If you’re in the market for a new home, the most important thing to know is what kind of budget you have to work with. This, of course, is determined by the loan you can get.

Using a Mortgage Calculator, you can input the price you are willing to pay for a home, the term of your loan and the interest rate your lender is offering you. With this information, the calculator will tell you your monthly payment. Once you have this, you can determine if the house you’re looking at fits your budget.

Remember, when you’re buying a home, you’re planning to keep that home; don’t buy more home than you can afford, no matter how in love you are with the house.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about a free organizational/time-management tool called PocketMod. As useful and invaluable as it is, it’s only part of the time-management picture.

Phone calls, excessive paperwork, poor planning, taking on too much at once, lack of self-control; these are all things we waste our time on almost every day.

Ohio State University assistant professor emeritus, Karen M. Williams, has the right idea!

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been writing a lot less than normal lately. The unfortunate truth behind this is that my grandmother has been in the hospital for several weeks now and it looks like she won’t be coming home.

I’ve been doing a lot of preparing lately. I’ve been working with myself to come to terms with the inevitable; I’ve been working with my family to get us all in a place where we can make her feel as comfortable as possible in what may be her last days.

One of the most important things one can do in preparation for such a loss is to make sure everyone in the family knows. This will allow them to say their goodbyes and carry out any final tasks they may have to do.

Be sure to tell them you love them, tell them you’ll pray for them and ask them to watch over you. This will help to quell any fears they have of losing touch with those they care about.

If you’re scared, confused or sad, don’t be afraid to tell your loved one. They likely feel the same way and would be grateful to know that they are not alone. They may also have some words of wisdom to offer you.

If you have any regrets or anything you’ve kept from them, now is the time to tell them; unless it’s something that will devastate them, in that case it’s probably best to keep it to yourself and confess it to them after they’ve passed.

Don’t be afraid to cry in front of them. You’ll feel better and they’ll know you truly care about and love them.

Gather your family around them. Talk about the good times you had together. Fill your loved one’s last days with good memories, joy and happiness.

It is never easy to watch a loved one in their journey through their last days, but do remember, the most important thing you can do for them is just that. Be there.

Sharon is compiling a series of real-estate horror stories for her upcoming book, True Crime, Selling a Home Without Staging it First.

If you have a story of a home you sold that could have sold better were it properly staged, or any interesting or funny anecdotes, which you would like to have attributed to you, please email them to me. I’ll be sending the best ones to her each week!

For those of you who can’t use the email link above, my address is keith@stagedmakeovers.com

Many paints on the market right now contain no VOCs, which is a good thing, since they’re harmful to the environment, as well as your health. Of all of these, only Freshaire Choice is colored with VOC-free tints. Using any other VOC-free paint means either having white walls or no longer having a VOC-free paint by the time you get it home!

VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds, can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, as well as organ and nerve damage. These are not things you want in your home! Fortunately, Freshaire Choice Paint is available at your local Home Depot, which means no going out of your way to buy it.

Get started repainting today with 3 free samples of the 65 premium colors! For more information, click any of the links on this page or watch this informative video!

In the last month, several people, including myself, have joined the Staged Makeovers team. I almost feel that I have neglected you, by waiting this long to introduce myself; and them, by not having made mention of their names. Today, I will correct this.

Sonya Buckus, Charlie Hawkins, Kelly Juratic and Cathy Brennan, our new stagers, will be working to make the Cleveland/Akron region more beautiful, one room at a time! Then, there’s me. I was brought on to handle all things IT, write for this blog and maintain stagedmakeovers.com, with a little marketing and (if Sharon will allow it) some sales, on the side. Oh, and I’ll be doing all kinds of nifty things to make everything run as smoothly as possible.

I’m just noticing that I still haven’t mentioned my name, so I’ll kindly do so in the next couple of lines…

Sincerely,
Keith Bronstrup
Communications Director
Staged Makeovers

P.S. — Stagers, don’t worry, I’ll sing your praises, too, after I’ve had the opportunity to meet all of you!

Is a house that just isn’t selling preventing you from being able to move to a new city? Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. Thousands of homeowners are in the same boat and many are turning to house-swapping services, like DomuSwap.

Swapping is an idea solution for people who have less than perfect credit but an already paid for home. When you swap, no money changes hands, so there is no need to worry about financing. Just find homes you like, contact the owners and, if they like your home, negotiate a swap!

If you’ve ever driven through the downtown area of a major city, I’m sure you’ve seen those “We Buy Houses!” signs on every other corner. If you need to sell your home quickly, this can be a very enticing option. However, there are several things to be aware of before deciding to go this route.

First, research the company. Make sure they are registered, either at the county or state level, where you are selling your home. Make sure you are able to find a valid and correct address for the company. When dealing with such a company, be sure not to accept any personal checks or cash. Personal checks for large sums of money are an IRS red flag, as are large cash purchases. Additionally, personal checks used in business transactions are a huge fraud red flag!

Consult with an attorney and insist on the company providing a written offer, which you should have your attorney review. Accept the offer only if you and your attorney determine it to be reasonable. If you do accept the offer, insist on settling the deal in the office of a title attorney or title company and do so only after being provided payment either via wire transfer or a certified/bank check. Never sign over a title before receiving and verifying payment in good funds; once you’ve signed you have very little recourse to recover your property or funds if payment falls through.