Tips for Starting Over After Moving Out of State

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Written by Bob Shannon

Moving out of state and starting over can be a lot of work. So if you want a smooth start after moving, you might want to take some time to put things in order. A chance to start over is a wish come true for most, and it is much better when you can start over stress-free. Today, The Luettgen Group Real Estate team shares a guide to get you started and help you have everything ready before the move.

Check Cost of Living Differences

When moving to a new state, it’s important to check the cost-of-living difference and how much more or less you expect to spend. A cost-of-living calculator helps you note the differences in housing, schooling, groceries, transportation, etc. Checking and knowing the difference in the cost of living allows you to budget adequately.

It’s also important to assess local housing market conditions. It may not be a great time to buy in your destination market if it appears to be highly competitive. You may end up needing to spend more than you’d ideally want to to secure the home you want. A local real estate agent, like The Luettgen Group Real Estate, can help you with these decisions. 

Start a Business in Your New State

You may want to start a business in a new state. To begin, research what value you can add to the community with your skills and experience. Then, decide which business best suits your skillset.

Creating a business plan helps your new business succeed. In your plan, outline your company’s structure, funding needs, services you’ll offer, and profit projections. The business plan helps you execute every move successfully to ensure your budding business takes off. 

For your business’s structure, you may find during your research that a limited liability company (LLC) can suit your needs. This structure can protect you from personal liability while also providing you with tax advantages. Contact a formation company for help starting an LLC. They can make the process quick and easy while ensuring that everything gets properly filed.

Consider Investing in a Home Warranty

Although homeowner’s insurance only covers your home from theft and damage to your home structure, you can always upgrade your insurance to a home warranty. A home warranty covers your home’s belongings, including damage to electronic devices. To determine if you should invest in a home warranty, view your home’s inspection report to learn if there are any potential problems with your home systems and appliances.  

But before choosing a home warranty in the new state, research to find a company that fits your budget and needs. This is a good one to consider, so take a look at what is covered. As a tip, peruse their home warranty reviews to see what customers are saying. Remember, you can always find temporary housing to keep you going before buying a house.

Decorate Your Home

Once you settle in, here comes the fun part: decorating! Whatever your style may be, you can never go wrong with wallpaper. Consider wallpaper if you don’t want to break the bank by having your new home repainted. Wallpaper is affordable, elegant, and customizable to suit your preference. Whether you are adding new wallpaper or applying it for the first time, peel-and-stick wallpaper is ideal. With this method, you can change, redesign, and even remove wallpaper at any time.

If you’re not the best with interior design, look online to get tips and ideas. There are great ideas for fun styles that include everything from preppy to chill to grunge and everything in between!

Prepare Before Your Move

Moving to a new state can be stressful but it’s also a great opportunity to start fresh and change your life’s trajectory for the better. Just make sure you conduct your research beforehand and consider whether it’s worth starting a new business and investing in a home warranty. With some careful planning and perseverance, this might be just the adventure you need!

Three Essential Steps Before Buying Your First Rental Property

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Guest article by Katie Conroy of Advicemine.com

Three Essential Steps Before Buying Your First Rental Property

There are several financial benefits to investing in real estate, but there are risks as well. Problem tenants, prolonged vacancies, and unexpected home repairs can affect your cash flow and threaten the success of your major investment. Fortunately, you can avoid these risks by planning carefully, doing your research, and educating yourself about running a rental. As you familiarize yourself with real estate investing and search for your first property to purchase, don’t forget about these three important steps!

Get a Home Inspection

One essential thing to do before buying a property is to get a home inspection. Without a home inspection, you could wind up with expensive maintenance issues that threaten your rental profits. As Investopedia explains, you can usually back out of a sale if your home inspection reveals significant problems with the property. Alternatively, you can use the results of a home inspection to negotiate a better purchase price!

Your home inspector should inspect the entire building from top to bottom, including essential elements like the roof, foundation, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC system. Even seemingly small issues can be important. For instance, if the water heater is not functioning properly, it may need to be repaired or replaced, especially if it’s more than 10 years old or producing rusty water.

The cost to install a new water heater will depend on the type of unit you’re replacing. Home Advisor reports that standard tank water heaters cost an average of $889 to install while tankless heaters can cost you $3,000 with labor. It’s easy to see you’ll need to research the repair costs for any issues revealed in the inspection so you can decide if it’s still worthwhile to go through with the sale.

Lay the Financial Groundwork

Budgeting for an investment property is just as important as budgeting for your first home. But this time, you should have a real investment strategy in mind before making your big purchase. There are several different ways to make money with an investment property, including buy and holds, commercial real estate, and fix and flips. Before deciding on an investment strategy, research each option until you understand the financial pros and cons of each.

Not only should you budget for your property purchase, but for your ongoing expenses as well. Be ready to cover your monthly mortgage payments, insurance premiums, property management fees, taxes, and maintenance costs. Be prepared to cover these costs during vacancy periods when you’re not earning any rental income. Thankfully, most of your regular expenses are tax-deductible!

Know the Risks

Before you get involved in any big investment, make sure you have a clear understanding of the risks involved. As The Simple Dollar explains, one of the biggest risks of investing in a rental property is the concentration of your assets. If you put a good portion of your net worth into the purchase of a rental property and things go south, you could lose a lot of money.

Tenants are another major source of risk. Even if you take the time to screen your tenants properly, there’s no guarantee that they will pay rent on time—or at all! Tenants can also cause damage to the property that can mean major repairs when they move out. Your tenants may even decide to take legal action against you if you fail to follow federal and state laws.

In the event you do get sued, you’ll want to enlist the assistance of an attorney. A landlord-tenant attorney will typically cost $225 to $300 per hour, although the first half-hour of consultation is usually fr

If you’re in good financial shape and you can handle the responsibilities of being a landlord, you may be in a position to mitigate these risks. For example, before buying a property, make sure you do plenty of research into the surrounding neighborhood and the people who live there. Learn how to be an effective landlord and avoid problem tenants. Finally, make sure you understand the legal rules you must follow in the role of landlord.

By investing in real estate, you’re on track to earning passive income! Before you make a purchase offer on a property, take the time to develop an investment strategy, budget for ongoing expenses, get a home inspection, and learn about the risks involved in owning a rental property. The more you prepare for this venture, the greater your chances of success!

For more information about Katie Conroy email at kc@advicemine.com

Opinions in this article are that of the guest writer. Do not rely solely on one opinion when making a decision about real estate.

Getting Your Home Ready for Winter!

Fall is here. Are you and your home ready for winter? Every year about this time we get a call from homeowners who forgot to winterize their home. Whether you are on the market or not, these items are good to check over. Not only could you prevent costly problems but you could save money on your utility bills.

1. Clean your gutters. Make sure all the leaves and vines are taken out. Backed up gutters can freeze in low temperatures and cause ice damning.

2. If you use rain barrels, make sure those are empty and turned over so that don't fill up again. They can explode and crack if they're were full of water it freezes.

3. Turn off all exterior water lines. Make sure you open them up and drain out an remaining water. Talk to your local hardware store about freeze proof hose bibs.

4. Do you have removable storm windows? Make sure those are on before it gets cold. Cold hands aren't as cooperative when doing exterior work like this. Get it done before the cold comes.

5. Turn off your air conditioning, there is usually a power breaker next to it outside. Turn off shut off valve. Or if you don't have central air, remove your window air conditioners.

6.Tune up your furnace and install a new filter. Lower your thermostat. For every degree you lower your thermostat you can save 1-3% off your monthly bill. If your home is vacant set at a minimum of 60 if you are on the market and showing. For homes heated with radiant heat, please follow manufacturer guidelines on minimum temperature so yours pipes and radiators don't burst.

7. If your home is vacant make sure you turn off the water, water heater and drain. Winterize pipes by draining pipes including toilets. If your furnace goes off or it gets extremely cold, these items will burst and cost you thousands. Some weatherization companies also pour anti freeze in drains and in toilet. I can't recommend you do that but check with you local ordinances regarding acceptable weatherization techniques.

8. If you have ceiling fans. Switch the direction your fan blades move. Clockwise makes it warmer.

9. Lastly, any improvement you do to your home like insulation, new windows and doors or  caulking and weatherstripping will help. If home improvements are not in your budget this fall. There are many inexpensive fixes you can do. Like plastic on the windows, temporary weatherstrip at window sill and draft snakes at your exterior doors to keep drafts from coming in.

Word. From your Mother, Or At Least Your Realtor

Leave the world as you found it or if you can, better than you found it. All my article ideas come from talking with clients, lenders or experiencing every day life in the real estate world. This article is no different. The idea of leaving a home, the beach, the park, wherever you are; as you found it, is not a new idea but shared often.

When you are little,  schools, parents and society drill into you, don't litter, leave the park better than you found it, bathe before getting into the pool. We share this world with others, with nature with animals and birds. What we do affects what happens to others.  And it affects us. At what point do those messages fade into oblivion? 

When it comes to real estate the rules are no different. In fact as a Realtor, we are constantly drilled with those messages from our continuing ed, newsletters, private remarks on MLS. Leave the home as you found it. I can't tell you how many times sellers tell me, we came home after the showing and the door was left open or the carpet was pulled up, the blinds left open or the toilet used. This is so frustrating. From a real estate broker's opinion my first thought is hmm, doesn't the agent showing the home agree to uphold higher ethics than the average person, why would they do this? The average person must have, at some point heard these messages. Certainly an agent has.   Its a privilege to be allowed into someone's home, their sacred space where they live. Treating it as though it you could care less what the seller's think or what happens to the home is not ok.  You wouldn't want that to happen to your mom's house or your house.

So, word from your mother. Whether you are an agent, a buyer, an inspector- Remember, the home belongs to someone else. Treat the home as if it was a museum, don't touch things that aren't yours,  leave it in the same condition as you found it, close those blinds, make sure the doors are locked. You will find the homeowners will be thankful and it might even give your conscious a lift that you did the right thing.