• Make a check payable to your future.  Instead of a writing a rent check to a landlord each month, you can instead invest your money in a strong, long-term home investment. Some individuals look to owning a home simply because they want their money to start working for them, instead of essentially throwing it away in rent.

• Evaluate the tax advantages.  Think in terms of tax deductions when considering the financial aspects of purchasing a home. Most homeowners itemize their home deductions on their tax returns and deduct such things as home mortgage insurance, property real estate taxes, state income taxes, personal property taxes and even moving expenses.

• Consider all the financial aspects.  Don’t just consider the cost of the home when considering your monthly budget and whether you will come out ahead by buying instead of renting. In other words, compare not only the principal and interest on the loan, but also such things as homeowner’s insurance, taxes, and in some cases, private mortgage insurance.

• Calculate all buying costs.  When considering your costs, don’t forget to also factor in closing costs, related fees like the title insurance fee, the survey, the loan origination fee, attorney fees, and even points on the loan.

• Make room for repair and maintenance.  Your monthly household budget, as a homeowner, will also include maintenance and repair on the home.  It may also include costs associated with updating or remodeling the home to best suit your needs and wants.

• Enjoy long-term equity.  Don’t forget the beauty of long-term equity when determining if owning a home is right for you.  Although the economy over the last few years has left many people in precarious situations regarding their homes, the truth is that owning a home is still one of the best financial decisions you can make. In addition, lenders have dramatically changed their lending requirements from the real estate boom and bust, which means your loan terms for a new home should be decidedly more conservative.

If you’re thinking of selling your home in the spring market, you should start early to get it sale-ready.  Depending on the upgrades your home needs, it could become very time consuming to complete them especially if you try to do the work in between your day job and family activities.

Major overhauls like redoing bathrooms and kitchens aren’t necessary in order to sell your home.  If your bathrooms and kitchen could use updating you should consider whether spending the money to do it will result in a good return on your investment.  The most conservative approach to selling an outdated home is to price it accordingly.  Don’t expect to list it at the same price as the other homes for sale that have had upgrades.

Even if yours doesn’t need updating there are a few minor changes you can make that will have a good return on your real estate investment.  The most significant changes you can make include:

• Updating the flooring
• Adding a fresh coat of paint
• De-cluttering
• Cleaning like there’s no tomorrow

These sound easy to accomplish on paper but getting them done is another matter.  You can begin by assessing what needs to be done and doing so early in the year.  Consult with your Realtor and seek their advice on considering a professional home stager.

If you plan on re-carpeting or having other flooring changed, you will need to allow plenty of time to do so before listing your home for sale.  Changing the flooring will require moving the clutter first and it is better to paint before redoing the flooring.  That means you’ll need to hire a painter and flooring professional or set aside a significant amount of time to do these chores yourself.  

Updating Flooring

You will need to allow time for choosing a flooring specialist to work with.  Aside from visiting their gallery to see samples, you will need to allow time for measuring, time to choose the flooring, and time for them to get a written quotation back to you.  If you plan to compare quotes, you will need more time for extra appointments.  

Flooring professionals need lead time to order your product and to book their service crew. Some flooring experts will book you within a couple of weeks while others will need several weeks’ notice.  Set a target date for your flooring installation with a goal to have it completed a week or two before you want to show your home.  You won’t want to leave time for the new flooring to become soiled or for pets to damage it before showing your house.

Re-Carpeting

Re-carpeting is a good option if you already have carpet.  It is less costly and you will get a better return on your investment than if you replace all your floors with hardwood.  Hardwood floors are the modern trend and may help your home to sell quicker, but the amount you’ll be able to raise your asking price to is usually marginal compared to the exorbitant cost of laying the hardwood.  A carpet professional can help you choose something current and inexpensive that is suitable for showcasing your home for sale.

Painting

If you’re hiring a professional painter, allow time to get estimates.  It can be frustrating when a painter you’ve booked for an estimate cancels his visit because he’s taken on a bigger job. It is important to allow time for problems like this.

Choosing the paint colours themselves can become very time consuming when trying to find a happy medium between neutralizing your home’s colours, keeping them modern, and complementing existing or new furniture and fixtures.  

Once you’ve chose your colours and are ready for the painting to begin you will need time to pick up the paint and supplies and do prep work unless a painter will be doing it for you.

A professional may also notice things you should repair such as cracks in ceilings or walls. It is important to repair cracks, drywall tape that may be lifting, and to repaint any ceilings marred by smokers.  Drywall repair compound or similar products will need drying and sanding time.  Priming and repainting ceilings is very time consuming.

As you can see, a good paint job means more than slapping a new paint colour on.

De-Cluttering

Once the walls are painted and the flooring laid you will need a day or two to finish de-cluttering closets, crawl spaces, the garage and so forth.  You may want to rent a portable storage unit to temporarily remove items from view.  You’ll need a day or even a week of lead-time for delivery of the bin, a day or two to load it, and another appointment to have it taken away to the storage facility.

Cleaning

The more you can clean the better.  You may want to consider hiring a cleaning service to clean specific areas like your appliances or washrooms and kitchen in order to conserve your energy.  

A professional window washer that cleans both the indoors and outdoors will bring that extra sparkle to your home making it look fresh and new.

Setting Deadlines

In order to achieve the best results in a timely way, it is important to draw up a schedule outlining deadlines:

1. Start by choosing what you feel is an ideal listing date.  Then work backwards.
2. Allow a couple of weeks to clean your home and stage your furniture just before showing it and for an appointment with your realtor to finalize your contract.  
3. Set a deadline for having the flooring completed allowing a six-week period to get the process going.
4. Set a two to four week period before that for painting.  
5. Often floor baseboards need removing prior to flooring changes.  Removing, touching them up and reinstalling them will gobble up another day or two.  
6. Allow several days to de-clutter and complete other repairs.

As you can see, to accomplish even a minor overhaul needs several weeks or months of lead-time.  The spring market is a hot selling time you won’t want to miss. Getting your home into sale condition early is very important if you want to capitalize on the rush of buyers hunting down their perfect home.  

In today’s competitive real estate market, it pays to be prepared.  When you make minor changes to your home, you will have more peace of mind, you will receive more traffic, and you will get better results.  Allow plenty of time by starting early in the New Year.

Tina Fountain is the Broker/Owner of Atlanta based Tina Fountain Realtors. She and her staff of real estate agents specialize in homes for sale in Atlanta, luxury homes for sale in Buckhead, and homes for sale in Marietta.

When a person chooses to drive his car while intoxicated, he demonstrates his lack of regard for the safety of other motorists. Willful decisions like this cause many wrongful deaths in Georgia and throughout this nation each and every year. 

Sadly, drunk driving accidents are avoidable and are a senseless tragedy that occur far too often in Georgia and our surrounding states. When a negligent driver causes your loved one’s death as a result of the driver’s wrongdoings, that driver deserves to be punished.

This is why parents of Georgia drunk driving victims need to play a role in teaching these irresponsible drivers a lesson by bringing a wrongful death lawsuit against the drunk driver, and possibly against the establishment that served him or her too many alcoholic drinks. 

After a child’s wrongful death, parents should do the following:

• Allow yourself time to grieve.
• Engage a Georgia wrongful death attorney in your case.
• File a wrongful death lawsuit within the specified time frame, or statute of limitations.

When selecting a wrongful death attorney in Georgia, it is critical that you hire someone with experience in handling cases that involve Georgia drunk driving victims. This will ensure that the attorney has the experience you need for your specific type of case.

If you have lost a child or loved one due to a drunk driving crash, please call an Atlanta DUI victim attorney today at the Law Offices of Shane Smith at 770-HURT-999 or (866) 979-1629 to receive a free, no-obligation consultation. You can also request a complimentary copy of our book, I Was Hit by a Drunk Driver: What Do I Do Next? The Guide for Victims of Georgia Drunk Driving Accidents.

St. Patrick’s Day is a time the Irish celebrate their heritage, but most people use this day as an excuse to party and get drunk. You should be able to have fun and celebrate, as long as you make smart choices by not driving home intoxicated. 

However, as an Atlanta DUI victim lawyer, our law office knows all too well how St. Patrick’s Day celebrations turn into DUI accidents. Unfortunately, this day known for binge drinking and partying is also known for injuries and fatalities due to drunk driving crashes.

This is why you should be especially careful when deciding on transportation to and from your St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Five transportation alternatives in the Atlanta-metro area include:

• Metro America Safe Drivers (770-507-3332) provides free rides daily from 7:00am – 7:00pm.
• Saferide America (404-888-0887) provides driver-for-hire services for partygoers from 8:00pm – 4:00am.
• Take a cab – Atlanta Checker Cab will honor the 1800TAXICAB vouchers that are distributed by local bars and restaurants this St. Patrick’s Day between 6:00pm Friday, March 16 and 8:00am Saturday, March 17.
• Take MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) to go by bus or train for just $2.50 one way.
• Call a sober friend or relative to pick you up.

There is no excuse to drive drunk and injure an innocent motorist or pedestrian in a Georgia DUI accident. Save these phone numbers in your cell phone and pass this information on to others you love.

If you are were a victim of a Georgia DUI crash, please call the Law Offices of Shane Smith at 770-HURT-999 or (866) 979-1629 to receive a free consultation with a skilled Atlanta DUI victim lawyer today. Additionally, feel free to request a complimentary copy of our book, I Was Hit by a Drunk Driver: What Do I Do Next? The Guide for Victims of Georgia Drunk Driving Accidents.