8 Week Moving Checklist

BY MOVING.TIPS ON 15 MAY 2017

Map out everything you need to do, week by week, until the big day. 

When it comes to moving, proper organization is the defining difference between ultimate success and complete failure.

Even if you’re already an excellent organizer, you might still feel overwhelmed by the number of relocation-related tasks you have to complete before moving day — unless you find a way to bring order to the chaos.

Here’s a moving timeline that will do the trick. It will help you organize your time, prioritize your tasks, track your progress, and reduce moving stress. What’s more, you’ll never forget anything important, because your week-by-week moving checklist will remind you of what to do every single day until moving day.

Eight weeks before moving day

Organizing a safe, efficient, and trouble-free relocation requires about two months of careful planning and hard work. So, start your moving preparations about eight weeks before the big day:

• Start looking for an appropriate new home in your future area (you may have to start sooner if you’re moving to a particularly hot real estate market).
• Inventory your possessions and decide what you’re going to take to your new home.
• Research your moving options and decide if you’re going to move on your own or use professional moving services.

Six weeks before moving day

• Contact a few trustworthy movers and request an in-house estimation of your relocation costs. If you’ve decided on a DIY move, contact several truck rental companies and compare their rates and conditions.
• Review your finances and designate your moving budget.
• Notify all the relevant people and institutions of your move: your landlord (if you’re a renter), employer, family physician, children’s school (if applicable), and bank, for starters.
• Start looking for a trustworthy health provider and a good school for your kids in your new city.
• Schedule your move and book your chosen moving company (or book a rental truck of appropriate size for the day of your move).

Four weeks before moving day

• Obtain your and your family’s medical records and your children’s school records.
• Take your pet to the vet for a complete checkup and get all the necessary papers: vaccination records, health certificates, etc.
• Get rid of unwanted items. Organize a moving sale, sell items online, donate them to charity, or give them away to relatives and friends.
• Obtain packing supplies and start packing the items you won’t need before moving day. Make sure you don’t pack any nonallowable items.
• Cancel subscriptions to delivery services and memberships to clubs and organizations.

Two weeks before moving day

• If you’re driving to your new home, have your car serviced to make sure your road trip will go as smoothly as possible. If you’re flying to your new city, book your ticket and find a trustworthy auto transporter to ship your car.
• Change your address with the United States Postal Service.
• Transfer utilities — arrange for services in your old home to be disconnected the day after your move. Contact service providers in your new city to have utilities running in your new home on move-in day.
• Reserve a parking place for the moving truck (directly in front of the entrance to your home) and an elevator for the time of your move (if applicable).

One week before moving day

• Contact your moving company and confirm that everything is going according to plan.
• Say your goodbyes — organize a farewell party, spend some quality time with your closest friends, visit your favorite places in town, etc.
• Check on your packing progress. Most of your belongings should be packed up and labeled by this point.
• Prepare an “open first” box that contains all the essentials you’re going to need as soon as you arrive in your new home.
• Hire a sitter to look after your children and/or pets on moving day (if necessary).
• Check if you’ve paid all the bills, picked up your clothes from the dry cleaners, returned library books and borrowed items, etc.

Two days before moving day

• Finish packing — leave out only a few items you can’t do without during the last couple of days in your old home, and the cleaning supplies you’re going to need to clean the place before leaving it for the last time.
• Defrost and clean your fridge and get all your household appliances ready to move — empty them, clean them, and make sure they’re fully dry and safely wrapped for transportation.
• Disassemble large furniture pieces and pack them for shipment.
• Make sure you have all valuables and important documents with you.

Moving day

• Have a good night’s rest and get up early in the morning to have enough time for last-minute moving tasks.
• Double-check your home for forgotten items.
• Meet your hired movers and provide them with all the information they need to perform a quick and efficient move.
• Keep kids and pets away from the hectic moving procedures.
• Carefully read all the paperwork you need to sign.
• Prepare some refreshments for your movers and have some cash ready to tip them if you’re satisfied with their work.
• Give the truck driver your exact new address and your phone number.
• Clean your old home, lock it safely, and bid it farewell. The time has come to set foot on the road to your new life!

Even though most moving tasks are common for all residential moves, you can modify them to meet your personal needs and requirements. Certain aspects of your move will be unique and will require a different approach, so personalize this moving timeline checklist and make it work perfectly for you.

5 Home Buying Myths

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2016 

Home buyers get a lot of advice from friends and family – some good, some bad. A lot of myths can pop up and negatively guide their home purchasing experience. Make sure your clients don’t fall for one of these common buying falsehoods.

1. The only upfront cost is the down payment.

Buyers need to be prepared for several expenses – everything from fees, taxes, costs for inspections, credit reports, insurance, and others. Closing costs can be anywhere from 3 percent to 6 percent of the purchase price. Those costs can fluctuate greatly depending on the state you live in too.

2. Just looking for a house casually is not a big deal.

Some people may want to just start looking at homes to get a feel for the area, before they even sit down with a REALTOR®. But they could be setting themselves up for major heartbreak. “A buyer might be viewing homes that are in a higher or lower price range than what they are qualified for,” Connie Antoniou, a broker associate in Barrington, Ill., told realtor.com®. Home shoppers – even at the earliest stages – should get pre-approved for a mortgage so they know their budget from the get-go and don’t waste time looking at homes that are out of their price range.

3. You must have a 20 percent down payment.

A 20 percent down payment will help a buyer avoid paying private mortgage insurance. But 20 percent down isn’t required. Many lenders will still qualify a buyer for home loans with 10 percent or 5 percent down. Some buyers can even qualify for only 3.5 percent down with a Federal Housing Administration loan. There are many options for down payment assistance that lenders can explore with a buyer who has a limited amount to put down.

4. Schools shouldn’t matter if you don’t have kids.

“The neighborhood you choose matters – both now and later when you might consider selling,” notes the realtor.com® article. “Even if you don’t have children, good schools are a sign of a good neighborhood.” Buyers should explore all factors with their REALTOR® on items that could influence their homes appreciation and desirability so they don’t run into trouble later on one day when they try to sell.

5. You don’t need a home inspection.

When the housing market is extremely competitive, some home shoppers may be willing to waive the home inspection in order to get the home they want. “But beware: sellers are banking on your skipping this crucial step,” the realtor.com® article notes. “It means you’ll get the home as is, including any and all problems that come with it. And sometimes those problems aren’t exactly visible.”

Staging for a Cozy, Minimalist Look

APRIL 2017 | BY BARBARA BALLINGER

While decluttering a listing before putting it on the market will help sellers keep their homes cleaner and get a head start on packing, this practice also helps the product that’s for sale shine through more clearly. “Staging isn’t about decorating, but putting a room and its architecture in the best light,” says Chicago-area designer and stager Paula Winter.

Watch for these signs that you’re tipping the balance too far in one direction.

Too intimate:

Yellow; rich, dark colors; and textured or faux Tuscan-painted walls

Elaborate window treatments

Family photos

Floral or oversized patterns

Every wall covered with art

Too contrived:

Orchids or other fussy plants

A set table

Matching furniture sets

Nearly empty shelves and storage

Cookies baking in an oven during the open house

But stagers also caution against stripping too much away, which can make a space feel stark and uninviting. The happy medium is instead a modern, minimalist look that permits buyers to imagine how their furnishings may fit in spatially while exuding warmth from some carefully added accessories.

Staging, once mostly for vacant homes or high-priced listings, is now more widely used. Meridith Baer, who stages more than 140 properties a month through her eponymous California firm, says the practice can help increase the sales price and decrease the listing time for homes. The Real Estate Staging Association pegs the average time on the market for homes sold after staging at 21 days, an estimated 90 percent less time than unstaged properties.

Bear in mind that different generations have slightly different design tastes and tolerance for clutter or spareness, as do buyers in different geographic markets and price points. “Many in the greater Los Angeles area have been asking for a more minimal look, but in Orange County and Northern California, high-end properties still reflect a rich layering that shows a well-lived, well-traveled life,” Baer says. Here are five recommendations to strike the right balance.

1. Set the stage. It’s called staging for a reason. The idea is to set the mood in the same way that a theatrical backdrop does. Think of how to use furnishings and accessories to tell a story about how a buyer may live there. You want the listing to look modern and gender-neutral to show a home’s bones, not to remind buyers of an antiseptic hospital or laboratory, says Winter. Certified stager Susan Batka of Aerie Interiors in suburban Atlanta suggests adding a few textured pillows, a rug, and maybe a large piece of modern, colorful artwork to give the space the necessary warmth so it looks alive but isn’t overwhelming or too personalized.

2. Declutter. This is still the number one mantra for stagers. “The key to the desired Zen feel is to pick interesting but fewer decorative items and keep upholstered pieces clean and lean,” Baer says. She describes the goal as leaving “some breathing room. Not every wall space needs art and not every surface needs accessories.” It can be difficult to decide what to keep, but one good rule is to retain only the accessories that play up architectural features and strengths of the listing. Items that draw attention to built-in bookshelves or fireplace mantels are especially helpful. For example, Winter removes half the books on a shelf and arranges the remaining ones with turned-out spines or groups them by colors that work well with the room. She’ll winnow down collectibles on a shelf or coffee table to three key items rather than removing everything.

3. Heed the size and shape of the room. You can use staging to highlight a room’s distinct features. If it has volume due to high ceilings, Baer will use a few larger-scaled furnishings. If it’s long and narrow, she generally fashions two seating groups, turning a rectangle into two squares. That way buyers can imagine a comfortable space where visitors can sit and converse intimately.

4. Retain functionality within today’s style guidelines. Because space is highly valued, making the best use of all square footage remains a priority. Show this in listings by following the principles of cozy minimalism throughout a home. For example, in a master bedroom where buyers are looking to gain a sleep sanctuary, whittle down the furnishings to only the essential items of a comfortable bed, nightstands, and good lighting. The cozy factor can come in the form of blankets, pillows, a soft rug underfoot, and a soothing palette, says Batka. To outfit a spare room or a large landing, you might stage a workspace with a clean, modern desk and comfy upholstered chair.

5. Remember inexpensive tweaks. Good staging isn’t about grand gestures, large furnishings, or scads of accessories. Minor fixes can help what’s already there stand out without cluttering the space. Replace fixtures with bulbs of the same wattage and color, and hang clothing on similar hangers for a more uniform feel, says Jennifer Ames, a salesperson with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Chicago. “It gives buyers a good feeling as they walk through, that the sellers have cleaned and organized their homes,” she says. But in keeping with the cozy factor, avoid overwrought perfection. “Make anything you do look authentic, rather than contrived like putting out place settings at a table,” says Helen Bartlett, a RESA certified stager with Refined Interior Staging Solutions in Fairway, Kan. “Nobody lives that way.”

Critical Questions Buyers Should Ask Sellers

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, JUNE 02, 2017 

Buyers will glean plenty of information from the seller’s disclosure agreement, the home inspector, and maybe even their new neighbors. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few questions they should ask the seller at the walkthrough or before closing.

Realtor.com® suggests buyers ask some of the following questions of sellers:

Have you had any past problems with the home that you’ve repaired? 

Sellers typically must disclose existing problems or issues related to the home, but they aren’t always required to disclose past problems that have been repaired.

“Here in Georgia, anything significant that has happened—whether it was repaired or replaced—needs to be disclosed in the seller’s statement," says Bill Golden, a real estate pro with RE/MAX Metro Atlanta Cityside in Atlanta. “However, it varies by state and sellers aren't always required to fess up.”

Golden recommends buyers use the disclosure as a starting point to pry for anything more, such as by saying, "I’ve read the disclosure statement. Is there anything else that has happened or that you’ve done that would be helpful to know?”

Can you tell me where the water shutoff valve, sump pump, circuit box, and more are located? 

Ask the seller to show you the location of these important valves and switches. “Hopefully, the home inspector will locate all of these things and point them out to the new buyer as part of educating them about their new house,” Golden says. “But not all inspectors do that, so these are important safety questions.”

Is there anything you wanted to leave behind?

“Most things that are being left, such as appliances, are dealt with in the original contract,” Golden says. “But, as it gets closer to closing, sellers are often wanting to unload some other things, too. You might get lucky and wind up with something great." It might be worth at least a question.

What Really Makes a Property Appreciate

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2017 

A home’s value generally appreciates 3 percent to 4 percent every year, which is attributed mostly to population growth and inflation. However in 2016, homeowners saw appreciation jump to an average of 6.3 percent.

Realtor.com®’s research team sought to find out what would boost a home’s value even more and what home features buyers may be willing to pay more for. Researchers analyzed millions of listings on realtor.com® from 2011 to 2016 to calculate the annual price growth rate of homes with certain features.

Here are some of the clear winners in housing appreciation: 

Small homes: Homes smaller than 1,200 square feet appreciated by an average rate of 7.5 percent a year for the past five years. On the other hand, larger homes of 2,400 square feet or more rose by 3.8 percent a year. The smaller-home demand is being driven by millennials wanting to enter the market with a more affordable starter home and baby boomers who are looking to downsize, realtor.com® notes. Further, smaller homes are in shorter supply, which is prompting prices to increase more due to the high demand, says Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a real estate appraisal firm.

Two-bedroom homes: Homes with two bedrooms appreciate at a rate of 6.6 percent a year, compared to homes with five bedrooms that appreciate at 4.3 percent a year, realtor.com®’s research team found.

The Hottest Home Features

(Noted below with the annual appreciation rate from 2011-2016.)

• Open floor plan: 7.4%
• Patio: 6.8%
• Hardwood floors: 5.7%
• Fireplace: 5.3%
• Finished basement: 4.6%
• Hot tub: 3.9%
• Stainless steel appliances: 3%
• Granite countertop: 2.5%

Source: realtor.com®

Open floor plans: Homes with open floor plans appreciate 7.4 percent a year. It’s the hottest appreciating home feature that realtor.com® studied (see side for full list). As for features like stainless steel and granite, Miller says those amenities don’t really add any value to a home. "Those are what I call 'have-to-have' features,” Miller says. “A home needs to have them in a competitive market. But they don't add long-term value. … Ten years from now, when you update your kitchen, they'll be replaced."

Modern and contemporary homes: Modern and contemporary architectural styles have the highest potential for appreciation, increasing at about 7.7 percent annually. This style of home is known for simple, geometric shapes, and large windows. Newly constructed modern homes also tend to be energy efficient. Bungalows and Traditional are the next highest appreciating styles at 6.5 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, niche styles like Craftsman bungalows and Victorians are among the lowest appreciating architectural styles, at 3.7 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. Researchers speculate that may be due to some of the maintenance responsibilities in staying true to the home’s historical architecture that is often connected to these styles of homes.

Green space views: Homes with a park view appreciate at 7.9 percent a year, realtor.com®’s research team found. "[They] hold value over a longer period of time, and they recover quickly from a downturn," says Michael Minson, a real estate pro in San Francisco at Keller Williams. "Buyers appreciate the tranquility and outdoor activities. They like being close to nature." Indeed, homes with mountain views appreciated on average by 5.1 percent, and homes with a lake view at 4.9 percent. Ocean views appreciated the least of the “home views” studied, at just 3.6 percent a year. Recent storms may have spooked buyers from oceanfront properties as well as the fact that the highest-cost homes tend to be along the ocean, realtor.com®’s research team notes.

5 Environmentally Smart Landscaping Tips

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017 

A home's landscape provides curb appeal and, if designed smartly, it can also offer wellness and environmental benefits. When your clients undertake a new landscaping project, it's important that they keep the local ecosystem and environmental considerations in mind.

Since some areas of the country are still experiencing drought conditions, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) recently created an infographic that shares what your clients living in these areas need to know before designing their landscaping project.

Homeowners Don’t Want Cookie-Cutter Lawns

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

Homeowners today are focused on making changes to their front yards so they're markedly different from their neighbors' yards and easier to maintain, finds the 2017 U.S. Houzz Landscaping Trends Survey.

Homeowners want their yards to look distinct. Only 6 percent of homeowners reported front yards that were nearly identical to those in the neighborhood after their outdoor project, compared to more than a third before the update (36 percent), the Houzz survey shows. Two in five owners say they wanted to make a statement with a new front yard that was “very” or “extremely” different from others in the neighborhood following their update.

Read more: 6 Top Landscaping Trends for 2017

More homeowners are turning to low-maintenance plants to enhance their front yards, along with native plants and those that attract insects and birds. More than half of those who updated their front yard say that beds or borders, shrubs, and perennials were the most important to improving curb appeal.

Some owners are removing their front yard lawns altogether, citing environmental considerations as a strong motivator, the survey also showed.

Lighting is also growing in popularity among outdoor upgrades, particularly LEDs, low voltage, solar, and wireless lighting. Nearly one in five homeowners reported installing lights that could be controlled from their mobile device.

“Home renovation activity is benefiting from the significant increase in home sales in 2015 and 2016, which is reflected in our findings on motivations for starting a landscape project,” says Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz. “Since housing inventory has remained low, recent home buyers likely consider their homes less than ideal, leading them to prioritize upgrades like outdoor projects more than ever, with emphasis on low maintenance.”

Source: “2017 U.S. Houzz Landscaping Trends Survey,” Houzz (March 29, 2017)