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AHRN.com Goes Mobile – Finally

September 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When I talk to other spouses about renting a home most of them recommend AHRN.com a government run Real Estate referral website or military members.

This website has become one of the major resource for renting/buying or selling homes of military members. It’s free, it’s fairly user friendly (yes , I would like to see some changes but compared to other military websites: Kudos to the developers), it has a high visibility among other military members, which helps when you are trying to solve your housing issues. [Read more...]

Filed Under: buy, Military Family and Housing News, Programs/Events, Rent, sell, Your Home Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Buying a house: Before you sign.

July 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Home InspectionYou just closed on your new house. All of a sudden you notice that XXX does not work. Unfortunately, once you have signed the paperwork the house is yours and so – in most cases- is any problem that comes with it. How do you avoid this situation?


1. Make sure a home inspector inspects your house. Unfortunately, like in other areas of life, not all home inspectors are created equally. Here are some tips on how to pick a good one. It seems redundant to mention this but I have heard of , particularly, first time home buyers not having been advised to consult a home inspector.

2. Be there when the home inspector goes through your house. You will learn where your air filters are in your house, fuse boxes and more. Most home inspectors will tell you while they work what they are looking for.

3. Take notes if necessary.

4. Make sure you know your “Inspection Objection Deadline”. While as a home buyer you really don’t want to have to deal with the small stuff – the real estate agent should do this. However, it is important to be proactive. In the contract there should be a list(depending on your state) of deadlines that need to be observed in order to make this purchase happen. This list is particularly important if you have a real estate agent who is not on top of his game.
Once you receive the inspection report know the changes that need to be made according to your inspection report and your notes. Point them out to your real estate agent, who will then in turn relay the requirements to the “other side”. They will counter with if or what they are willing to repair.

5. It is a good idea to ask  your home inspector if he would be willing to come to your house again to see if all the necessary and agreed upon repairs have been made.

6. Last but not least: Do a thorough walk through the day of your closing. If your closing is first thing in the morning -maybe at 9 am – be at ‘your’ house early and test EVERYTHING. Water pressure,drains, all outlets,toilets, lights, microwaves, A/C and so on. If something is not working, bring it up at the closing. All parties will be there and there is a great interest to complete this actions. Don’t think that there is nothing you can do! You could agree on an allowance to fix an item that doesn’t work, or you agree (in writing) on a certain issue to be fixed after closing. Whatever happens…once you signed the house is yours.  In special cases you still have the ability to fall back on the seller but those cases are generally rare. So buyer beware ….and smart.

If you are considering to get a contractor you might be interested reading 25 things to consider or  maybe you’ll want to know what to ask a contractor?

 

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Filed Under: buy, Maintenance, Military LIfe, Your Home Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Final Chapter Of Our PCS

March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

last moveSome of you might know that our family relocated from Ft.Lewis, WA to Ft.Carson, CO in August of last year. A turbulent time. My believe is that until all is said and done a relocation takes about 12 months. This time is generally split up between the two duty stations and counts from the time you know you are moving (that is not necessarily the same time frame as when you are getting your actual orders) to the time you are REALLY settled in your new location. A blog post about getting a loan is in the works and will surprise some of you (or not?)

This week we will enter our final part of the relocation: After 6 month in a temporary rental we will close on our house and finally get settled. Even my dear husband felt inspired to add his 2 cents.

Planning to move yourself just down the road (or across town)

When we moved to Colorado we signed a year-long lease to give us time to hunt for the perfect house we wanted to buy (unlike the typical PCSs where you house hunt for a weekend before settling!)  So as we gear up for the big movement of all of our junk from the rental house to the new house, here are a few tips to help with the planning.  We were time-crunched to be out and very anxious to move in to the new place.

1.  Ask about getting access to the new house ahead of time and think about moving some items ahead off time.  Our seller allowed us to put some of our things in the garage.  A bit of a risk since something could go wrong with the closing paperwork and delay the actual signing for the house.  You’ve been warned!  We moved all of the items in the basement and the garage to the new house a few weeks out.  Don’t take over valuables and ask about providing a “Hold Harmless Agreement” to protect the owners from any damage to your stuff.Help Protect Yourself From ID Theft. Get help with LifeLock.

2.  Hopefully you had the foresight to keep some of the boxes from your PCS.  If not, go on craigslist and look or someone trying to get rid of boxes.

2.  Prepacking will go quickly and many items can be shipped in their containers (clothes in dresser drawers, storage boxes) without having to box or pack every item like the movers do.  Keep out sheets, towels and blankets to protect furniture pieces…or rent them from a moving company

3.  Stage items in the garage so that rooms can be cleared out a little ahead for cleaning and you can gauge how much moving capacity you need (pickup loads, rental truck, etc.).

4.  Get the kids involved if they are old enough.  It will take some prodding (as always) but there are many little tasks they can handle (pack their clothes, toys, books, etc.)

5.  Have a plan where the big furniture pieces go so things can flow into the house in a smooth manner.  Walk the ground of the new place as often as possible.

6.  “Open Me First” boxes are still a good idea.

7.  Prioritize projects and items to buy for the new place before you move and then tuck the list away.  Hold off on any big purchases until you are in the new house and see how things come together.  Then make a new list of priorities.  Finally, take out the old list and compare it to the new list.  See what changes.  Again, resist the urge to buy too much before you are in the new place.

Going to leave room for you to add items from your perspective  :-)

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Filed Under: buy, PCS'ing, Your Home Tagged With: , , , ,

Realtor® vs Real Estate Agent

November 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I never really knew that there was a difference between a Realtor® and a real estate agent. I was one of those people that interchanged those terms. Sandy Nelson, a successful Realtor, in Olympia, WA explains what makes a Realtor and the difference to a real estate agent.

You might also be interested in reading about how to find the best Realtor® in town or you might want to know another real estate agent secret.

Filed Under: buy, Rent, sell, Your Home Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

AHRN.com another way to find/rent/sell homes

November 2, 2010 By 2 Comments

ahrn websiteHave you ever heard of this website? Listing is free, searching is free – all it needs is YOU!

The Automated Housing Referral Network (AHRN.com) is sponsored by the Department of Defense and is designed to improve the process of securing available housing for relocating military members and their families.

AHRN is the community housing website designed to help you make more informed living decisions. Search for available housing throughout specific living communities around your new installation. Search based on your estimated BAH, a specific community, a certain number of bedrooms, and many other criteria. Click on the icon below that matches your housing needs.

It’s a great website and you should use it to sell, rent or buy a home. One of the few real estate websites that are not plastered with advertisements or cost an arm and a leg – it is a DoD website.

  • Find temporary lodging
  • Find or offer shared rentals
  • Find or offer a rental
  • Find a home according to your BAH (if you like)
  • Find or sell a home

Also interesting that under the ‘link’ list button you will find the links that are in connection to your entered search area. Meaning that since we are looking to PCS to Colorado Springs, I will find all community information about Colorado Springs. Not bad. Under ‘Base information’ you’ll find housing info about your outdoing and receiving duty stations.

Here is a list of AHRN supported installations – looks like it’s a pretty complete list. It’s definitely worth stopping by.

How have we been doing on AHRN? We’ve had a few messages, not too many. It’s another channel to try and sell or find a house. I would like to see it be used even more.

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Filed Under: buy