4 Tips When Moving to a new State - A Moving Checklist

           4 Tips to Consider When Moving to a New State

RISMEDIA, Saturday, August 06, 2016— Relocating to a new state offers the opportunity to start fresh and experience a life you may not have otherwise planned. But, like anything new, moving can present its own unique challenges, from organizing what to bring and discard, to deciding where to enroll the kids in school, to ensuring everyone remains happy and positive. Truly, the devil is in the details.

But because deciding where to move is the easy part, it's wise to cobble together a moving checklist to ensure you're not excluding any items to make your new house a home. Check out these helpful tips that will make your out-of-state move as seamless as possible.

Create a Checklist and Budget
Getting organized is one of the keys to a successful move. The best way to start is by creating a checklist. For example, in addition to packing and arranging moving services, you will need to:

• Change your address and phone number
• Update your billing and credit card information
• Update your insurance policies
• Obtain a new driver's license and plates

After creating this checklist, organize it chronologically into a calendar. For instance, you might start sorting through your belongings and research moving companies two months before your move, order moving supplies six weeks ahead of your move, and start packing and scheduling moving services a month ahead of time. Real Simple provides a sample calendar checklist that you can modify.

As you develop your checklist and calendar, you should also start planning a budget for the items on your list. Moving out of state can be expensive — as much as $8,000 to $14,000 if you're moving across the country, according to Updater.com. Items to include in your budget include:

• Moving company expenses
• Costs for unpacking and assembling appliances
• Vehicle transportation costs
• Post-move costs for security deposits and furniture

Before Your Move
Your checklist should include a number of key items you need to complete before your move. These include researching the cost of living in your new state, scheduling moving services, conducting a home inventory in deciding what to keep or discard, and packing. You may also need to take care of arranging transportation for plants and pets, collecting important documents and paperwork (insurance and school records), and canceling utility services at your old home and activating them at your new home.

Finding the Right Movers
Choosing the right movers can make the difference between a smooth moving experience and a big hassle. Interstate moving companies are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which requires them to comply with regulations for registration, a unique Department of Transportation number and insurance. This information should be posted on their website. You can read moving company reviews and receive quotes at MovingCompanyReviews.com. When considering moving companies, find out if they will subcontract your move, which might mean some of your belongings arrive at different times than others.

Post-Move Follow-Up
After moving into your new home — surprise! — there are a few more items to check off your list. Some of the more high-priority items include getting acclimated and set up with your new job, finding new local healthcare providers and registering your car. DMV.org provides an online map to discover motor-vehicle registration and license plate requirements for any state. You should also make it a habit of become familiar with local traffic and safety laws in your new home state, which you can research on driving-tests.org.

Finally, start laying down some social roots by checking out community events and getting to know your neighbors. Soon, with any luck, your new house will start to feel like a home.

This post was originally published on RISMedia's blog, Housecall. Check the blog daily for top real estate tips and trends.

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Is there a PrePayment Penalty? Is There a Downside to Prepaying Your Mortgage?

Is There a Downside to Prepaying Your Mortgage?

 By Dottie Wells  Bethany Beach L&F Mgr Newsletter

Long before you settle on a mortgage lender, one of your interview questions should be, "Is there a prepayment penalty and if so, how much is it?" Unfortunately, too many homebuyers don't understand what a prepayment penalty is, how it works, or even if they are paying it.

Prepayment Penalty

When you take out a mortgage but your credit is less than stellar, banks want to make sure that you will at least stick to your obligation for a few years. Most prepayment penalties come in three-, five-, or even ten-year terms.

Once you have made your mortgage payments for the term of your prepayment period, you no longer face any penalty. If you do pay off your loan before the end of your prepayment period, however, you are going to be on the hook for up to six months of interest on your remaining balance.

How It Works

Most prepayment clauses work this way: If you pay your loan off early no matter the reason, you will have to pay a penalty for it. Some clauses will waive the penalty if you are paying early because you resold the house.

Some mortgage agreements allow you to pay up to 20% above and beyond what you have to pay in any given year without a penalty. Others will penalize you for paying any amount above your agreed upon monthly mortgage payment.

If you refinance your mortgage you do not get credit for the prepayment period that you have already exhausted. The clock starts all over again from the time you refinance. Homeowners who refinance in order to resell within a few years get hit with the prepayment penalty if they do not have a resale waiver written into their mortgage loans.

Why It Is There

A prepayment clause is helpful if you really want to own a home but your credit score is not high enough, or if you can reduce your monthly interest payments by a hundred bucks a month. Think of this clause like your free phone cell phone deals: You get the phone for free as long as you sign up for a two-year contract. If you terminate that contract early, you will be charged the retail cost of the phone. In essence, the phone is not really free.

Banks will cut you some slack on your credit score or your interest rate as long as you guarantee that you will be making regular monthly payments for years to come. Yet the vast majority of homeowners don't buy a primary residence and then flip it two or five years later. It winds up just being an additional cost to taking out a mortgage for most.

Should You Prepay Your Mortgage?

The first thing you have to do when deciding whether or not to prepay your mortgage is to verify whether or not you have a prepayment penalty clause. If your agreement allows you to waive the penalty upon resale, you have one less thing to worry about in that instance.

However, if you still have a year or two left before you avoid the prepayment penalty, waiting may be the best move. Otherwise you could end up paying an extra $10,000 in penalties for the average home.

Buying? What You Will Need to Finance a Vacation Home

What You’ll Need to Finance a Vacation Home 

By   Beth Braverman  for  Realtor.com  January 19, 2016

 Growing numbers of Americans these days are living a prime variation of the real estate dream: you know, the one about owning a property in your favorite place that you can use as a second home or just a much-needed escape from the pressures or banality of the everyday. In fact, the phrase “vacation home” practically makes us giddy, whether the place in question is located in the mountains, on the water, or in a bustling city.

Interested? Obsessed, even? Then you’d better get your finances into tiptop shape.

Certainly you’ll find plenty of company. Vacation home sales soared to 1.13 million in 2014, according to the National Association of Realtors®. That’s the highest level since NAR began the survey in 2003, and a 57% increase from 2013.

The spike reflects an improving economy—as well as demographic shifts that have more baby boomers purchasing vacation homes intended to serve as their primary residence after retirement. (Want to win a fabulous vacation home? Click this link to enter the HGTV Dream Home sweepstakes, and you’ll get a bonus entry!)

Seven in 10 vacation-home buyers use a mortgage to finance the purchase. So if you’re considering buying a second home, here’s what your lender will be looking for:

Good credit

                              

You’ll need a credit score in at least the mid-600s to qualify for a mortgage on a vacation home, but the higher your score the better rate you’ll get on the loan.

“Our best rates tend to be for clients who have a 720–740 FICO score,” says Quicken Loans Vice President Bill Banfield. “As the score goes down, the costs increase incrementally.”

If you know you’ll be making a vacation home purchase in the near future, check your credit reports now to see if there are any errors or if your score needs improvement.

A higher down payment

While there are conventional loan programs for primary home residences that allow you to make a purchase with as little as 5% down, you’ll need to put down at least 10% for a vacation home. As with conventional mortgages, putting down at least 20% will give you access to the best possible rates without having to pay mortgage insurance.

Extra cash on hand

In addition to having enough assets to cover closing costs and moving expenses, you’ll need to have cash reserves equal to at least two months’ worth of expenses on the vacation property in order to get loan approval.

Income to support both properties

Ideally, lenders are looking for a debt-to-income ratio of 43% or less for both the vacation home and your primary residence. Typically, that means the total cost of the mortgages and taxes on both homes, along with any other household debt such as student loans or car payments, can’t equal more than 43% of your total family income. In some circumstances, lenders may be able to make an exception.

“If you’re pushing the envelope with your debt-to-income, it helps to have a higher credit score or put down a bigger down payment,” says Kevin Leibowitz, president of mortgage broker Grayton Mortgage.

Proof that it’s a vacation home

The financing requirements of a vacation home tend to be more favorable to borrowers than those for an investment property, so your lender will want to know that the home really is going to be used by you for vacations rather than to rent out for income. Typically that means proving the property is at least 50 miles from your current home and confirming that you have no plans to rent out the home for large parts of the year.

Beth Braverman, an award-winning journalist and content producer, covers real estate, personal finance, and careers.

Party Time: Get Your Home In Tip-Top Shape with Friends

Get Your Home in Tip-Top Shape Even When Time Is Not On Your Side

By Keith Loria

                                                   

Ask anyone who has ever gone through the process of selling a home, and they’ll tell you that time is the No. 1 thing you need on your side. From removing clutter to making rooms look good, renovating or fixing anything that’s broken to finding a real estate professional you feel comfortable working with, there’s a lot of time involved in the process. But if a new job, a death in the family or a marriage proposal are necessitating a quick sale, there are certain things you can do to get your home ready.

If time is of the essence, the first thing you’ll want to do is get your house in showing condition. Throw out the clutter, pack your stuff away and hire a professional cleaning service to come in and get the house sparkling. You may also want to have someone come and take care of the lawn as well.

It’s also a good idea to take care of any updates that can be accomplished over the course of a few days. This means replacing broken light bulbs, patching up nail holes, making spackle repairs in the bathroom, fixing any drips and taking care of any little things that a potential buyer might use as an excuse to not be interested in your home.

Another great way to get your home in tip-top shape without wasting a lot of time is to hold a painting party with some of your friends and neighbors in order to freshen up some of the main rooms in the house. This is a great way to have fun, spend one last weekend together and get your house looking good.

Your agent will most likely have some ideas as well, so be sure to listen to their advice. This probably isn’t the first home they’ve been asked to move quickly, so be sure to take their ideas into consideration.

If you’re planning a quick move, try not to have visible signs in the home that lead prospective buyers to believe you need to vacate quickly. And make sure your neighbors know not to say anything about your situation if someone asks. The last thing you want is a lowball offer because a house hunter overheard that you needed to get out quickly.

In the end, it’s important to keep an open mind, especially if you need to move quickly. If an offer comes in under your asking price and your agent thinks it’s probably the best that’s going to come, you may have to accept. Make sure to talk about all the options, including the possibility of renting your home for a period of time if that makes the most sense.

Contact our office today for more tips to prepare for a quick move.

Happy Halloween --- Pair Your Perfect Wine with Your Halloween Candy. Enjoy & Be Safe!

This App Will Help You Find the Perfect Wine to Pair With Your Halloween Candy

 Vivino's new guide turns trick-or-treating into an epicurean event 

By Robert Klara       October 21, 2015, 4:29 PM EDT

Oenophiles with a sweet tooth should find the Candy and Wine Match Maker useful. 

Photo Illustration: Dianna McDougall; Source: Getty Images

Kids are the primary collectors of Halloween candy, but everyone knows it's the adults who determine how the sweets are purchased, distributed and consumed. According to the National Confectioners Association, 84 percent of adults will hand out candy at the front door this Halloween, and 41 percent of them will munch on some while they wait for trick-or-treaters. A whopping 90 percent of adults admit to pilfering their own kids' Halloween candy and, of course, it's adults who'll drop the $2.1 billion to buy treats in the first place.

Yes, adults do a lot of things with Halloween candy, but here's one thing they never seem to do: look for a decent pinot grigio or chardonnay to pair it with.

Well, now they can: Vivino, the popular app for wine enthusiasts, has just released its second annual Candy and Wine Match Maker (see chart below), an easy guide for pairing Halloween candy with the perfect vintage.

"Halloween is so focused on kids, but there are parents out there. And I'm sure that some of them wouldn't mind having a glass of wine," Vivino's vp of marketing Stephen Favrot told Adweek. "This is a perfect excuse for them."

Billed as a "Halloween survival guide for adults," Vivino's chart lists 14 popular Halloween candies in the left column (Tootsie Rolls, M&Ms, Skittles—all the heavy hitters are there.) Users can then follow leader lines to a variety of wines organized by category.

For example, the light, sweet and crispy flavor profile of a Kit Kat bar would pair nicely with medium reds like a zinfandel or a Grenache. Kit Kats also go well with sparkling wines—try a Champagne, prosecco or sparkling rose.

As you might imagine, producing such a comprehensive chart took enormous dedication. "We ate a fair share of candy," Favrot said. Basically, the Vivino tasters looked for the same flavor notes found in main-dish entrées and matched them using their experienced palates. The house staff then checked its results with some handpicked oenophiles in its user base of 11.4 million.

Because Vivino's app gives crowd-sourced advice on buying wine, its pairing guide does not mention brands; the app created its Halloween candy chart solely to spotlight its expertise. "We let the user pick what brand he wants," Favrot said, "We give them the guidelines."

Tart-flavored candies proved especially hard to match. "Some of the Starburst flavors?" Favrot said. "Man, that was tough—and Sour Patch Kids, too."

Sour Patch Kids doesn't appear on the pairing list, in fact. But Starburst can be safely washed down with a nice Moscato or Riesling.

Protect Retirement Assets from Stock Market Volatility

How to Protect Retirement Assets from Stock Market Volatility

      

RISMEDIA, Friday, September 11, 2015— (TNS)—You’ve been through volatile markets before. You know not to sell in a panic.

But if the recent market gyrations have your attention, putting a few rainy-day strategies in your retirement game plan—particularly if you are in your 60s—can help you make the best of the situation.

Delayed retirement credits—the 8 percent per year pickup in income you get for delaying claiming past your full retirement age up to 70—are a great deal. Some advisers even recommend spending down an investment portfolio as a way to delay. But if that means pulling income out of a wounded portfolio—or if you could be ensnared by Medicare cost hikes next year—it might be time for a rethink.

If you already started Medicare and were planning to begin Social Security benefits sometime in 2016, think about accelerating those plans, says Michael Kitces, a financial planner, blogger and research director at Pinnacle Advisory Group. With Medicare Part B premiums set to increase next year, most Social Security recipients can take advantage of the program’s “hold harmless” provision, which caps premium raises at a beneficiary’s Social Security cost of living adjustment, which next year is zero, Kitces says. (Be aware this won’t work for high-income beneficiaries who will be subject to Medicare’s surtax.)

“Accelerating a bit more to take advantage of the Medicare hold harmless rules may be appealing, but the decision whether or not to delay Social Security is still dominated more than anything” by your ability to forgo benefits, which if you can do it will be more valuable, he says.

Tapping some home equity is another way to avoid taking retirement income from stock funds, but traditional home equity lines of credit can be frozen in certain market conditions.

If you’re 62 or older, it might make sense to establish a line of credit using a reverse mortgage (under the federal home equity conversion mortgage program), says Shelley Giordano, principal of Longevity View Associates, a reverse mortgage consulting firm.

Shop around for lenders because Giordano says some are offering low or no closing costs in exchange for a slightly higher starting interest rate. Some also will allow a homeowner to establish a credit line with just a nominal initial amount, such as $50.

Hopefully, you have investments outside the stock market from which you are drawing money for day-to-day expenses. Likewise, if you’re still a few years from retirement and gradually pulling money out of the market to create a retirement income stream, you can afford to take a pause in that strategy to let markets stabilize.

At some point, however, you’ll need to refill those buckets and make withdrawals, and who’s to say the market won’t be in even worse shape a few years from now?

The question becomes, are we there yet? Should investors refrain from withdrawing from stock funds, even if it’s part of a longer-term rebalancing strategy? Should retirees think about forgoing an inflation bump, or even taking a pay cut?

“On a year-to-date basis the market is down 6 percent or so, so we’re not in a correction mode yet,” says Judith Ward, senior financial planner with T. Rowe Price, as markets were rebounding somewhat.

If the correction deepens to more like 20 percent by year-end, she says, that’s when she might suggest forgoing the inflation raise.

Of course, it never hurts to start thinking about expenses you could cut out if that day comes.

A market decline can be a good time to convert money in a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA because you can convert more shares for the same taxable withdrawal, but you also have to assess whether converting makes sense at your age, experts says. Do it if you’re trying to diversify retirement income tax liabilities or leave money to heirs, but otherwise it makes less sense at this age, experts says.

It could also be wise to take withdrawals from variable annuities and certain life insurance products while asset prices are down, says Michael Goodman, an accountant and financial planner with Wealthstream Advisors Inc.

And if you’ve been looking for an excuse to end a bad relationship with an adviser, leaving now could be a good time because if it involves selling some positions, you could owe less in capital gains taxes.

“Determine if your investments were allocated properly and what the new adviser will do differently” before jumping ship, cautions Candace Bahr, managing partner at Bahr Investment Group.

Even if you don’t have an adviser, if you weren’t allocated well, do something about it rather than sitting on your hands, says Michael J. Garry, an adviser and estate planning attorney with Yardley Wealth Management.

“If you’ve kept too high an allocation towards stocks trying to ride the run-up, then I’d say this is the time to hop off and get to the right allocation,” he says.

Janet Kidd Stewart writes The Journey for the Chicago Tribune.

©2015 Chicago Tribune
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Move This, Not That: 10 Items to Get Rid of Before Your Next Move

TIPS & ADVICE / STORY / BY NATALIE WISE ON 13 AUG 2015

Packing Lighter Can Make Your Next Move Simpler

When it comes to moving, deciding what to take with you — and what to leave behind — can be stressful. Spending a little time clearing out dead weight before the move will make settling into your new place much more freeing. Check these 10 areas of your home for items that aren’t worth the square footage in the moving van — or your new home.

1. Dine in

This may seem obvious, but food takes up a lot of space and often gets a bit lost in the moving shuffle. In the weeks before your move, eat anything that isn’t shelf-stable, brand-new or a specialty item. Don’t forget about the perishable foods in the fridge and freezer (steak for dinner, anyone?). Take a break and throw a pantry dinner party with friends who are helping you move.

2. Pass on low-quality furniture

Low-quality furniture, typically made of particle board, is very susceptible to being ripped and chipped in a move. Ask family and friends if they can use any of these pieces or bring them to your local donation center. Upgrade or replace when you get to your new home.

3. Clean closets

Anything old, stained or that no longer fits should go straight into the donation bin. Moving cross-country? Transitioning from a cold climate to Florida will allow you to shed even more weight as you let go of snowsuits and boots that won’t be of use in the Everglades. Donate to a local thrift store or have a garage sale to make extra cash.

4. Tame the bathroom cabinet

There is no sense moving 20 crusty nail polishes and every curling mousse you’ve ever tried and abandoned. Anything expired or unused lately should be tossed. Cull these and only keep your essentials, as anything else may spill in transit and many are flammable.

5. Make a pitcher of margaritas

While you’re throwing your pantry party, be sure to bring out the open bottles of alcohol. Chances are they’re in glass, making them a no-no for most moves, so you might as well enjoy them now.

6. Burn those candles

This may sound odd, but many moving companies won’t take candles. They’ll most likely melt and get misshapen anyway, so give these to friends or use them as décor at your clean-out party.

7. Donate excess kids’ toys

Toys take up a massive amount of space, even if they are lightweight. Anything that has been outgrown or unused should be donated or passed along to friends or family. Bigger items such as outdoor pools, sports equipment and bicycles should also be assessed.

8. Toss old linens

Sheets and towels are bulky to move, so anything that’s seen better days should be put in the donate pile. Choosing fresh sheets and towels after you’ve moved is a fun part of feeling settled in your new home.

9. Clear out garage clutter

This includes outdoor furniture, hoses, planters and trash cans. With garden items, it’s best to start new instead of moving a potentially invasive weed or insect species to a new area. Outdoor furniture often has glass, which is easily shattered, and flimsy outdoor fabric, which is easily torn in a move. Try selling these pieces and using the cash for a new set.

10. Hobby supplies

Excessive amounts of craft or hobby supplies are often not worth the space. Use this as a time to freshen things up and pare down your supply stash. Bonus? An excuse to buy new supplies in the future.

Once you’ve tamed these 10 areas, you should be able to breathe a little easier and pack a little lighter. You’ll be left with high-quality furniture, sentimental pieces and daily-use items, all things that help make a house a home.