Buying your first home can be a very exciting milestone in a person’s life. It is very easy to picture all of the good times you will have there in the future, but many people get lost in the excitement and forget to plan for a rainy day. To avoid losing that home to unforeseen circumstances down the line such as a job loss or an illness, keep these things in mind when considering purchasing your first home.

• Make sure that you have enough in savings to cover your mortgage while you find a new job, should you lose your job. Many experts recommend at the very least to have six months worth of savings to cover all expenses, including the mortgage.
• Understand before purchasing your home, all of the expenses that will be involved to maintain the home. If you are considering purchasing a fixer-upper, make a list of all of the inevitable things that will need to be replaced or repaired and their costs.
• Consider your other expenses, such as your car payment or transportation costs, taxes, etc. and whether or not this new home will be affordable for you.

• Flowers, flowers, flowers. Nothing welcomes a potential buyer more to a home than colorful flowers.
• Keep walkways clear, trimmed and weeded.
• Patios must be power-washed.
• Windows should be sparkling.
• Dust everywhere. Even the baseboards.
• Since potential buyers look everywhere, make sure underneath your sinks and closets are clean, clutter-free and odor-free.
• Remove all personal items such as framed photos, awards and collectibles. Buyers need to be able to imagine the space as theirs.
• Paint any room that is a bright color, a neutral color.
• Remove any worn or outdated furniture.
• Repair any chipped or smudged paint, broken fixtures or squeaky doors.
• Toss worn carpets.
• Consider replacing dated hardware.

Choosing the right community is so important, as how you can you really love where you live unless you love the neighborhood? In the frenzy of finding a home and scheduling moving day, many people forget that researching the neighborhood is one of the most important ways to insure happiness at your new destination. Before making your final decision on a home, don’t forget to:

• “Profile” the neighborhood. Ask yourself these questions: Is the quality of the school system important? Is the commute do-able for you? Do you like to be within walking distance to shops and restaurants? Do you like quiet?
• Once you zero in on a neighborhood you like you must research all school information, crime statistics, parks and recreation, neighborhood association fees and tourist attractions. Armed with this information it will be easy to make a wise decision for you.
• Take the time to visit. Don’t downplay your first impression. Take note of the community’s rush hour patterns, it’s social ability factor, it’s streetlights at night. Drive by the schools. Shop in the local grocery store. Try to meet some of your potential neighbors. All of these visual clues can be very revealing.

• Flood Insurance. You must purchase separate coverage.
• Cars, motorcycles and boats are not covered.
• Damages due to a break in the water line on your property.
• Damages due to a break in the sewer line on your property.
• Earthquake damage.
• Mold damage.
• Termites or other infestation damage.
• Injured or stolen pets.

• Throwing an Open House Party. The offerings at these shindigs are wine, catered food, live music and prizes.
• Consulting a Feng Shui home stager. Their homes are being rearranged to make potential buyers feel more welcome by following the ancient chinese philosophy to improve the home’s “chi”, or energy.
• Helping buyers with the financing. Many are offering lease-to-own deals, financing it themselves, paying the closing costs, or paying a point to lower the interest rate for the buyer.
• Burying statues. People are swearing by the fact that shortly after burying a statue of the patron saint of family and household in their yards, they sold their homes.
• Throwing in BIG extras to seal the deal. Gone are the days of generously offering a big-screen TV. Sellers are now offering cars, vacations, home upgrades, furniture stipends and even a year’s mortgage.

Since the kids will be out of school soon and many people will be planning vacations, it is time to start thinking about the best ways to protect your home from a possible burglary while you are away. The most obvious things most people do are stop the mail, stop the newspaper delivery, lock the house up tight and leave a light on. The following ideas go a step beyond these old stand-bys:

• If you happen to be going away on an extended trip, you may be better off asking a neighbor to pick up your mail and newspaper and bring it into your home each day.
• Invest in  a couple of timers. You can set them to turn a light on and then off at the same time each day. You can also use a timer on a radio or stereo.
• Hire a house sitter in the form of your neighbor’s responsible teen, or work out a system with your neighbor where you can cover their house when they go away and they look after yours when you are away.
• If your neighborhood does not already have a “neighborhood watch” program, be the one to start it. That way you will always have someone to tell your travel plans to.
• Consider purchasing a home security system. Your home will be regularly monitored and many companies offer a neighborhood patrol.

• You can calculate how much solar energy your home will need by simply looking at your utility bill.
• You can choose to supplement your power needs or go “off the grid” completely.
• Your numbers will help you determine what size PV (photovoltaic) modules you will need. Photovoltaic is the method most all solar cells use to convert sunlight to energy.
• Night time darkness and cloudy days reduce the amount of “insolation”. Most people will opt for a battery storage system to supplement these uncontrollable sunlight reduction factors.
• If your system generates more power than you need, many utility companies will buy any excess back.
• All systems must be inspected by your local utility company to ensure that it is safe for their linemen. They must be guaranteed that during a power outage, your system was installed properly and that it will have no power running through the lines.
• All in, solar panel systems can cost between $30,000 and $50,000. This is a costly up-front expense. But don’t forget that cost will be offset against what you would have paid for electricity over your lifetime, the ever-rising cost of electricity, the nice tax credits that are now available AND the improved systems that are coming down in price.

Make a change - move to Lake Shaffer. Spend the rest of your life doing what you like best – fishing, boating, water sports! If it’s lakefront property you want - this is it. A great open concept, 2 BR home overlooking Bedford Bay on Lake Shaffer is waiting for you. A very nice home with a white picket fence and beautiful perennial flowers and tasteful landscaping is pleasant to the eye.  There is a 2-car detached garage.  A new well has been drilled, the hi-efficiency furnace, air conditioner, and water heater are only 2 years old. A Kinetco water filtration system is installed. Year-round living on Lake Shaffer - fish ’til you are tired of fishing. Spend countless days on the large patio overlooking the bay – plenty of room for entertaining family and friends.  Or, just sit back and enjoy the sunsets!!! 45 ft. of water frontage comes with the home. Life is good on Lake Shaffer!!        

See supplement. Home warranty available.

Quality built home has a lot to offer you.

Shaded by mature trees make the front porch perfect to sit outside and enjoy those hot summer evenings. Hardwood floors in formal living and dining room add to the charm of this home. Located in the basement is a large family room, half bath, a bedroom and large laundry room.  For those crisp cool evenings you can warm up by the charming fireplace, play board games and maybe even roast marshmallows in the family room

The newly remodeled kitchen offers plenty of storage also has a bright cheery nook.

In the master suite is a spacious shower.

The yard has been well landscaped with a vegetable garden area and your own grape arbor. A great place for kids to explore. This four bedroom, two and a half bath home is perfect for your growing family.