It’s vital to understand the terms “earnest money” and “contingencies” when house hunting. Earnest money is paid up-front as a show of good faith when you make an offer on a home. It is held by an escrow company until the sale is finalized or falls through. A contingency is a condition added to a purchase offer. If that condition isn’t met, the buyer keeps their earnest money if they walk away.

Here are the five most common contingencies used by homebuyers.

1. Appraisal: This contingency means the offer depends on a satisfactory appraisal of the property. If the appraiser decides the value of the home is much lower than the sale price, the buyer can re-negotiate or walk away.
2. Financing: This contingency gives the buyer time to secure a home loan. It protects them in the event they cannot find a lender or do not qualify for the amount they need.
3. Home sale: If a buyer needs to sell their current home, this contingency gives them time to do so. If they cannot sell their home, they get their earnest money back. This contingency is no longer very common, as sellers generally decline offers with it.
4. Inspection: If the home inspection reveals any problems, this contingency gives the buyer a chance to negotiate repairs with the seller. If an agreement cannot be reached, the buyer can walk away.
5. Title: This contingency protects the buyer if any problems arise during the title search. Common problems include contested ownership or another person’s debts needing to be paid.

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Finding the right house starts with finding the right neighborhood. After all, location is everything. However, evaluating a neighborhood can be tough, particularly if you’re moving to an unfamiliar area. Here are a few tips to help you in your search.

Consider everything

When you’re just starting out, don’t eliminate anything right away. A neighborhood you heard one bad rumor about, or that you’ve only ever buzzed past, may actually be a delightful place to live. Look at all your options with fresh eyes, so that you can make a truly unbiased decision.

Remember what’s important

Just as with home buying, choosing a neighborhood comes down to what you can and can’t live without. Research local schools, average house prices and planned developments. Consider things like traffic noise, proximity of shops and parks, and how close you need to be to work. As you think about all these criteria and more, make a list of your must-haves. If you’re on the fence about a location, use your list to help you decide.

Ask around

Once you’ve found some neighborhoods you like, it’s time for a visit. Try going for a walk in the area, eating at a local restaurant and talking to local business owners as well as potential neighbors. You may even want to rent for a while to really get a feel for things.

In-person visits are the best way to observe things like safety, cleanliness and friendliness. So make sure you take a good look around to be sure it’s the right location for you.

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Getting pre-approved for your mortgage is one of the best ways to ensure the home-buying process runs smoothly. Many sellers these days expect a pre-approval letter as part of an offer, so take care of it early in your search with these four easy steps.

1. Check your credit – Request a free credit score or see if your bank automatically provides you one. Higher scores qualify for better loan rates, and most lenders want a score of at least 620. You should also look over your credit history report. Make certain none of your accounts are delinquent, and that your report is free of errors. You may dispute any errors you find.
2. Determine your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) – This is the amount of money you owe every month vs. how much you earn. Lenders prefer a DTI of 36% or under, including your future mortgage payments.
3. Collect your paperwork – You’ll need a lot of documentation for your application including your Social Security Number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for foreign nationals), current addresses, employment records, bank account information and proof of income. You will also likely need tax documents, such as W-2s dating back at least two years.
4. Contact at least three lenders – The only way to know you’re getting a good deal is to compare offers. This step can save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. Once you’ve submitted your application, lenders are required to notify you if you’ve been pre-approved within 3 business days.

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It’s common knowledge that a fresh coat of paint is one of the easiest ways to help your home sell. However, the right colors are crucial. Research shows that certain paint colors in certain rooms of the home can raise the final sale value by thousands.

Blue in the bathroom: In 2017, Zillow found that blue can be a surprisingly valuable color. In particular, houses with bathrooms that were painted a pale, soft blue sold for an average of $5,440 more than expected.

Brown living rooms: That same study by Zillow also found that light browns, such as beige and taupe, added value when used in living rooms. Homes painted this way sold for an average of $1,926 more than expected.

Certain paint colors in certain rooms of the home can raise the final sale value.

Avoid bright white: While neutrals consistently cause homes to sell for more money, stark white for interiors is usually not the right choice. This color can easily come across as sterile and uninviting.

Paint it black: Generally light colors are better, but the exception is the front door. A black front door has been shown to increase the sales price of an average American home by 2.9%. Black can also be an effective color when used on kitchen islands and cabinets, so long as the walls provide ample contrast.

Neighborly exteriors: There are many exterior colors that can work well when selling your house. To help make the right choice for your home, look at what the neighbors have done. After all, buyers already like your neighborhood. Use that knowledge to your advantage when choosing an exterior color.

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Today’s first-time home buyers are a unique bunch. They are typically millennials, budget-conscious, and looking for smaller and less expensive homes. Many have been renting for a long time — longer than they wanted to — and when they get to the home buying stage, they’re excited and ready to go.

Here are four key things that today’s first-time home buyers are looking for.

Great photos: Millennials do most things online, including shopping for a home. To attract first-time home buyers, your listing needs to include a good number of high-quality photos. Before bringing in a photographer, consider completing cosmetic upgrades to improve the home’s aesthetic.

Small spaces: These days, first-time buyers tend to be OK with less square footage, as long as the home feels functional and flexible. Staging a smaller home with multi-use items, such as a fold-out bed and hideaway storage, can create a sense of efficiency and potential.

Be nice: For first-time buyers, the home buying process often feels very personal. Overly aggressive or dishonest tactics are likely to drive them off. On the other hand, simple gestures like being flexible during showings are a reliable way to generate good will and soothe nerves.

Eco-friendly features: Energy-efficient appliances, smart thermostats and solar panels tend to appeal to millennial first-time buyers. They’re savvy to the cost savings these technologies bring, and tend to be drawn to them as an easy way to reduce their overall carbon footprint.

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Veterans Day is right around the corner, and our military deserves all the praise and recognition for serving our country. 

Regardless of the circumstances, COVID-19 has brought upon us, on November 11th, join us in honoring their service in creative, safe, and socially distanced ways.

From Your Home

There are plenty of ways to get creative and show your thanks to our veterans from the comfort of your home.

1. Create a short video saying a special thanks.

Let the military personnel in your life hear how much you value them. Whip out your phone and create a quick video expressing your gratitude and appreciation. Sending this to them will undoubtedly put a smile on their face. 

2. Create care packages for the soldiers overseas.

Care packages are a great way to celebrate and honor our military overseas. Grabbing some supplies from the store and shipping boxes of special items to Support Our Troops would be much appreciated by those currently deployed. Some things to include are:

• Reading material
• Baby wipes
• Sunscreen
• Non-aerosol deodorant
• Lipbalm
• Non-perishable food (beef jerky, protein bars, etc.)
• Handwritten notes

Donating to organizations that specialize in sending care packages is another excellent option.

For Your Coworkers

While many companies are working remotely, you can still say thank you to your coworkers who have served our country. 

3. Send out a special newsletter to your office highlighting those who’ve served.

This is an easy but thoughtful way to honor your coworkers and let them know they’re appreciated. Create a list of names and collect photos from when they were serving our country.

Send out the email first thing in the morning to make the whole day special for them, even if they’re working from home. 

4. Incorporate red poppies.

The American Legion Auxiliary typically distributes red crepe paper poppies on Veterans Day nationwide. However, with limitations due to COVID-19, this may not be possible. Baking remembrance poppy cookies is a thoughtful and delicious option to say thank you to your coworkers.

Not much of a chef? Contact your local florist to see if they have any red poppies they could deliver to your coworkers’ house. 

5. Prepare a special delivery of handwritten notes.

This might take some preparation, but collecting handwritten notes from coworkers and having them delivered to the veterans’ homes is sure to make their day. 

In Your Community

Don’t know anyone personally in the military? That doesn’t mean you can’t still get involved in the celebrations. 

6. Support veteran-owned businesses.

One of the easiest ways to honor a service member is to support their business. You can order from veteran-owned restaurants, share veteran-owned businesses on social media, shop in their store, and more. Can’t think of any businesses off the top of your head? Check out this directory of veteran-owned businesses.

7. Encourage others in your community to write thank you letters to those overseas.

A friendly note can go a long way. Spreading the word about programs like Operation Gratitude is a simple but impactful way to let our military know that we appreciate them, especially during a pandemic. 

This would be a great thing to share on social media to get the word out about this program and encourage others to participate in Veterans Day celebrations. 

8. Organize a drop off of supplies and thank you notes for those in veteran hospitals.

COVID-19 is undoubtedly a lonely time for everyone, especially those in care facilities and hospitals. Teaming up with friends and family, writing thank you notes, and putting together mini care packages for veterans needing extra care will let them know that their service is much appreciated no matter the circumstances. 

COVID-19 has changed many things in all of our lives, but there’s one thing for certain that we shouldn’t have to change: our love and respect for our veterans. 

Content proudly provided in partnership with Veterans United Home Loans. NMLS 1907

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Your children are more precious to you than anything else, and that’s why they are an important part of your decisions related to purchasing a home.

Here are a couple of simple tips to help you find the right home for your family.

Think school first

Websites like schooldigger.com can give you an immediate look at the quality of the schools in your area based on a series of ratings.

You can also check with the school district to make sure they have programs to match your children’s needs, like art, music, gifted and talented or special education programs.

Finally, never assume you’re in a given school district based on the home’s location. It’s possible for your neighbors across the street to be enrolled in a completely different school.

A floor plan that works for your family

Does it matter to you if all the bedrooms are on the same floor? If you have small children that don’t sleep through the night, this could be a huge issue.

An open floor plan will also help you as it provides more flexibility to monitor your children’s play throughout the house.

Safe and secure

Reviewing local crime rate data can provide a macro level estimation of an area’s safety but you should also consider whether the yard is fenced, or if the neighborhood has sidewalks for your kids to use.

Then, take a drive around the neighborhood to see how other homeowners are caring for — or not caring for — their homes. This pride of ownership will tell you a lot about whether you want to live here.

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