Vicki Schauffler

Five Common Errors Buyers Make

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:05:51 +0000

There is a saying often used in the real estate industry to refer to buyers, it says buyers are liars. That is in fact not case. The perception comes from the fact that buyers often buy on emotion rather than their needs. Buying on emotions often leaves buyers passing over a potential good deal or fit and instead overpaying for their dream home.

Here are some common buyer errors and how to avoid making them.

1: Not using the right agent

Choose an agent that works in the local market and never go it alone. An agent has the skills to negotiate the best deal for one of the biggest purchases of your life. A local agent has the lay of land and knows the area well and will be able to find you the right fit.

2: There usually isn’t a better deal

When buyers keep waiting for a better deal they often miss out. When you find a house that fits your needs go for it. Don’t wait because there is no guarantee that a better deal will come on the market.

3: Overpaying for cosmetics

Look at the structure and the function of the home. Paint colors or décor don’t matter in how much the house is ultimately worth. Often buyers will pay for cosmetics and staging in a home and ignore a better deal that isn’t perfectly decorated or match their taste.

4: Not negotiating realistically

Who doesn’t want to get the lowest possible price when buying a home? Buyers need to understand there is a big difference between negotiating and lowballing. If a buyer truly wants a chance at a sale it is best to make a fair offer. Lowball offers often immediately get rejected or cause the seller to become agitated which often ends negotiations. Buyers must understand a lowball offer comes with a risk of losing the property.

Online Home Shopping

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:07:55 +0000

If you are looking for a piece of property that you and your family can call home, there are a few important factors to consider beforehand. First, shopping for homes does not have to be difficult if you do it online. One way to do that is by using the “Search Properties” link above. It will help you to find the perfect home in the area of your choice. You can also Sign up for “New Listings Email Alerts” that will email you every day with new listings, price changes, back on the market and open houses. You will have the ability to search the MLS and get the addresses of properties, view full listings sheet, show where the property is on a map, etc. You can keep the homes you like in a saved folder to view at anytime or email them to a friend or colleague.

This website also will allow you to sign up for MLS Property Messenger which will alert you of a new property as soon as it comes on the market. Be the first to know about new listings or price drops with the great service.

In the end, you and your family want to be as comfortable as possible in your new home, and so it is important that you find the perfect environment for your property. Once you begin shopping for homes, try to search for property that is located in a good area, and more importantly, the property should be close to your work and to your children’s schools, as this in turn will ensure that commuting does not take too much out of your time. Do not focus on pricing alone, as this will limit your search. Instead, focus on how much room you are looking for, and make sure that these rooms are spacious enough so that no one feels crowded. Pricing can always be negotiated down the road, and you will find that if you negotiate a price on a home that you truly do like, then you will feel that you got a great deal. In the end, you and your family want to feel comfortable in your home, so it is important to begin your search on the right foot.

Spruce Up Your Home’s Curb Appeal

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:06:17 +0000

Did you know that a simple can of paint can spruce up your home’s curb appeal? According to this article from Benjamin Moore you can instantly give your home an eye-catching makeover with these fun and simple painting projects.

Anytime is a great time to enhance your home’s curb appeal—and paint color is an easy way to achieve an updated and refreshing new look. Although a house’s body color might be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about curb appeal, there are other ways to enhance the look of your property without repainting the entire house and spending a substantial amount of money.

The simple application of new paint color on the following architectural elements of your home can also produce amazing results:

Front door: A new coat of paint on your front door creates a visually pleasing focal point. It plants the seed of first impression that sets the tone for the rest of the house.

Porch: A porch boasting a new paint job is a sure-fire way to draw people’s attention to your property. A warm, welcoming look establishes your home’s personality.

Shutters: Whether blending to the body color or serving as a cosmetic accent to the overall color scheme of the house, freshly-painted shutters serve as instant exterior updates.

Trim: New trim paint beautifies the façade, highlights the design of your house, and gives special emphasis to its attractive architectural features.

Garage Doors: Another way to enhance curb appeal is to paint your garage doors to coordinate with the house body color—or make it standout by using a complementary hue. The former holds true for large doors, and the latter, for smaller ones.

Fences: The right fence color can underscore the architecture of your home and add character to your yard. Fences provide a color frame for your property and give the house a distinct personality.

Why You Can’t Sleep

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:05:06 +0000

Sleep; it is so good for us but for many it can be so hard to achieve. Believe it or not your lack of sleep may be coming from the foods you eat.

This article from Caring.com says avoid these five foods that can *prevent* you from getting a good night’s rest:

1. Preserved and smoked meats

Slap your hand away when it reaches to make a ham sandwich as an evening snack. Ham, bacon, sausages, and smoked meats contain high levels of the amino acid tyramine, which triggers the brain to release norepinephrine, a brain stimulant that makes us feel alert and wired.

2. Chocolate

Love an evening cup of cocoa? That sundae in front of the TV? Be careful of chocolate in all its disguises. Many people are increasingly sensitive to caffeine as they get older, and even the little chocolate chunks in chocolate chip ice cream could zap you just enough to prevent ZZZZs. Chocolate also contains tyrosine, a stimulating amino acid.

3. Energy drinks

Red Bull and other energy drinks are high in caffeine as well as the amino acid taurine, which boosts alertness and adrenaline. Recent studies have shown that even if you drink energy drinks early in the day, the combined high dosage of taurine and caffeine can make it hard to sleep, or to sleep well, later on.

4. Tomato sauce, chili, pizza, and spicy foods

Digestive disturbances are a common source of sleep problems, but many people fail to make the connection. Acidic and spicy foods can cause reflux, heartburn, and other symptoms that interrupt sleep.

5. The nightcap

A drink or two may make you feel more relaxed after dinner, but it comes back to haunt you — literally — a few hours later, by preventing you from achieving deep sleep. And because alcohol both dehydrates you and makes you have to pee, it wakes you up, too. Wine is high in the stimulant tyrosine as well.

Important Factors to Consider when Buying a Home

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:05:06 +0000

Owning your own house or apartment is a gratifying experience, as you not only have a place you can call home, but you also have the freedom to live the way you choose once you enter your domain. However, to find a home that can truly make you happy, there are a few points that you should consider beforehand. The first point to think about is the neighborhood (where your home will be located). This is important, because you need to feel that the area you are living in will be safe from crime, and that it will also be easy to commute to work on a daily basis. In the end, you do not want to spend too much time traveling in the evenings or in the mornings, as this can only make life more difficult.

The next point to think about is how much space you want, as well as how many responsibilities you are willing to put up with. In other words, you could either choose to find a home that has a huge garden and a swimming pool, which is perfect if you enjoy gardening and going out for a swim, or, you could decide to do away with these extra bells and whistles if you hate gardening and do not want to spend time cleaning the pool. In other words, you want a home that you can truly feel comfortable living in, as this in turn will ensure that you can keep your life as stress free as possible.

Price is always important, and you want to make sure you look for a home that you can afford. There are a lot of other expenses you have to think about, cable TV, insurance, taxes, telephone, heat, electric, maintenance etc. So make sure you factor all of these into your monthly budget. You do not want to be house poor and buying a home that you may fall in love with can in the end be very stressful if you are struggling to pay for it every month. Look for a home at a good value and that may need some cosmetic fix ups and grow into the home with home improvements down the road. This will bring value to your home and in turn be a good invest when you go to sell the home.

Insurance Buying Guide

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:05:32 +0000

Buying insurance can be tricky and how to know what to buy and how much downright confusing. Bloomberg.com consulted consumer advocates, academics, financial advisers, insurance agents, and adjusters for advice on how to avoid overpaying, underinsuring, or missing out on claims you deserve to have paid.

Here are tips and tricks of the trade.

Use Buying Guides

Agents are paid by insurers to sell their products and often sell only certain companies’ policies. Some insurers offering lower prices, such as Geico and USAA, sell directly to the public. Before meeting an agent, read buying guides on state insurance regulators’ websites, such as Calfornia’s Insurance Dept. site to learn what insurance should cost and cover. Ask agents what they make on a sale, says Karrol Kitt, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and drill down on what policies cover. Ask them to verify answers with written proof. “Sometimes agents aren’t as knowledgeable as they should be,” Kitt says.

Be Wary of Cheap Policies

Insurance isn’t a “commodity like salt or sugar,” says Bill Wilson of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. “There can be a dramatic difference in coverage from one policy to another.” One homeowners policy might cover all water damage, for example, while another might pay only if you notice it right away, excluding the effects of a pipe that has caused mold growth over a long stretch. In health care, coverage and price differences can be especially dramatic. “The cheapest is rarely the best,” Ditré says.

Raise Your Deductable

“Raising your deductible is the best way to keep your premiums down,” says Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a policyholder advocacy group. Even if you can afford the expensive premiums of a low-deductible policy, it should ultimately cost less to choose a high-deductible policy and create a bank account to insure your own small losses. Insurance should be for “catastrophic losses,” says Rutgers University law professor Jay Feinman. For anything less, “it often makes sense to absorb those yourself.”

Get Disaster Coverage

With disasters in the news, the importance of insuring a home against Mother Nature’s bag of tricks is all too clear. Fire insurance won’t necessarily pay out if the fire was caused by an earthquake–unless you have earthquake insurance. And coverage for hurricane wind damage might not protect you from the flood caused by the hurricane. (In Louisiana, only 29 percent of households are covered for floods, according to its insurance commissioner.) Flood insurance is available through the federal National Flood Insurance Program for an average of about $600 per year. On coastal areas and beachfront, coverage can be far more costly.

Don’t Underinsure

A dangerous way to lower premiums is to get too little coverage. Homeowners who can afford it would be smart to insure enough to cover the contents of a house–including artwork or other expensive items–and the full cost to rebuild a home on the site. This construction can be much more than the market value of a house, says public insurance adjuster Jack Kunz, president of Alex N. Sill. Also, many young families fail to get enough life insurance, says financial adviser Brenda Knox. Insurance agents sometimes won’t present a policy with full coverage for fear that the high premiums will scare off customers.

For more tips read the article from Bloomberg.com.

Quick Room Remodel

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 11:06:55 +0000

It is great to have a room renovation every once in a while but painting and changing the look of a room can be costly and time consuming. Here are three quick and simple ways to change the look of your room without busting the budget.

Window Treatments are one of the quickest, simplest and most affordable ways to change the whole look and feel of a room. If you prefer to take the focus away from the windows, choose neutral colors, and a simple style. If you would like to create a dramatic look and emphasize the view, choose more color or a bolder style in the window treatments. A layered look with sheers or a top treatment will also do the trick.
Lighting can definitely add color. A simple solution would be to add colored bulbs to some of your light fixtures. Incandescent lighting can also add more warmth, and accent lighting can highlight an area of the room. Transform a room’s mood with dimmers, uplights, and sheer textile lampshades. Wall sconces, floor lamps and even candles can also change the look of a room.
Artwork can change the look without busting the budget. Artwork can be from a local gallery, children’s drawings or just what you already have hanging around the house. Choose pieces that showcase intense colors but also work well with the existing pieces in your room. Try moving your current artwork around. Photos, vases, and other collectibles can give new life to a room. Group them in sets of three or five for an instant eye-catching display.

The possibilities are endless. You can infuse a lot of color into any room without once having to pry open a paint can or spend a fortune. Have fun!

Are You Ready for Homeownership?

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:05:07 +0000

You may be considering buying a home but it is hard to know if you are ready to be a homeowner. It can be a big step. Buyers that educate themselves on the process and set realistic expectations have the best experiences.

To gauge whether or not you are ready to own your first home you should ask yourself some serious questions.

Are you in a lease or is your living situation easily changed?
Do you need to remain in your current community or would you be willing to move?
Do you have the time and resources necessary to make your first home purchase a success?

If you have answered these questions favorably you may well be on your way to homeownership.

The next step is to evaluate your financial situation. Here are some questions to check your financial readiness.

Do you have a steady source of income?
Do you know your credit history?
Do you have a down payment ?
Are you ready for the financial responsibilities that coincide with home ownership?

If your answers to these questions are positive then it is time to get the loan process started to see how much you can afford. A reputable lender will give you realistic expectations and many offer a free consultation for buyers seeking pre-approval.

Now it is time to start your search. Working with an agent that you trust and are comfortable with is very important. My skills include educating you about the buying process, negotiating, having your best interest in mind and helping you find a perfect first home while hopefully saving you time and money.

How to Have a Healthy Home

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 11:04:59 +0000

Did you know that indoor air pollution is actually worse than outdoor air pollution? Indoor pollution can in fact be 2 to 10 times worse depending on the materials in your home. Many of the materials in your home omit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s). According to the EPA, VOC’s are in the air that you breathe and can have long term health effects, including liver, kidney and central nervous system damage and cancer.

Here is a list of some of the indoor air pollutants that you may want to reduce or remove in order to have a healthier home.

Cleaning Supplies
The things that clean your home may be making you sick. In fact, bleach is one of the biggest offenders. In order to have a truly clean home, remove all of these chemicals and start replacing them with natural ones. Check the labels of everything. Many sheets that are made for your dryer have formaldehyde in them. Some of the most dangerous cleaning products are corrosive drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and acidic toilet bowl cleaners. Corrosive chemicals can cause severe burns on eyes, skin and, if ingested, on the throat and esophagus.

Air Fresheners
Air fresheners may smell sweet but their effect can be anything but. Some air fresheners can send chemicals into the air that contain VOCs. The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology looked at plug-in fresheners and found more than 20 VOCs’ and more than one-third were considered toxic or hazardous. VOCs can increase the risk of asthma in kids. At high enough levels, they can also irritate the eyes and lungs, trigger dizziness and headaches, and even lead to memory loss.

Furniture
Believe it or not the place where you sit or sleep could be harming your health. Furniture is such a big part of our life, we eat on it, sleep and sit on it. Furniture also can emit VOCs. Furniture is often made with flame retardants, finishes, adhesives and foam cushions that give off harmful chemicals.

Paint
You often hear about the dangers of lead paint. You should also be worried about the brand new fresh paint you just put on the walls. Paint, paint strippers, varnish removers and floor stains all emit VOC’s into the air. These chemicals don’t go away once the paint has dried or once it stops smelling. The harmful chemicals can last for as long as two years.

New Flooring
That new carpet smell is not good for you. As pretty as it may look new carpet, wood floors or even linoleum flooring give off VOCs. Purchase flooring produced from renewable materials such as linseed oil, rosins, wood flour and jute. Look for wood flooring that is FSC Certified (it came from a Forest Stewardship Council Certified Forest which helps protect old growth forests from being clear cut).

For more information read about Sources of Indoor Air Pollution on the EPA site.

Uncover Your Home’s Hidden Past

Vicki Schauffler — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 11:08:57 +0000

Many homes in our area have stories to tell. If you live in an older home, you may want to know its hidden secrets. You may have wondered who slept in your bedroom or when the home was actually built. Your home holds many clues to its history and its prior owners. With some detective work you will be well on your way to uncovering your home’s hidden past. Here are some hints to get you started.

Gather Information

In order to get started you will need to uncover all of the information you have, you will want to gather your deed and title paperwork. Make note of the first owner, year built, and the year the original owner sold it. You will also want to know the names of all the owners, as well as the years they bought and sold the property. All of this information may not be available on your deed but you will be able to find it at town hall or the registry of deeds.

You may find clues in the names of owners and years owned. Pay attention to details and look for clues. Some clues to the history of the home may be: a family that owned the home for a long time, multiple property turnovers and inconsistencies in property or land descriptions.

Tackling the Records

Wading through the mountains of information may be difficult but don’t get discouraged. Information about your home’s owners will most likely be contradictory. Census records dating back to the year your house was built are likely available at your public library, a nearby university or your local historical society or museum. Review census rosters from the year closest to the one your house was built. Census records from the 1800s and early 1900s have lots of fun and interesting information and often include the names of all those living in a household at the time, their ages, occupations, places of birth, and sometimes more. You may also want to search for census data on the U.S. Census website.

Getting Help

Some of the language on deeds and title paperwork can be hard to understand put older language in the mix and it can be even more confusing. Ask friends who are lawyers, title-company employees or experts in historical documents for help. You can also turn to the internet for help. Use the internet to dig up any information you can find about the families who lived in your home, as well as the surrounding streets, neighborhoods, and landmarks. If prior owners of your home are relatives you can use genealogy web sites for research.

Getting a Feel for the Times

Read through newspapers from the year your house was built. You will start to get a sense of the historical times. Keep notes on everything you find that mentions your house and its occupants. In those times local papers covered social news of all kinds—dinner parties, haying trips, visits from out-of-town relatives—in addition to chronicling everything from world events to weather. They often covered construction of new homes, and may offer you information on where the builders got the materials used to build your house, why they made certain design decisions, and more.

More Information

For more information regarding researching homes you may want to try some of the books listed.

American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home, by Lester Walker, Overlook Press, 1981
How Old is This House? by Hugh Howard, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1989
House Styles in America, by James C. Massey and Shirley Maxwell, Penguin Studio, 1996
Old American House, by Henry Lionel Williams and Ottalie K. Williams, Bonanza Books, 1957
A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia and Lee McAlester, Random House, 1984