Buying a home can be a scary and confusing process. It is easy to get confused by all of the homes, locations, and what is truly important to you when buying a home.
First you will want to determine what you can afford. To do that you will want to get preapproved. That means a bank; mortgage broker or credit union will determine how much of loan you qualify for based on your income, debt and credit score. They will give a pre-approval letter stating how much you can afford.
Now it is time to pick a real estate professional to help you find the right home, negotiate on your behalf and help you navigate through the process. It is important that you choose an agent that is reputable; you have interviewed to find a good fit and is willing to listen to your needs.
Many buyers often confuse their needs with their wants. Making a list of what you actually need and what you want or your wish list is very helpful when looking for a home. Buying a home is typically a process of elimination. Many home buyers often dismiss homes that perfectly fit their needs in search for one that has their wants. This doesn’t mean you can have your wish list, but home buying is more often defined by your budget than wish lists.
To help with this process it is typically helpful to make a list of needs and wants.
| Examples of NEEDS | Examples of WANTS | |
| Reasonable square footage for comfortable living | Paint, carpet, counter tops, accessories. | |
| Bedrooms to accommodate your family | Pool or Jacuzzi (unless for medical reasons) | |
| Adequate number of bathrooms | Wood floors | |
| Eat-in kitchen | Bay windows, skylights | |
| Garage or basement for storage needs | Entertainment centers, moldings, decks and patios | |
| Lot size to accommodate children’s play area | Upgraded lighting fixtures | |
| Adaptation for Handicapped | View | |
| Proximity to a specific school | ||
| Single floor living for health reasons |
Each individual will have a different list of needs and wants. Your own list will help you evaluate homes as you go through the process. Sharing this list with your real estate professional will also help narrow down your search. The goal is to find a house that includes all of your needs and meets as many of your wants as is practical in your budget.
Buying a home is a very important decision. Before you rush into a home you should consider all the factors.
Making sure you end up with the right home involves figuring out exactly what features you need, want and don’t want in a home. Before starting your search, you should make a “wish list” to decide which features are absolutely essential, which nice “extras” are if you happen to find them, and which are completely undesirable.
The more specific you can be about what you’re looking for from the outset, the more effective your home search will be. Also keep in mind, that in the end, every home purchase is a compromise.
Create your own personalized “wish list” and when you’re finished filling it out; share it with your real estate agent.
Become an educated buyer
•The web is one of the best ways to search for homes today. With this website, you can receive daily emails with new and updated listings from the towns and price range of your choice.
•Search the entire MLS for all homes, condos, land, multi family, commercial properties, and past sold properties at your convenience.
•View full listing sheets showing amenities, taxes, lot sizes, beds, baths, rooms, siding, fireplaces, garages, room sizes and much more.
•Get property addresses and see where the properties are located on MapQuest.
•Check schools and community profiles of your preferred towns.
•Save preferred listings in your own file to view anytime.
•Calculate approximate mortgage payments for specific properties.
Home Inspection
Once you have made an offer on a home, you will need to schedule a home inspection, conducted by an independent authorized inspector. It is extremely important to hire a reputable inspector so that you know exactly what you are buying. Do not hesitate to ask friends, family, and co-workers for advice. If you are satisfied with the results of the inspection, then you can proceed with the sale. If the inspector finds problems with the property, you may want to negotiate with the seller to lower the price, or to pay for certain repairs.
Appraisal
Your lender may require you to get an appraisal of the house you want to buy, to make sure it is worth the money that you are borrowing. You may select your own appraiser, or you may ask your real estate broker to help you with this task.
Homeowner’s Insurance
Lenders require that you have homeowners insurance, to protect both your interests and theirs. Like everything else, be sure to shop around for insurance that fits your needs.
Settlement or Closing
Finally Make Sure Before you Buy
Finally, you are ready for the closing. Be sure to read everything before you sign! You should have both your real estate broker and an attorney present at the closing to ensure that all is in order.
Keeping the house clean is a real pain. It is a job that often becomes overwhelming. Doing just a little bit every day will help will help keep your home neat and clean in no time. Tips from this article from Real Simple is a basic plan to keep your home clean in just 30 minutes a day.
Kitchen
- Clear out and wipe down the sink (5 minutes).
- No piles of dirty dishes! Move them into the dishwasher, and wipe the sink with a sponge. .
- Wipe down countertops and stove (1 minute). Clean splatters and spills with a damp cloth or sponge and an all-purpose cleanser.
- Wipe problem spots on the floor (2 minutes). You can save a full-floor mop for the weekend, but use the same cloth (once you’ve finished with the countertops) to quickly clean any spills or sticky spots, which will attract dirt and get more noticeable if left alone.
- Fold or hang dish towels (30 seconds). Even if they’re clean, a jumble of dish towels on the counter can look messy. Take a few moments to fold or hang them.
Bathroom
- Wipe out the sink (30 seconds). If you use a premoistened cloth to wipe your face, swipe the sink bowl and faucet handles with it, too. Or use a washcloth, paper towel, or a product like Windex Glass and Surface Wipes, which don’t leave streaks on chrome or mirror.
- Clean splatters off the mirror (15 seconds). Got foamy toothpaste spray on the mirror? Do a quick swipe with the same cloth you used on the sink.
- Wipe the toilet seat and rim (15 seconds). Same cloth! Just do the toilet last.
- Swoosh the toilet bowl with a brush (15 seconds). If you see a ring, give it a quick scrub.
- Squeegee the shower door (30 seconds). Wipe down glass doors to remove water droplets that can cause spotting. No squeegee? Use a dry towel.
- Spray the shower and curtain liner with a shower mist (15 seconds). A quick spray with a daily cleanser will reduce buildup of mildew and soap scum.
Bedroom
- Make your bed (2 minutes). Even a fluffy down comforter pulled up over messy sheets will look polished.
- Fold or hang clothes and put away jewelry (4 minutes). Even better: Resist the urge to toss them somewhere in the first place! Put them away as you take them off.
- Straighten out the night-table surface (30 seconds). Take last night’s water glass to the kitchen, stow your reading glasses in a drawer, and straighten books or magazines.
Living Room
- Tidy the sofa (2 minutes). It’s likely the focus of the room, so neaten it. Fluff the pillows and fold the throws.
- Pick up crumbs with a handheld vacuum (1 minute). Concentrate on surfaces in plain sight: sofa cushions, coffee table, and rugs in the middle of the room. Look for dust bunnies, too.
- Wipe tables and spot-clean cabinets where you see fingerprints (1 minute). Use a microfiber cloth or a Swiffer cloth to pick up dust. If the surfaces are streaked or sticky, use a moist cloth.
- Straighten coffee table books and magazines (2 minutes). Toss old newspapers and corral the remote controls into one place (a drawer, if possible).
- Clear major clutter (5 minutes). Stash video games, toys, and anything else you might trip over.
It seems everyone has an opinion on the best way to wash hardwood floors. Some say soap and water, others polish, or wax. It can all be very confusing. These tips from iVillage take the guesswork out of cleaning wood floors and go from dull and grimy to gleaming and gorgeous in a few easy steps.
First Things First—Determine the Finish
Before you grab a bucket of water and a mop, it’s best to find out how your wood floor is sealed—if at all. Why? The finish, not the wood type, determines how you clean and care for the floor.
Surface-sealed floors: Most new wood floors are sealed with urethane, polyurethane or polyacrylic. Surface-sealed floors are stain and water-damage resistant and easiest to care for and clean: Sweep, mop and you’re done!
Penetrating-seal-treated and oil-treated floors: Also common, a penetrating seal or oil finish soaks into the wood grain and hardens. This type of floor must be pampered and protected with liquid or paste wax.
Lacquered, varnished, shellacked and untreated floors: Although technically surface finishes, lacquers, varnishes and shellacs are not as resistant to moisture, spills and wear as the other sealants mentioned. Treat floors with these finishes and floors with no finish as you would penetrating-seal-treated and oil-treated floors.
Not sure what kind of finish you have? To tell the difference in a pinch, just rub your finger across the floor. If no smudge appears, the floor is surface sealed. If you do create a smudge, the floor has been treated with a penetrating seal, oil finish, shellac, varnish or lacquer, and then waxed.
Cleaning Surface-Sealed Floors
Product Do’s and Don’ts
Don’t use oils, waxes or furniture sprays. Oil leaves a residue, furniture spray creates a slippery surface (think ice-skating rink!) and wax takes time to apply and makes recoating (see Tackling Simple Wood Floor Problems) difficult.
Don’t use straight ammonia, alkaline products or abrasive cleaners. They’ll dull or scratch the finish.
Do use a floor-cleaning product recommended by the floor finisher or opt for plain soap and water. If the recommended product is hard to find or costly, and other floor cleaners contain ingredients that violate your floor’s warranty, try soap and water. I add a quarter cup of mild or pH-neutral soap (like liquid dishwashing soap) or Murphy Oil Soap (despite the name, it doesn’t contain oil) to a bucket of water.
Don’t rely on water alone or a vinegar and water solution to clean hardwood floors. Mopping with water will result in dingy-looking floors and won’t-budge dirt buildup. Vinegar and water is not as effective as soapy water and—some suggest—may dull floors sooner. (Eventual dullness and the need to recoat are inevitable no matter what you use. See Tackling Simple Wood Floor Problems.)
Routine Cleaning
In high-traffic areas, like the dining room and kitchen, you should sweep daily, if possible, and mop once or twice a week.
Mop less-trafficked areas once a month or once a season.
Mopping Technique
Remember: Water is wood’s worst enemy (even on sealed floors!), so use a damp mop rather than a soaking wet one.
Dip the mop into the bucket of prepared cleaning solution, wring it out completely, mop in the direction of the wood grain and repeat. When the water gets dirty, empty the bucket, mix a new batch of cleaning solution and continue mopping.
When finished, go back over the entire surface with clean water to rinse.
Don’t be afraid to get on your hands and knees if necessary. When a floor needs serious attention, I clean it with a cloth. (It’s better than a sponge because you can “feel” the dirt as you wipe!)
Tackling Simple Wood Floor Problems
Scuff marks getting you down? A bit of baking soda on a damp sponge will erase them.
Noticed a stubborn food, water or grease stain on your surface-sealed floor? Always use a commercial cleaner to treat this problem.
Hairline cracks in the floor? Don’t panic and attempt to fill them. Dry heat during the winter months causes wood floors to shrink and crack. Cracks should close up during the summer (though using a humidifier can also help).
Finish looking dull? Sand the floor lightly and recoat with an additional layer or two. Recoating is necessary about every five to seven years.
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