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If you’re getting ready to move into a new home, it might feel like you’ve told everyone you know. In the excitement of buying a new home and planning a move however, it’s easy to forget to notify all the necessary people and institutions. Thankfully, Zillow has compiled a list to keep you organized and ready for a smooth transition to your new address.
Naturally, your relatives and close friends should be the first to know that you are about to move house. Informing them of your imminent relocation as early as possible will not only give you the chance to ask them help you move, but, if you’re moving far away, will also provide you with enough time to say a proper goodbye and plan for different ways to stay in touch despite the distance between you.
Unless you’re relocating to a different branch of your current company, you should inform your employer about your decision to move and leave your job as early as a month in advance.
This way, the company will have time to find a new person for your position, and you will be able to put all the relevant paperwork in order without any hassle.
Remember that your old boss will need your new address to send you tax documents and insurance information at the end of the year.
If you live in a rental home, you should carefully review your tenant rights and responsibilities contained in the lease agreement. You will probably be required to notify your landlord of your intentions to move out at least 30 days in advance.
You need to prepare a written notice that clearly states your move-out date and your future address. It is also a good idea to include a brief statement about the excellent condition of the rented property and to request your security deposit back.
Changing your address with the United States Postal Service should be among your top priorities when moving to a new house, as it will help you avoid many troubles and inconveniences.
To have your mail forwarded to your new place before you’ve updated your address with individual organizations and companies, you only need to fill out a change of address request at your local post office or at the USPS official website.
Online services such as 1StopMove can also help you complete this process.
{Editor’s note: Lennar homebuyers can visit their personalized myLennar dashboard to easily submit a change of address request online!}
Read the full list: Checklist: Everybody You Need to Notify When You’re Moving – Zillow Porchlight
Is a new home in the new year part of your 2017 resolutions? If you’re ready to move, but want to keep costs down (who doesn’t?), check out these tips from U.S. News & World Report. Marietta Rodriguez shares strategies for finding a dream home that fits you and your budget.
Strengthen your credit score before you look for a mortgage. The majority of people don’t know their credit score until they begin to look for a home or mortgage.
Since looking for a home can take anywhere from one to three months on average, sometimes even longer, it could pay off to use the home shopping time to strengthen your credit score, especially if it means getting a lower mortgage rate. How much lower? Although not every lender is the same, a strong credit score can cut as much as half a percent from your rate.
A housing counselor or credit counselor can provide guidance on what to do to boost a credit score while shopping for a home.
But just as it could pay off to improve your credit before applying and getting approved for a mortgage, buyers shouldn’t assume that an approved mortgage is a done deal. Until all of the paperwork is signed and the home’s keys are handed over, a lender may review the agreement to see the factors that led to a loan approval haven’t changed.
For example: Making purchases that change your credit picture for the worse – like adding new debt or paying a credit card late, even inadvertently – before you buy the house could lead to a lender rescinding the mortgage approval.
Shop around for the best mortgage. As said before, not every lender offers the same mortgage rate, so shopping around is essential, but something the average person doesn’t do. According to data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, nearly half of people who apply for a mortgage don’t shop around. Failing to do so could be expensive month after month, and really add up after several years.
Consider this example of someone borrowing $200,000 for a mid-price home. At a 4 percent rate of interest, the monthly payment is approximately $955. The same amount borrowed at 4.5 percent increases the monthly mortgage to $1,013, or nearly $700 each year.
As important as it is to obtain the best mortgage rate, it’s also important to watch out for fees charged by mortgage lenders. These fees go by various names, another reason to work closely with a housing counselor throughout the mortgage process in order to navigate the complicated process.
{Continue reading: Buying a Home in 2017? 4 Strategies to Keep Your Purchase Affordable }
Saving for the holidays and a home might seem like a challenging task to take on, but with a few key strategies, you can confidently save for both this season! Check out this recent Trulia article by Kali Hawlk, and learn five money-saving tips to help you this holiday season.
Saving for a house is a big undertaking. People understand it takes a lot of work, discipline, and focus to fund a down payment and afford the home you want. One way to make the holidays more affordable is simply to communicate with friends and family and let them know you’re working toward this savings goal. Explain that, financially, you can’t handle going all-out this holiday season if you want to stay on track with your home-buying plans. You can ask to do something different to celebrate if the usual is an extravagant gift exchange. People who understand and support you may need only that gentle reminder to agree.
And if you run into opposition from relatives who feel you can’t enjoy the holidays without presents, be prepared to suggest alternatives. You can offer to arrange an experience for everyone to enjoy together, like coordinating a family outing that’s either free or inexpensive — with everyone who participates paying their own way.
Sometimes, there’s no way of entirely escaping the obligation to buy gifts during the holidays. But that doesn’t mean you need to go crazy and splurge on lavish presents at the expense of your goal to save for a home. Consider some festive ideas that will allow you to participate without blowing your budget.
For example, you could suggest Secret Santa gift exchanges (with a maximum spending limit) among your social groups, instead of buying presents for every family member, friend, and coworker you know. Or you could bake and give cookies, treats, and other holiday sweets. Also consider redeeming credit card rewards and points to obtain gifts instead of using cash.
The ideas above might work for some of the recipients on your gift-giving list this season. But you probably have only so many reward points to cash in, and it simply may not be appropriate to give your boss a box of homemade cookies and call it a day. If you can’t get away with this kind of gift, you may need to head to the store to buy a pricier item. But that doesn’t mean you need to pay full price.
This might take more time than simply heading straight to your favorite store, but shopping strategically can help you get gifts at lower prices. Sign up for mailing lists from retailers you want to frequent, so you catch flash sales and coupons in your inbox. (Then unsubscribe to avoid further spending temptation after you finish your holiday shopping!)
New Lennar homes are now selling at Magma Ranch, a charming master planned community conveniently located in Florence, Arizona. Enjoy peaceful Southeast Valley surroundings with a close proximity to everything Phoenix has to offer! Magma Ranch provides residents with a variety of in-community amenities for a healthy lifestyle and entertainment close to home. Athletic individuals can play on the basketball court, soccer field, tennis court, or volleyball court. Families are treated to a playground and tot lot for little ones with a lot of energy. The swimming pool and splash park are great for beating a hot day. And, at any point in the day, one can leisurely walk the trails or stroll through the park, stopping off at the designated picnic area for lunch.
Magma Ranch homes offer four floor plans, including The Home Within A Home, ranging from 1,232 to 2,247 square feet. With 3-5 bedrooms and affordably priced from the $140s, Magma Ranch is ideal for growing families. Lennar’s “Everything’s Included” features include black GE® kitchen appliances, washer and dryer, walk-in closets, and more. The private suite includes a separate kitchen, living room, bedroom suite, and bath – all the accommodations of a private home, but the convenience of family on the other side of a door.
Magma Ranch is ideal for those who want to live in a small, quiet desert town that is progressively moving forward with an unquenchable spirit of friendliness among its residents.
Founded in 1866, Florence is one of Arizona’s oldest towns, with over 140 historic buildings that by architectural design attest to a timeframe that dates early Territorial to post-World War II; a self-guided audio walking tour of the historic district’s 30 most significant buildings is provided by the Florence Visitor Center. Additionally, a nationally acclaimed monument of Arizona is located in Florence: The Casa Grande Ruins, located 16.8 miles south of Magma Ranch, are a four-story series of prehistoric structures, one of the largest ever built in North America by the Hohokam, that date as far back as the early 1400s. Guided tours of the ruins are available, and guests can be enlightened about the Hohokam culture by visiting the on-site museum and watching the Casa Grande Park film at the auditorium.
Fun shopping and social outing opportunities are available at the Queen Creek Marketplace – an outlet mall with over fifty retail and boutique stores and unique dining experiences. Golfers are pleased with the 5-tee, 5,300-yard course at the Poston Butte Golf Club, and everyone feels refreshed in the summer at the Florence Aquatic Center, complete with waterslides, diving boards, and a family pool. Dog owners venture over to Heritage Park, also known as “Central Bark Park,” for playtime fun with their four-legged buddies; but, additional features – a playground, soccer field, sand volleyball court, basketball courts, horseshoe pits, and skate area – enable the versatile use of the park space by active outdoor devotees.
To find out more about the Magma Ranch community and living opportunities, click here or call the Welcome Home Center in Florence, AZ at (602) 285-4663.
Sources:
Pinal County – Visitors’ Page
Apple’s HomeKit app and other smart homes devices take home automation to the next level, as seen at Lennar’s Marina Shores community in Alameda, California. Get the latest news from Prashant Gopal of Bloomberg, and see what features you might find included in future new homes!
In a darkened master bedroom, David Kaiserman stood in shirtsleeves next to a turned-down king bed. “Good morning, Siri,” he said to the iPad in his hand, and the lights went on while the blackout shades retracted.
“Your home is ready to rise and shine,” the virtual assistant replied.
Inside this four-bedroom stucco house in Alameda, California, Kaiserman, president of the technology division at construction company Lennar Corp., was pitching a vision of a home controlled via iPhone or iPad.
Tap your phone, and AC/DC’s “Back in Black” blasts. Tap again, and the bath runs at a blissful 101 degrees. Sweet, right? Of course, your dad might view it as a bit over the top. All told, $30,000 worth of gadgets and gizmos were on display here, many run with Apple’s free HomeKit app.
As iPhone sales growth slows, Apple is teaming up with a handful of builders and using these kinds of test beds to inch its way into the market for Internet-connected home furnishings, a nascent field that has attracted rivals like Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon.com Inc.
The gamble is that pricey wireless home devices will be an easier sell when bundled into the home itself. Builders market granite countertops and brushed-nickel fixtures at thousands of models homes across the U.S. Why not video doorbells?
Unlike Google and Amazon, however, Apple isn’t hawking hardware meant to connect the home. Instead, the HomeKit app could increase the value of its iOS ecosystem — and make it tougher for users to switch to Android phones and tablets.
“We want to bring home automation to the mainstream,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of product marketing. “The best place to start is at the beginning, when a house is just being created.”
[Read the full article here]
National Get Smart About Credit Day is a national campaign that helps raise awareness about the importance of credit to young people. It’s not only important for young people to become aware of credit and their financial goals, but it’s also beneficial for all ages to constantly learn ways to improve their credit score as it can play a big factor in many financial decisions. Take time to celebrate this day with these six credit myths shared by Farnoosh Torabi of Mint.
This is one of the most widely misreported details about credit scores I read about and hear from consumers. While some employers do ask for your permission to conduct a credit background check as part of the application process [and they must get your approval ahead of time], they’re only reviewing your credit history — not your credit score. The terms credit “report” and credit “score” sometimes get used interchangeably, as if they’re the same thing. They’re not!
I heard this fallacy in my young adult years and it continues to come up in conversations today. Some individuals – for example, a couple listeners of my podcast – have written in and said they’ve heard it’s better to carry a monthly balance on your credit card bill. They think it’s a way to increase your credit score. While it is true that you should “use” your credit card responsibly to establish strong credit, some mistakenly think that means you should “use” the card by “carrying a balance,” because that shows “activity.” The truth is that it’s best to pay off your card in full – and on time – each billing cycle. Otherwise, you end up paying interest. Carrying a balance can also negatively impact your credit score. Your debt to credit ratio is 30% of your credit score. The lower your debt level, the lower your ratio can be. And that is, ultimately, better for your score.
False and false. It is true that the longer your credit history is, the better it is for your credit score. But your age, on its own, is not what matters. Someone who’s 85 years old who just opened up his first credit card won’t necessarily have a higher score than someone who’s 30 years old with a ten year history of managing credit. In fact, the person with the decade-long credit history – all other factors equal – would presumably have the higher score. [The length of your credit history is equal to 15% of your credit score.] And it may be true that those with higher incomes can better afford to stay out of debt – which, in turn, keeps the credit score in good shape. But neither variable directly impacts your credit score.
[Read the full article here]
The new iOS 10 software for Apple includes a Home app that allows you to control your home’s systems with your mobile device, or even by voice (thanks, Siri). While it may be a a little challenging to set up, Taylor Martin of CNET has shared a step by step guide on how to get started with the new Home app. Once you confirm that your devices are HomeKit-compatible, you can get started on setting up your rooms and automations to control your home’s various devices.
Create a Room
When adding a new device from within the Home app, you have the option to assign the device to a room. Rooms let you group multiple devices, so that you can control the entire room with one tap or voice command.
For instance, you can tell Siri to “turn off the living room” and every connected device in that room will be powered off. Hello, 21st century Clapper.
If you don’t have any rooms setup, devices will be assigned to the default room. To add a new room, open the Home app and switch to the Rooms tab. Tap the settings button (a bulleted list icon) in the top left corner of the screen and tap Add Room. Give the room a name, set a photo and tap Save.
To move devices between rooms, press and hold on one of the device icons and tap Details. Tap Location and select which room you want the device to be assigned to. Repeat this for every device you want to move to a different room.
From the Rooms tab, there are two ways to switch between which room is currently displayed. Swiping left and right will scroll through the various rooms, while tapping the settings button in the top left will let you quickly jump to any room. The latter is more helpful if you have Home devices in three or more rooms in your home.
If for any reason you wanted to control only some of the devices in a Room, you would need to create a Scene.
Read the full guide on how to set up your Home app here.
The U.S. Green Building Council has recently awarded LEED-ND Platinum certification to the the mixed-use Treasure Island development. Gail Kalinoski for Commercial Property Executive describes the green initiatives of the project and what it means for future homeowners and visitors to the area.
It’s the highest designation possible for a green, sustainable development and USGBC officials said the Treasure Island development is one of the highest-scoring LEED-ND projects to date. The project is also the largest plan, in terms of acres, to receive the LEED-ND Platinum certification and the largest to be certified under LEED v4, the USGBC’s latest rating system. It is also one of just 17 in the world to be certified at the Platinum level.
The USGBC said the designation was granted for the developers’ plans for implementing measurable strategies and best practices to achieve sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, sea-level rise adaptation and overall environmental quality.
Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair of USGBC, said the Treasure Island plan “demonstrates tremendous green leadership that will be recognized globally.”
“With its plan, Treasure Island has responded proactively to the most important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy and threats to human health,” Fedrizzi added in prepared remarks.
The multi-phase redevelopment is being planned by Treasure Island Community Development, a joint venture between Lennar Corp. and its Lennar Urban division, Stockbridge Capital Group and Wilson Meany. After years of planning and seeking approvals from local, state and federal officials, construction began in the spring at the site of a former naval base. Phase One will have about 2,100 residential units, approximately 500 hotels rooms, retail and 90 acres of parks and open space. When completed, the project will encompass about 8,000 homes, 2,000 of them affordable, along with 200,000 square feet of retail space and 300,000 square feet of office and commercial space and the 500 hotel rooms.
Read the full article: San Francisco’s Treasure Island Project Wins Top Green Rating
Are you looking to make a move or relocate for a new job? Well, you can find out which part of the U.S. is attracting the most buyers and help decide where you should make your new home. Get up to date on the fastest-growing cities, and moving trends from this recent Livability article by Matt Carmicheal.
Here’s what I found:
Any way you slice it, Texas is the big population winner for 2015. At the state level, it added more residents (490,000) than any other. Four of its metros added more than 412,000 people (that’s more than any other state-level total) between July 2014 and July 2015, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Houston area added about 159,000, while the Dallas-Fort Worth area added another 145,000. Adding 412,000 people is about the same as adding a city the size of Miami or Oakland. That’s a lot of people.
Overall, the nation’s 381 metro areas house about 275 million people. About 285 of them saw growth during that period.
Growth at the county level
Net growth is all well and good, but the pieces that make up that pie are interesting in themselves. Population change comes from a variety of sources. People are born, people die, people move in and people move out. Let’s spend a little time looking at the winners and losers at the county level, based on two of those that relate a lot to livability: people moving, and children being born.
The fastest-growing counties (in terms of people moving in) are in the fastest-growing metros primarily in the South and the West (and Florida). These areas (Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas and Houston) have been gaining people left and right for years now. However, not all of Texas is winning people over. El Paso cracks the top 10 for counties losing residents.
Despite all that is written about the explosion of population and interest in our largest cities, four of the counties losing the most people are boroughs of New York City. Most cities reside in counties (some overlap county lines), but New York City is unique in that it’s so large that the city itself is made up of five counties, and four of them are bleeding people. The fifth, Richmond County (aka Staten Island), saw its population remain more or less unchanged.
Cook County Il., home of Chicago and its collar suburbs, had more than 50,000 people move out, and saw its first overall population decline since 2007. That’s like losing the population of Chicago neighbor Oak Park, Il. in one year. Los Angeles County lost even more to people moving out.
[Read the full article at Livability.com]
