Life is a Do-It Yourself Project

            You love your home, but there are just a few things you want to improve around the house or things just need to be repaired.  Sure, you can call a handyman, but you imagine yourself to be a DIY type of person.  Whether you are new to doing your own home maintenance/improvements or are a semi pro, there are a few things you can do that will help you save money on all of your DIY projects.  First of all, doing regular home maintenance is the best way to save money as it can prevent expensive repairs in the future.  Keep your Home Maintenance Checklist up to date and save money in the process.  One of the best things you can do to save is to keep your tools and workspace organized and free of clutter.  A clean uncluttered area will make you want to work and will alleviate the need to purchase possible duplicate tools to replace those you cannot find.  Speaking of tools, one of the best ways to save money on any project is to rent those tools that you will only need for one project.  You can also look for used tools to purchase online or at yard sales. 

           

           Besides tools, there are several more ways you can save money on DIY projects.   Using materials you have leftover from previous projects means not having to go out and buy new ones the next time.  How many times have you gone to the store for that one screw or bolt and had to buy a whole bag?  Keep them in organized bins and you will eventually build a collection and won’t have to go to the store the next time.  If you need to paint and are flexible about the color, the paint department of most hardware stores have cans of paint that other customers did not buy.  These stores just want to get rid of them and will usually sell them at greatly discounted prices.   These are just a few things to think about so the DIY bug hit you and not your wallet.  

There’s an App for That!

           

        We as a society are all about the technology.  Who has the fastest and best new electronic toy or application?  If we can order our fast food or pizza from an app, why not shop for a house on one.  Most of the big real estate sites now offer free apps for your cell phone or tablet for you to search through the latest listings.  Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, and Homes.com all had corresponding apps and are worth checking out if you are looking for a home or an apartment.  Of course I myself am partial to the PMZ Real Estate App for obvious reasons.  But what are some other apps that can help you on your search for a new home?

            If you have are looking at homes, there are a lot of apps out there that can tell you about the neighborhood you are looking in.  For example, Safe Neighborhood will inform you of the safety statistics of an area or SiteWise, which provides the demographics of an area.  Around Me does just what it says and gives you a list as to what establishments and businesses surround an address and the distances to them.  What if you need to do some quick calculations to see if you can afford the dream home you are looking at?  Mortgage Calculator by Quicken Loans can help you do that.  Need to know if the home you are looking at will accommodate your existing furniture.  Not a problem with Easy Measure, which lets you take measurements of rooms, doors, windows, etc. all with your smartphone.  Don’t like the landscaping and would like to see the new home with something more your style.  Try iScape, which lets you create virtual landscaping from a picture. For the tech savvy buyer, there are many apps out there that can help you find the perfect home.   

The Deal Fell Through

Recently, a friend of mine was tasked with the job of selling her mother’s home.  Her mother had been sick and could no longer live on her own.  Being the dutiful daughter, my friend took on this huge burden for her elderly mother from meeting with the real estate agent, packing all of her mother’s things, cleaning the home, selling all items that her mother was not keeping, and agreeing to attend the closing along with her mother.  It was a challenging job that took a few months and just as they were about to cross the finish line, the worst thing happened.   All of a sudden, the day before closing, the buyer’s mortgage company found out that the buyer’s employment status had changed and their loan was denied.  The deal fell through and now my friend is back at square one. 

Unfortunately, this scenario happens all too often.  As a seller of a home, you are at the mercy of the buyer’s mortgage company.  All too often, we accept a pre-approval as if it is an actual approval for a mortgage, but in reality it is just a snapshot of your finances at one moment in time.  Lenders today will take an additional look just before final approval and again before closing escrow. There are many factors that can and do change throughout the process.  In the case of my friend, the buyer was injured at work after the pre-approval and went out on workman’s comp.  Since the doctors couldn’t guarantee that she would return to work at the same level as she had prior to the injury, the mortgage company could not approve the loan.   It was a tough pill to swallow, but a lesson well learned. 

Little Pink Houses For You and Me

When I was growing up, my childhood home was a wonderful and comforting place for me.  It was what I was used to and I never really thought about its color other than it was yellow and green.  I would draw it in school and of course, I would color it in with the yellow and green crayon from the 8 pack Crayola box.  To me the house was the perfect colors, bright and cheerful.  When I was a little older, my parents decided that it was time to sell the old place and move.  With the decision to put the house on the market, came the decision to paint the house. I couldn’t understand why they would go from bright, happy yellow and green to this bland brown with tan trim. Shortly after finishing painting, the house was sold and we moved on to a new home.  Years later, when I asked my parents about the decision, they said that they couldn’t live with the drab mustardy yellow with olive green trim anymore and they wanted to update the look of the house in order to entice buyers.  I was blown away by how they described the house, as I certainly had remembered it looking a lot different then they did, but they were right.  I loved my life in that house, so it made me love everything about it, including the paint. 

While you may have a strong emotional connection to your home and have picked the colors to your taste, it doesn’t mean that a buyer will have the same connection or love for the color scheme as you do.   While a bright turquoise or salmon color may appeal to those from more tropical climates, it may not appeal to say those from the northeast.  Southwestern flare may be popular in Arizona, but not so much in New York City.  The best bet is to do what my parents did, which is to choose colors in a more neutral shade that will appeal to the most people.   Now, beige and white are neutral shades, but keep in mind, they are not the only ones.   There are a myriad of choices out there from earth tones, grays, creams, and browns, as well softer muted shades of red, blue, and even yellow and green.   When deciding on a color scheme, also keep in mind that certain types of architecture may need bolder colors to make them pop.   Of course, my parents made the right decision and were able to sell our home almost immediately after painting.  I look at pictures of our home before we painted and even though the house was an ugly mustard yellow with olive trim, to me it will always be that happy bright yellow and green.