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First-time Homebuyers: Mistakes Not to Make

Whether you’re a veteran homebuyer or a first-timer, home buying can be a challenging experience. If you’ve never bought a home before, make sure you understand and avoid some of these common mistakes, courtesy of 20-year industry expert, Rick Allen, COO of MortgageMarvel.com:

1. Not knowing how much you can afford. Before you start shopping, talk with a lender and get pre-approved for a mortgage. That way, you’ll know the price range you should be shopping within, and you won’t fall in love with a home that’s out of your reach.

2. Not fully understanding all the ins and outs of the different kinds of mortgages. If you sign on for an adjustable rate mortgage because the payments are lower now, you need to know exactly when—and by how much—the payments will increase in the future. Then, you need to be realistic about whether you’ll be able to meet the increased payments. Or if you sign on for a 15-year mortgage to pay off the debt faster, be comfortable that you can still handle the higher payments if you experience a shift in income.

3. Failing to work with an agent who represents you. If you’ve never bought a home before – or even if you have – you need a professional in your corner to give you guidance and advice on the home-buying process.

4. Underestimating the cost of owning a home. You’re going to have repairs, and your utility bills may increase. Be prepared to set aside a small percentage of the purchase price of the home (at least 1 percent) each year for repairs and maintenance.

5. Failing to budget for property taxes. It’s a fair bet that, over time, your property taxes will increase. To get some idea of possible long-term impact, talk to your local assessor’s office or people in the neighborhood.

6. Being inflexible. Everyone has a dream house in mind, but you’ll probably not be able to get everything you want. Figure out up front what you absolutely have to have and what you would like to have but could forego.

7. Not doing a home inspection. You might save a few hundred dollars by skipping the inspection, but you could get stuck with a money pit after the deal closes. Don’t commit to a purchase until you have a good idea of the house’s true physical condition.

8. Assuming a foreclosure is a great deal. All you know for sure about a foreclosure is that the previous owner couldn’t make the payments. Until the home is inspected, you don’t know what condition it’s in, especially if it has sat vacant for a long time.

9. Losing your poker face. No matter how excited you might be about a particular house, don’t let your feelings show. If you do, you can lose valuable leverage in a negotiation.

10. Failing to include a contingency clause in your contract. A mortgage financing contingency clause protects you from having to go forward with the deal if certain things happen, such as losing your job and having your loan offer withdrawn or having the appraisal come in lower than the purchase price.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Cookies – Quick, Easy and YUMMY!

Slice pieces from Pillsbury’s Simply Peanut Butter cookie dough in half. Shape into 1-1/2″ triangles and place 3″ apart on cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. While they’re still warm, push a mini chocolate pretzel (use Flipz) on each side to resemble antlers. Let cool completely. Ask your kids to make the face: Attach brown M&M’s Minis for eyes and a red M&M nose with frosting. Makes 24.

Christmas Gift Idea ~~Cookie Cutter Bird Feeders ~ ~

Looking for low cost Gifts you can Craft! Try this mine came out Amazing. I’m giving 5-8 per family.

Recipe:
4 cups of wild bird seed (not too many big seeds)
1/2 cup of warm water
1 envelope of Knox gelatin
3/4 a cup of flour ~OR~ (I used pancake mix)
3 tb corn syrup ~OR~ (Pancake syrup if you don’t have corn syrup)
Cookie cutters
Twine
How to make…
Oil your cookie cutters & place on wax paper.
Mix 1 gelatin pack with 1/4 cup of very hot water. Stir very well until it’s totally dissolved. Put bird seeds & flour in a bowl and mix. Add in your water with gelatin and syrup. Stir everything together.
Fill cookie cutters half way with the birdseed mix. Press down well.
Make a loop with your twine & knot. I knotted the loose ends too. Place on top of the first half of birdseed mix in cookie cutters loop hanging out, knot in center. Cover with seed mix and pack to the top nice and tight. I kept putting oil on my hands it gets very sticky and that helped. I pushed them out of the cookie cutter after about a half an hour really slowly & let dry over night.

6 questions to ask before hiring a contractor

When you’re ready to remodel, make sure you’re hiring the best contractor. Here are six key questions to ask.

1. Can you itemize your bid? Some contractors like to give one total price for the project. Always ask for an itemized bid with costs for all elements of the job-demolition, framing, plumbing, electrical, materials, and such. This helps with comparing bids and lets you see options for cutting costs. If you decide not to do part of the job, it shows how much you should be credited for eliminating that work.

2. Is your bid a fixed price or an estimate? With an estimate, the final bill can wind up higher, so always ask for a fixed price bid. If the contractor hesitates because there are too many unknowns, try to get the answers. Open a wall to check the structure, or ask for more detailed design plans. If unknowns persist, ask the contractor for project specs, describing what will be done. If more work is needed later, get a mini-bid for the new items.

3. How long have you been in business here? You should hire someone who’s been working in your town 5 to 10 years. They’ll have a local reputation to uphold, plus a good network of subcontractors and suppliers. Avoid hiring contractors from out of the area.

4. Can you include some of your earliest clients as references? This verifies that the contractor has been in business for a while and tells you how the work stands up.

5. Who are your suppliers? Get their names and call them. Ask what customers think of the contractor, how promptly they pay their bills, and if you should hire them.

6. Can I meet the job foreman? Some contractors aren’t there running the job every day. Find out who that will be and ask to meet them, ideally at a job site. This is the most important person on your team.

CHEAP Unique Holiday Decorating Ideas!

Twist on a Traditional Wreath

Instead of the traditional evergreen, try a homemade wreath of citrus fruits. Start with a circular piece of florist’s foam, and then use wooden florist’s picks to secure large items, such as oranges, first. Continue with smaller fruit―kumquats, clementines, and limes. Tie with a thick velvet ribbon.

Sparkly Ornament Display

Place vintage ornaments on a cake stand nested with leaves for a stunningly simple centerpiece.

Personalized Place Settings

Serving holiday dinner buffet style? Wrap each dish in a sheet of parchment paper and tie with a length of ribbon before stacking it. Guests will be rewarded with a pretty presentation (not to mention a little gift-opening practice).

Invite Greenery Inside

Lush greenery draped around the house, especially doorways, creates an inviting atmosphere and a woodsy aroma.

An Understated Mantel

For an elegant look, trim the mantel with a row of white votives and dramatic white amaryllises. Amaryllis bulbs can be repotted and forced to bloom again next winter.

Monochromatic Color Palette

Decorate a small, artificial white tree with objects that share a color scheme―say, candy canes, peppermints, and red bows―and place it on a side table or a coffee table.

Stylishly Suspend Ornaments

A grouping of old-fashioned ornaments hung from the ceiling makes a whimsical “chandelier.”

Front Door Flair

Let visitors jingle all the way into your home: Tie big silver bells to the front doorknob with festive ribbon.

Frosting on the Door

With a bit of spray paint, you can transform a wreath into something befitting a winter wonderland.

Embellish a Wreath

An even simpler way to make a pinecone wreath your own: Decorate it with colorful ornaments

Festive Flair for Stemware

Use leftover ribbon to tie around the stems of your Champagne flutes or wineglasses for an extra bit of festivity. Bonus: Choosing a different color for every glass will help guests keep track of their drinks.

Mix and Match Centerpiece

A five-second centerpiece: Mix clementines or oranges and peppermint balls in a single glass compote (or a grouping of three).

Wintery Mix

A window ledge allows for plenty of decorating opportunities. Pine boughs look charming in a large vase, while white starfish can create a feeling of snowy weather even if flakes aren’t falling from the sky.

Everything is Illuminated

Light up a room with twinkling topiaries (they look especially magical flanking a fireplace). Buy them ready-made, or insert five-foot-tall bamboo plant stakes around the perimeter of a potted evergreen, tie them at the top with florist wire, then twine white lights all around.

Showcase a Vintage Collection

Make a “curtain” of vintage ornaments: Cut a length of ribbon one foot longer than the length of the window; tie to a tension rod fitted in the frame. String on ornaments, knotting them in place about 5 inches apart. Repeat across the window, staggering the ornaments.

Creative Place Settings

Personalize your ornaments: Fill clear glass orbs (find them at craft stores) with glittery garland, pine needles, or special trinkets.

Update Outdoor Decor

An idea for a newel post (or your front door): Take several lengths of heavy-gauge wire, knot one end of each, and string through a clementine and a jingle bell (your hands may get a bit sticky). Twist all the wires into a cluster and secure with a large bow.

Wreath Filled with Wishes

Hang an unadorned twig wreath in a spot where guests can’t miss it. Set out red Magic Markers and small plain cards on a table next to it. Post a little sign asking visitors to scribble a greeting or a wish for the upcoming New Year, along with their names, and have them slip the notes into the wreath.

An Arrangement of Silver Bells

Add a little sparkling style to your dining room table by filling a snifter to the brim with an array of shiny silver bells.

Casting the Perfect Glow

To create soft, flickering light for a mantel or a table in a dark corner, group inexpensive frosted-glass vases of different sizes, add tealights, and enjoy the glow.

Colorful Banister Display

Show off eye-catching ornaments by threading them with different lengths of thin ribbon or string, then tying to a long, wide grosgrain ribbon wound along a banister.

Light the Way

Create a heavenly stairway by stringing a banister with fairy lights entwined with a length of feather trim. Either twirl the swag around the banister or attach it every few inches or so with ribbon or clear fishing line.

Decorative Photo Collage

Up on the mantel, collect your family’s holiday picture cards from previous years and clothespin them to a long, slim stick suspended between two vases. Put them in chronological order and, if you want, date the pins.

Light it Right

When coiled in bottomless hurricane lamps, strands of holiday lights make a glowing addition to a mantel or a sideboard. Run both the socket and plug ends of each strand out from underneath its cylinder, connect the cords to one another, and insert the last plug into a wall outlet.

Electrifying Wall Decor

For an electrifying wreath, wrap a wire wreath frame with a string of lights, making sure to leave enough slack to reach the plug; otherwise, use an extension cord.

Faux Fabulous

Plastic greenery tends to look, well, plastic. But place boughs of holly, evergreens, or mistletoe in clear glass jars or vases and they make for a glossy yet understated table decoration. Group various sizes and shapes together for a stronger statement.

Fresh Tree Trimmings

When it comes to the main event―the big tree―berries, fresh and dried fruits, and flowers offer up a completely organic way to decorate it without the fuss of hanging lights or delicate glass ornaments.

Decorate in Style: Master the Art of Throw Pillows with 9 Simple Do’s and Don’ts

A great way to spruce up your home with some bright colors and personalization is to incorporate decorative throw pillows. These wonderful accent pieces have come into their own as one of the least expensive and most cost-effective ways to personalize furniture and change a room’s décor—they may even serve as a great conversation starter at your next party.

“The perfect scarf or bracelet can turn an ordinary outfit into an extraordinary one,” says Kris Woodcock, VP of Merchandising for Ashley Furniture. “In the same way, the perfect combination of toss pillows can turn an ordinary room into a showstopper.”

Many exciting new pillow trends are making their debut, from couture, nubby and boldly patterned choices, to a bolder mix of pillow styles together. But how do you mix and match decorative toss pillows to create a look that’s right for you?

Here are some great suggestions:

1. DON’T use cheap-looking pillows. Nothing ruins a good-looking sofa more than dated or poor quality pillows, while nothing transforms an inexpensive sofa more than high-quality, fashion-forward toss pillows.

2. DO match the mood of your pillows to the mood of your sofa. Choose toss pillows the same way you chose your sofa—based on your lifestyle and tastes. For example, use dressy pillows with a dressy sofa; casual pillows with a casual sofa.

3. DON’T use pillows that are duller, or a lot lighter than the sofa. There’s an exception to every rule, but decorators agree that decorative pillows look best when they’re darker, brighter or bolder than the sofa.

4. DO use pillows in a similar style. For an elegant look, stick with satiny or faux-fur fabrics. For a global look, stick with earthy or exotic fabrics. For a modern look, stick with bright or geometric fabrics.

5. DON’T use pillows too big (or too small) for the sofa. Large throw pillows on a small sofa will make it look even smaller. Small pillows (or too few of them) on a large sofa will look dwarfed.

6. DO use toss pillows with related colors. Forget about fancy color theories. Simply choose pillow colors with something in common, such as hues all inspired by a country landscape or a summer fruit salad.