Month: August 2019

Preparing for the Fall Homebuying Season

Written by Marybeth Heckler on . Posted in Home Improvement, Homeowner.

Although traditionally the warm weather months of spring and summer have been the best for home sales, many people still like to get out and start house hunting when the weather takes a slight dip during the fall.

The cooler temperatures seem more ideal for visiting and touring homes to (eventually) pack up your belongings and move into a new house. If you have been thinking about buying, but haven’t decided to make that move just yet, remember that you can still take advantage of tax breaks that are given to homeowners so you can claim them on your taxes when you file in 2020.

If you are looking to make a home purchase, here are a few things you should do:

Educate yourself

The first thing you need to do, especially if you’ve never purchased a home before, is to educate yourself. Many of the types of loans, requirements, and terms used by realtors can be quite confusing. You can find many government offices, libraries, and real estate agencies will offer introductory courses to educate homeowners on all of the intricacies of this complicated process.

Get your finances in order

The next thing you will need to do is assess your finances and determine your budget. This means that you need to check your credit score to determine if you have the credit needed to buy a house. (Generally, a score of 740 or higher is necessary to get lower interest loans.)

You should also evaluate your budget by determining just how much you can afford monthly and how much you can place as a down payment on the property. This will help determine “how much house” you can afford and help you narrow down your search later on. Once you determine how much you plan to pay on the house upfront, you need to transfer this money into an account so that you can easily cut a check or transfer the funds.

Get preapproved

Another thing you can do to help make the process even easier is to get preapproved for your home loan. This way, you can make an offer on your dream house as soon as you find it without having to play “wait and see” to show that you will be approved for the loan. If there is a bidding war for the house you are interested in, this preapproval will give you a competitive edge over the other prospective buyers.

Tour the neighborhoods

In order to find your dream home, take the time on weekends to tour neighborhoods you’re interested in. A lot of homeowners who are looking to sell will take advantage of the fall temperatures to host open houses. You can sometimes bounce from open house to open house on a Sunday with several in the same neighborhood. No matter how much you may fall in love with the first house you see, it’s important to shop around and find the one that is perfect for you.

Fall is a great time to get out and start looking at a new home for you and your family. Not only do the cooler temperatures make the house hunt more comfortable, but you can also get your family moved into your perfect home without breaking much of a sweat.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.

Getting the House Back Together After Sending the Kids to School

Written by Marybeth Heckler on . Posted in Motherhood.

If you are a mom of school-age children, then the impending start of the school year is probably feeling like Christmas. You’re so excited to get them back at school so you can get things around the house organized and cleaned instead of having a bunch of little ones camped out all day in front of the TV.

This is a time to restart your house now that it’s empty, and you can do a little bit of “spring cleaning” in the fall. Here are some top tips on how to get your house back into shape after a grueling summer with the kids:

  • Clothes Clean-Up — One of the few things that kids get excited about when it comes to going back to school is shopping for new clothes. But if you’re going to make room for the new, this is the perfect time to clear out the old. Go through the kids’ closets and dressers and pull out all of the clothes that don’t fit anymore or are looking a little worn around the edges. Create a three-pile system—keep, donate, and trash. But don’t just do this for the kids. This is also a great time to get your own closet under control and pick yourself up a new outfit while you are at it.

 

  • Summer Gear and Toys — If you have a pool or go to the beach quite a bit, then chances are you have lots of swimming toys lying around, from sand pails and shovels to floats and noodles. Now is the perfect time to put these away. Be sure to deflate the floats completely and fold them up and place everything in a tote (or two) so that you can unpack them when the summer comes around again.

 

  • Refrigerator Maintenance — Now that the kids are gone, you should also take the time to get your refrigerator under control. Empty everything out and toss the expired foods. Be sure to clean all the drawers out with Clorox wipes to disinfect them. Also, pull the fridge out and be sure to clean off the coils to get rid of any accumulated dust. Now, you should have your fridge under control and be able to maintain it easier.

 

  • Change the Air Filters — This is something that you need to do once every quarter or so. However, it’s really easy to forget to do it and let that time slip. So, take this as a reminder to change out the filters.

 

  • School Supply Organization — If you have a home office or a desk that is used by the family for homework and computers, this is what you should use to get your school supplies organized. Extra paper, pens, and notebooks can be placed into bins and stored on or near the desk so that they can be pulled out when needed.

Now that summer is ending and everyone is heading back to school, it’s time to reclaim your home and get it back under control. This way, you can have some peace before the chaos of next summer arrives.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.

Throwing the Best Garage Sale

Written by Marybeth Heckler on . Posted in Motherhood.

Even though spring cleaning was a few months ago, summer is still a perfect time of the year to relieve some of the clutter and also make a little extra money at the same time.

A garage sale gives you the opportunity to turn your unwanted “stuff” into cash, while also clearing out the disorder that comes from having things taking up space in your closets, garage, and “junk” room. (You know the one—the room that started as a junk drawer until it migrated and took over.)

If you’ve never had a garage sale, or you’re just interested in picking up tips for your next one, here are what you need to consider:

1. Find the Best Date and Time
One thing you want to do is check in advance (at least a week) to get a general weather forecast. There’s no point in scheduling a sale if your weatherman is predicting a torrential downpour.

Generally, most people schedule their sales for Saturday mornings so that more people can attend as opposed to having it during a workday. If you have a lot of stuff to sell, you may want to have it over two days if you can (meaning a Saturday and Sunday). You also want to get the sale done early so you miss the heat of the day. Ideally, a 6 am to noon sale works best.

2. Advertise
The earlier you can advertise your garage sale, the better. Many people wait until the night before to put out signs. This is fine, but you want to do a little advertising earlier in the form of social media posts.

If you’re a member of an HOA (homeowner’s association) that has a Facebook page, post about your sale. Also, send out tweets and Instagram posts to try to get the word out. (NOTE: Many neighborhoods host “community garage sale” days where everyone in the area is encouraged to hold a sale. This can help bring in traffic, but the downside is that you have more competition.)

3. Declutter
Now you’re going to need stuff to sell. The best thing to do is get a box and go room by room through all of your belongings to find things you don’t want or need anymore. Have your kids do the same thing with their toys. As you put the items into the boxes, you can also keep tape on hand, so you can price them as you go. This way, you won’t have to go back and price everything later on.

4. Stock Up on Change
One of the worst things is to have someone want to buy an item and you not have enough change to cover the sale. Pick up at least $20 in quarters along with a mix of ones, fives, and tens. (If you can get about $100 total in change, you should be set. Remember, you can always re-deposit what you don’t use when you’re done.)

If you’re ready to get your house clutter under control and make some money at the same time, then a garage sale is definitely the way to go. If you’re left with a lot of stuff at the end, I always suggest just taking it out to your vehicles and donating it. If you can’t get the sale, at least someone may be able to use it and you can pick up a tax deduction in the process.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.

Host a School Supply Drive for Needy Families in Denver

Written by Marybeth Heckler on . Posted in Motherhood.

Anyone who is part of the educational process—be it teachers, parents, or students—knows that school can be an expensive proposition.

Unfortunately, education budgets have been hit across the country and many school systems have had to cut back on supplies that they provide to the classrooms. This means that students are expected to bring more and more of the supplies they (and their classmates) will need from home.

When you couple this with economic issues such as unemployment and even homelessness, you can imagine that many parents are finding it hard to provide their children with basic supplies like paper and notebooks.

If you wish to help needy families in your area, here’s how you can host a school supply drive:

  1. Don’t do it alone — A supply drive can be a huge undertaking, especially if you want it to be a success. As such, you need to enlist the help of friends or neighbors who can organize this with you and staff the drop-off locations.
  2. Get advice from the experts — If you’re wondering just what type of supplies are needed, talk to the experts. Contact teachers and principals to see exactly what items they’ll be needing when the kids come back at the end of summer. Most school websites post a list of needed school supplies for each teacher (or grade level). Use these as a starting point for your own drive.
  3. Find a drop-off location — Generally speaking, you’re going to want a place that’s open to the public, large enough to house the supplies you hope to bring in, and centrally located. Speak with local church groups, community centers, or even the local library to see if they can let you use their facilities for this project. If all else fails, contact the schools themselves to see if you can host your drive there.
  4. Promote the drive on social media — This is an absolute must. You want to make sure everyone knows about this event to ensure donations. You should definitely use “traditional” advertising venues such as the local newspaper, but a really great way to promote your event is on social media such as Facebook or Instagram. This way, you can create digital “flyers” of the needed supplies and let your friends, family, and followers know exactly what needs to be purchased.
  5. Timing is everything — Many major retailers host back-to-school sales. In some locations, the entire state may have a Tax-Free weekend with no sales tax on school-related purchases. Hold your drive during or immediately after these events so that people can stock up on items to donate to your cause.

A school supply drive is a great way to help out underpaid teachers who often spend thousands of dollars to help buy materials for their students who can’t afford them. By doing this, you provide for those who are needy while showing support and love to your teachers who greatly need it.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.