Tips For Buying A House

1. Don't buy if you can't stay put.

 

2. Start by shoring up your credit.

 

3. Aim for a home you can really afford.

 

4. If you can't put down the usual 20 percent, you may still qualify for a loan.

 

5. Buy in a district with good schools.

 

6. Get professional help.

 

7. Choose carefully between points and rate.

 

8. Before house hunting, get pre-approved.

 

9. Do your homework before bidding.

 

10. Hire a home inspector.

Tips for Renting Your First Apartment

A guide to apartment-hunting in a challenging market, whether you’re flying solo or with roommates.

By Susan Johnston May 21, 2012 | 10:55 a.m. EDT + More 

 

This year's graduates may be entering a slightly better job market than their 2010 or 2011 counterparts, but many will face a tighter rental market. As buying property loses its allure for some, increased demand and lower vacancy in rental units is driving up prices throughout the country. According to the Census Bureau, the median asking rent for rental units nationwide was $721 in the first quarter of this year, up from $683 first quarter last year.
"Occupancy rates are the highest they've been in 10 years," says Doug Culkin, president and CEO of the National Apartment Association. "Nationally, they're at about 96 percent, which is incredibly high. It'll be harder for kids coming out of college [to afford an apartment] unless Mom and Dad are paying for it."

Of course, that's not to say apartment-hunting has been easy for other recession-era grads. In 2010, when Rebecca Odell moved to Columbus, Ohio, for an internship, she had the dual challenges of a limited budget and a long-distance apartment search. "Taking a post-grad internship narrowed my apartment choices because I needed to find a place that I could afford, especially working on an intern's budget, and where I would feel safe," she says.
After an extensive online search, Odell narrowed the field to four apartments and drove the two hours to view all four on the same day. The apartment she chose was a short-term sublease within a multi-family house, but she's since moved in with a roommate to save money, as many recent grads do.
Here's how to rent your first apartment in a challenging market, whether you're flying solo or searching with roommates.

• Set a realistic budget based on the area. The conventional wisdom is to spend no more than 30 percent of your annual income on housing costs. But given low entry-level salaries and high housing costs, you may need to budget a little more if you're living in expensive urban markets like New York City or San Francisco. "It totally depends on where you live," says Ornella Grosz, a speaker and author of Moneylicious: A Financial Clue for Generation Y. "You want to have a benchmark, but you don't want to spend your entire paycheck on rent." Websites like Rentometer.com and RentJungle.com/comparerent can give you an idea of rents in your target neighborhood so you can budget accordingly.
Splitting the rent with roommates can help cut costs, but you'll want to screen roommates carefully and "make sure they're people you'd actually want to live with," as Grosz puts it. You may like hanging out with friends from college, but that doesn't mean you'll enjoy cleaning up their messes or sharing a bathroom. Before signing a lease together, ask prospective roommates how they want to handle chores, guests, bills, and other issues.

Once you find a potential apartment, ask about possible rent increases to gauge how quickly you could be priced out of that apartment. "Do they anticipate rental prices going up?" asks Grosz. "How do they justify increases in prices?"

• Budget for the extras. In addition to paying rent, you may also be responsible for paying bills like electricity, heat, and cable. Odell adjusted her price range once she discovered that some higher-priced apartments included utilities, which made her overall costs lower than paying rent and utilities separately.
If you're on the hook for utilities, factor those expenses into your budget. Often, you can find out what the previous tenants paid by calling the utility provider and giving them the address. "Of course, your use might be different," points out Bill Deegan, CEO of Renter Nation (formerly the American Tenants Association).

• Position yourself as a desirable tenant. Rentals move quickly in competitive markets, so have your references and checkbook ready when you start searching. In some markets, you'll be expected to pay a security deposit, first and last month's rent, a nonrefundable application fee, and possibly a broker or finder's fee before moving in, all of which can amount to several times the monthly rent.

Having Mom and Dad cosign on an apartment (if they're willing) could give prospective landlords peace of mind about renting to someone without a long credit or employment history. However, if you don't have a cosigner, Grosz suggests guaranteeing extra money upfront to show landlords that you're financially responsible. Carrying a letter from your employer as proof of employment is another option. Prospective landlords may also want to run a credit check, so try to clear up any issues on your credit report before starting your search.

• Scope out the neighborhood. Real estate agents have a saying: "location, location, location." This rings true for apartments as well as houses. Choose an apartment based solely on the interior, and you may wind up in a less-than-desirable neighborhood, far from friends or work. If you're relocating for a job, Culkin suggests asking your employer for recommendations on neighborhoods. Walkscore.com can give you a sense of how walkable an area is based on proximity to public transportation, restaurants, grocery stores, and other places.
Also look at how the building or area is maintained. "If it's a high-rise, are there lights out in the hallways? Is the lighting in the parking lot adequate?" asks Deegan. If not, it could be a sign that management will be slow to respond to tenants' concerns.
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• Conduct a thorough walk-through. Some people will rent off of Craigslist without seeing an apartment in person, which can lead to problems later, according to Deegan. "Any prospective tenant should make sure everything works: the stove, the refrigerator, any appliances, and make sure the water runs hot for half an hour if you take long showers," he says. Also document any preexisting issues like scratches on the floor or holes in the wall so they won't get deducted from your security deposit when you move out.

• Get everything in writing. Large apartment communities typically have you sign a lease, but individual property owners or landlords may be more lax about paperwork. Whatever the scenario, don't rely on a handshake to seal the deal. According to Grosz, your lease should answer questions like, "how much notification do you need to give to move out? Is your security deposit refundable? Are you responsible for fixing up the apartment when you leave?" If you're uncertain about anything in your lease, have someone else review it. In fact, your college may offer lease-review services to students and recent grads.

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10 Kid-Safe Home Tips

10 kid-safe home tips to help mom worry less

By Scot Meyer of SwitchYard Media

The typical house can be a dangerous place for small children. Child-advocacy group Safe Kids USA says that every year, an average of 2,096 children in the United States die from injuries suffered at home.
The good news: That average has declined for the past 20 years, the organization says, and that trend can continue if parents take some simple precautions.
Here are 10 trouble spots to be aware of and tips for making sure home sweet home is also a home safe home.

1. Install a window guard

© Scot Meyer

Each year, falls from windows kill 12 children younger than 10 years old and injure an additional 4,000, Safe Kids USA says. These falls are most common in big-city apartment buildings, but the American Academy of Pediatrics' Healthy Children website recommends that parents install guards on all windows above the first floor in suburban houses, as well.
"You also need to think about which window in each room you would use as an emergency exit in case of fire, and make sure whatever device you use on that window has a quick-release mechanism," says Meri-K Appy, president of Safe Kids USA.
Safe Kids USA says that fatal window falls declined by 35% in New York after the city passed a law requiring guards in windows of all apartments with children 10 or younger.

2. Add a gate to your stairwell

Photo courtesy of Baby Bodyguards

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents install stairway gates  to prevent falls. Appy says parents should place them at the top and bottom of the stairs.
Each year, about 103 U.S. children die from falls, and more than 2.3 million fall-related injuries are reported, Safe Kids USA says.
In addition to falling down stairs, infants are at risk from falls from furniture and from baby walkers, which the pediatrics academy recommends that parents not use.

3. Lock ovens and kitchen drawers

Photo courtesy of Dorel Juvenile Group

Parents can install special locks and knob covers that are designed to keep toddlers from opening the oven, turning it on or activating burners on the stove.
Most kitchen drawers and cabinets also should be secured, says Frederick Ilarraza, co-founder and president of New York baby-proofing firm Baby Bodyguards. It's OK for parents leave one drawer — far from the stove — unlatched for a child to explore, however, he says. This drawer can contain kid-friendly items, including plastic containers and plastic and wooden utensils.
"But you shouldn't allow (children) to play with pots and pans, because they won't differentiate between the pot they are allowed to play with and the one on the stove with steam coming out of it," Ilarraza says.

4. Turn down the heat

© Serenethos

The most common burn injuries for children younger than 4 come from hot liquid or steam, Safe Kids USA says. Although most scald burns are from hot foods and liquids spilled in the kitchen, hot tap water accounts for about 25% of scald burns and causes more hospitalizations and deaths than other liquid burns.
To prevent scalding in the kitchen and bathroom, parents can set the thermostat on their water heater to 120 degrees. Those who want an extra level of safety, or who don't have access to their building's water heater, can install special faucets and shower heads that shut down the flow when the water gets too hot.
"Young children's skin is thinner than adult skin," Appy says. "What might just feel uncomfortably hot to us can badly burn a child."

5. Ensure your smoke alarm works

© Lasse Kristensen

Every bedroom should have a smoke alarm, as should any common area within 10 feet of the kitchen. Each floor of your home also should have a carbon-monoxide detector.
The National Fire Protection Association says that about 3,000 people die in the U.S. each year because of fires, and children younger than 5 are 1.5 times more likely to die in a home fire.
The association's research shows that nearly two-thirds of home-fire deaths were in residences with no working smoke alarms. Data from 2009 show when a smoke alarm was present during a home fire but did not go off, the failure was because of a dead or discharged battery 22% of the time, and the battery was missing or disconnected 53% of the time.

6. Tie down bookcases

© Scot Meyer

Small children like to grab and climb, and those instincts make large pieces of furniture and other heavy objects dangerous.
"File cabinets have a mechanism that prevents more than one drawer from being opened at a time, but dressers and changing tables do not," Ilarraza says. "Bookcases can seem secure and are, so long as they are bottom-heavy. But once a toddler removes the bottom two shelves of (its) books, the piece becomes top-heavy and easily toppled."
To prevent toppling, parents can buy straps to hook bookcases, television stands and dressers to the wall. These are available where other child-proofing products are sold.
It's also wise for parents to put heavier items on lower shelves or place safe items in which children are interested on the bottom, so kids won't be tempted to climb.

7. Install bumpers on sharp edges

© Scot Meyer

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends removing sharp-edged or hard furniture from rooms where children play and installing bumpers on coffee tables and other hard edges throughout the house.
Ilarraza says that corners are especially dangerous because they can create puncture injuries. "Toddlers seem to have strong magnets in their foreheads that attract coffee-table corners," he says.
Soft foam corner protectors cost a few dollars.

8. Keep kids away from water

© Darren Epstein

Unintentional drowning was the leading cause of injury-related death for children ages 1 to 4 in 2007 and the No. 3 cause for children ages 5 to 9, the National Center for Health Statistics says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also says that more than 20% of the 3,443 drowning victims that year were 14 or younger.
Children can drown in less than 2 inches of water, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. Thus, bathrooms should be off-limits to unattended young children, who can drown in bathtubs, toilets and even in pails of water.
Parents also should surround their swimming pool with a fence that is at least 4 feet high on all sides and that has self-latching gates.

9. Place cords out of reach

© mypokcik; Stephen Coburn

Young children are at risk for strangulation and suffocation around the house, says the American Academy of Pediatrics, which urges parents to place baby cribs away from windows.
Cordless window treatments are a good idea, the academy says. If that is not possible, shade cords should be tied high and out of reach and not knotted together.
Electrical cords can be hazardous, too. Baby Bodyguards says that while many people realize the dangers of cords that dangle near a crib, they think nothing of putting plug-in baby monitors near or inside the crib. "They work just as well and often better from the other side of the room, where your child can't reach the cord from the crib," Ilarraza says.

10. Cover electrical outlets

Photo courtesy of SafetyCaps, www.safetycaps.com

Young children love to poke and prod, so it's a good idea to cover all electrical outlets to reduce the risk of shock.
"Most parents know to place caps in electrical sockets," Ilarraza says. "Unfortunately, many of the socket caps on the market today are the size of a quarter (and are) a choking hazard.
Ilarraza says he recommends a product called SafetyCaps, which are larger, so children cannot get them lodged in their throat. The caps also have holes to allow air to pass.
Surge-protector covers also are available.