.

Pre-Approval

You will need to be prepared for this process. There are a lot of documents you need to get a pre-approval. But, once you have it, moving onto the final approval process, once you have found your house is easier. Do not be afraid to shop around with multiple lenders. This will give you the chance to choose the loan with the best rate, payment, and costs. With such a large purchase, tiny changes in an interest rate can make a huge difference.

Here is the difference of just 1%

	Mortgage	Rate	Payment	Total Amount Paid
Mortgage 1	$200,000.00	4.75	$ 1,043.00	$375,586.00
Mortgage 2	$200,000	3.75	$926.00	$333,443.00

The total difference over the life of the loan is   $42,143.00.

Marcie Geffner warns ,"lenders require paperwork that verifies every facet of your financial life: taxable income, assets, rent payments and more."

The documents and information needed for pre-approval (and the loan):

Proof of Income – paystubs, W-2s (most recent, maybe past two years)
Bank Statements (past 30 days to 3 months)
Last year’s tax return
Rent payment history
Proof of debts and payments
Investment accounts
Proof of financial gifts, not loans
Social Security Number
Addresses for past two years

Be prepared to keep info updated. Throughout the home buying journey, this information will always need to be current within one month.

Additional things to keep in mind. The bank might tell you that you are qualified for a larger amount than you can comfortably pay. Make a decision on what you can afford in a house payment. You need to also consider all the other things that you need to pay for but will not be included in that initial payment you are quoted from the bank. Remember you still need to pay for: property taxes, home owner’s insurance, and utilities. You might also have to pay for: Home owners Association Fees, Private Mortgage Insurance, and upkeep. There are many extra payments to consider when buying a home and a mortgage. Ask around to your friends and family about unexpected costs they have dealt with while buying and owning a home, and you'll quickly get the idea.

Mortgage Calculator

Top 10 mortgage tips for 2015

7 Top Mortgage-Shopping Mistakes to Avoid
 

 

Buying Your First Home

Buying your first home can be an exciting and overwhelming experience. There are so many decisions to be made. It is easy to ignore the hard decisions and just focus on the fun decisions. However, not paying attention to all the details of this process can leave you in a situation that you regret.

In the past 20 years, I have moved more than 20 times. I have lived in seven states.  That is seven original states – I’ve lived in California twice, and Utah three times. I did not buy homes in all those moves, but I’ve bought a few. I am very experienced at moving and the home search. I hope to use that knowledge to help you avoid the pitfalls of moving and making the largest purchase of your life.

I like to think that there are three aspects to buying a home: the loan process, the home search, and the move. Taking those three things as separately as possible helps to keep your head in the right place. Starting the loan process is the first step. This needs to start before you ever go out to look at homes. Trust me, the heart and the brain sometimes do not work well together. The loan process is a decision for the brain. The home search involves the heart, no matter how much you try to stay logical. It might seem that the move is the easy part, but it is the most physically demanding and sometimes the longest part of the whole process.  

Doing your research, making responsible decisions, and trying to keep your head are essential to surviving the process of buying your first home. Hopefully, some of what I have learned can help you find the right house that you will be able to live in. And the most important part, find a home that you can love.