A house full of moving boxes can be overwhelming, consider making a plan before you start unpacking; you will appreciate it later.

Know where you want to put things you'll be using, and what will go into storage. First, unpack the things your household needs to function: sheets and towels, kitchen gear, clothes.

Here are some other tips for making your arrival as smooth as possible:

Arrange for the telephone and utilities to be switched on the day you move in. If you are having any contracting work done before you move in, you may want to have them switched on as soon as the previous owners vacate.

Arrange for special services, like garbage pick-up, cable television service, or local newspaper delivery.

Change the locks on all entry doors. This ensures that only you and your household will have access to your house.

Collapse boxes for storage or recycling. Save any boxes, you need them to repack items for storage.

Settle your children into school. If you're moving to a new school district, you'll need to enroll your children, if you haven't already done so, of course. Be sure you have their medical records with you; most schools require immunization and physical records before they will enroll a student.

Complete any changes of address you may have postponed. This may mean sending notices to family and friends, magazines, professional or alumni associations, or any other group you belong to.

File your closing papers where you can get to them easily at tax time. Your settlement papers are probably already together in an envelope or file; keep them with your other tax records for the next year.

Change your driver's license and automobile registration. Different rules apply in different states. Check your state's requirements.

Change your voter registration. In some states you can register at the local state department of motor vehicles office .

Start a log of repairs, remodeling, and major maintenance projects. It may seem premature, but it's a good habit to get into. File these plans for future reference.

That should help get you started...

By: Inman News

Every home purchase hits a few snags. You'll have a much better chance of completing the sale "on time" if you're familiar with these common closing problems and how to resolve them.

Here are a few of the most common:

The seller wants you to raise your offering price.

Raise the price if your comparative market analysis (CMA) warrants it.
Show your CMA, to the seller to justify your original offer. Raise the price if the seller agrees to cover a greater portion of the closing costs. Stick to your original offer, but withdraw your request that the seller pay for needed repairs or some other expense.

The appraisal indicates you're paying too much.

Fight the lowball appraisal to get the loan you need to close.
Use the low appraisal as a negotiating tool to bring down the seller's asking price.

The seller doesn't want to pay for needed repairs.

Show the seller your appraisal and inspection reports to justify your request.
Offer to pay for the repairs if the seller will reduce the sales price accordingly.
Share repair costs (only if other alternatives don't work).
Accept the home "as is" (only if other alternatives don't work).

The seller needs more time before sale can close.

If you can't adjust your closing date, stick to the date you originally suggested but agree to rent the property back to the seller for a month or two after the sale closes.

The seller wants to close sooner than you do.

This is a common problem for buyers who must sell their current home to get the money needed to buy a new one. Explain your problem, and the seller may agree to wait. You may be able to get a short-term bridge loan or other interim financing to close the deal and replace it with a conventional mortgage after you sell your current home.

By: Inman News

Most people assume they'll get a conventional 30-year, fixed-rate loan and overlook many other options.

With more competition in the marketplace in recent years, you can choose from an increasing variety of loans, and may find another that better matches your long-term plans and goals. For example, if you think you may change jobs within three years, you may be better off getting an adjustable-rate mortgage. An adjustable-rate loan has a low interest rate in the early years of the loan, while a fixed-rate loan stays constant at a higher rate. With an adjustable, you'll pay less for short-term ownership of your house. On the other hand, if you think you may keep the house more than 5 years, a predictable fixed-rate loan is probably a better choice. Here are some things to consider when making your decision:

Think Ahead
Seriously consider your future plans and then look for a loan that conforms with them:

Do you want to remain in the area?
If you like the area where you live now and don't think you'll buy a bigger, smaller or better house soon, then get a loan with the best rate for the long term.

Are you happy with your job or confident you won't change jobs soon?
If not, you may want to invest in a property with good resale value and a loan that ties up a minimal portion of your income.

Do you plan to make any family changes?
If you plan to have children or your widowed mother is going to move in, your current house may not be large enough. You may want a loan that keeps enough capital free to make the necessary additions. You can also prepay principal to build up additional equity and draw a home-equity loan or refinance your current loan and get cash out.

Will you finance your children's college in the next 10 years?
You may want to choose a 15-year loan to build up equity sooner and pay a lower interest rate. Or pay down (pay more principal on) a longer-term loan to free more equity before you take on that expense.

What are your long-term financial goals?
A mortgage is a form of fixed savings, and you get a payback in the form of a mortgage interest deduction, but you may need to invest more cash in areas that have a bigger return. You'll shortchange your retirement savings plan if you put the bulk of your resources into a home loan.

The Portfolio Advantage
Portfolio lenders are lending institutions that don't resell their loans on the secondary mortgage market. They can be more flexible about loan terms and qualifications because they don't have to follow secondary-market rules. It's harder to qualify for loans intended for sale, because they must conform to rigid guidelines. For example, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae won't permit all of the down payment to be a gift if the borrower is applying for a 90 percent loan, but some portfolio lenders will. A portfolio lender may also:

Stretch your qualifying ratios
This can be most valuable if your income is shy of the required amount for a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan. Your qualifying ratio is determined by dividing your monthly housing expense (the total of your loan payment, property taxes, hazard insurance, mortgage insurance and homeowner association fees) by your gross monthly income. For a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan, this ratio shouldn't exceed 30 to 33 percent. A portfolio lender may allow a 40, 50 or even 60 percent ratio, depending on your credit rating and the amount of cash you have to put down.

Fund a loan for an "as is" property
In fact, a portfolio lender may be your only option. Properties sold "as is" almost always need major work. Some portfolio lenders will allow funds from the seller's proceeds to be held in an account to complete repair work after closing. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans won't permit holdbacks for such work.

When you buy a house, you also invest in the neighborhood that surrounds it.

The identity of a neighborhood may be as important to property values as the individual properties themselves. In a planned community, strictly controlled architecture governs a carefully crafted identity block after block. In a rural town, tree-lined streets and an old-fashioned town square preserve a disappearing way of life. In a large city, an older neighborhood's ethnic history has shaped its character and often drives its rejuvenation. It's important to know where a neighborhood has been—and where it's going—before you decide to buy.

Here’s a checklist you may want to follow when selecting a neighborhood:

Start with Statistics
It's now possible to get valuable neighborhood statistics online. Crime statistics, school scores and demographic information are all readily available. Want to feel right at home? Let Home Advisor show you neighborhoods that are most like your current one. Or you can set your own criteria and search according to your preferences, and find the right neighborhood for you. This means that you don't have to depend on anecdotal information to learn about crime or the quality of the schools.

Check with City Hall
You can get any kind of town planning document from your town or county's zoning and/or planning authorities. If you want to be sure that the rural hideaway you just bought stays rural, check with these officials. They start planning large projects like major road construction years from the actual start date.

WARNING: Before you buy

If you can't investigate a neighborhood before you make an offer, include an inspection contingency in your purchase contract that covers both neighborhood and house. It may state that the offer is dependent upon the buyer's satisfactory inspection of both the property and neighborhood. You can write more specific contingencies into the contract, too. For example, your offer may be contingent upon confirmation that a restaurant cannot be built next door.

Research the Resale Potential
The quality of the neighborhood will play a big role in your home's resale value—whether you live in the least or most expensive house on the block. Get a list of homes for sale in the neighborhood from your agent to determine how many days they've been on the market. If properties haven't been selling quickly, find out whether the market is slow or if there are neighborhood issues that may make resale difficult.

Get to Know the Community
It may sound like a cliche, but nobody knows a neighborhood like the people who live and work there every day. Visit a neighborhood on your own at different times of day and night. Talk to neighbors. Visit nearby schools and local businesses. Subscribe to the local paper. Small local papers can be chock-full of information that gives you a feel for the neighborhood or community. If you depend on public transportation, find out how accessible it is in this area. Drive to and from the house from several different directions, so you see both the scenic and not-so-scenic routes.

Look for signs the neighborhood is “up and coming”

Start looking for tomorrow's hot neighborhoods right on the edge of today's most desirable, well-established neighborhoods. These tangential neighborhoods are frequently next in line to experience a surge in prices.

Look for these signs of increasing popularity:

§ Multiple offers on homes for sale
§ An increase in the number of buyers moving in from other areas
§ An increase in the number of local residents trading up within the neighborhood
§ A decrease in the percentage of renters
§ Signs of remodeling