The Art of Negotiation: How to Negotiate for a House

You’re ready to take the plunge on buying a house. You have the perfect place chosen and you’re about to take the next, and arguably the most important step, negotiations to actually buy the house. Here’s the question... how the hell do you 1. Negotiate or 2. Negotiate something as big, expensive, and important as a house?

First, know the conditions under which you are buying the house. If at all possible get to know the seller. If you can’t get to know the seller themselves ask the listing agent, get as much information as you can. Why are they selling the house? When do they want to be out of the house? Does the seller already have a new place? It’s super important to figure out the level of urgency involved for the seller. You’re not here to make friends your here to put together strategy. The more you know the more you can tailor your offer.

Next, develop your game plan. What is your game plan?  If you paid attention to the first step you’ve already started your research. Make sure you ask your realtor if the asking price is fair and what wiggle room there might be in the price. I’m assuming you’ve seen the house, you know what you’re working with. You know what the property has that you want and the things that you’re missing and thus, what you’re budget will accommodate. You need to be realistic about what you’re going to pay for the house. Be prepared to sell yourself. In business deals, you need to prepare to do a little bit of acting. You also need to be prepared to read people. How does the seller feel about selling the house? You need to be able to read that attitude and show the right amount of enthusiasm. Not so much that the seller thinks you’re overeager and try to drive up the price but not so stoically business like that an emotional seller will think that you don’t appreciate their home enough and be reluctant to sell it to you.

Finally, the best thing you can do for yourself is to stay flexible and prepare to compromise.  Compromise is an intrinsic part of the negotiation and if you think your going to go in and bulldoze and bully everyone else in the room into giving you everything exactly the way you want it for the price you want it at with zero concessions from you, then you’re unreasonable and insane and your walking away with hurt feelings, a bruised ego, and broken dreams. Be prepared to be creative. The seller might be really attached to the price that they want to sell the house for so you might want to just... work around that. There are other ways to get your money's worth without getting the seller to lower the price. In short, if they don’t want to change the price, change what you get for the price. As the buyer, you can kind of negotiate for anything. I mean don’t get crazy but you can legit ask them to leave you furniture because you like it, ask for certain repairs, some specific landscaping alterations. You can ask for a lot of things within reason.

With these tips in mind and a good realtor, you are well on your way into your new house. Now you just need to tackle the steps that come after. Like signing the contract, inspections, getting various kinds of insurance, doing paperwork you didn’t even know existed, etc. You can check out some of our other articles on home buying for more advise and tricks for home buying and the home buying process. 

Optimizing on Open Houses

Open houses are a great home buying resource. Other than presenting a chance for you to fully explore the layout of a perspective house physically it allows you to assess the property in person without strategically framed and angled pictures telling you what the seller wants you to see. Also, it’s super fun to walk through a home, mentally repurposing and redecorating to your own preferences, that’s what I do. So, here is a few ways to optimize each open house experience:

• Get there early: Don’t be obnoxious, I’m talking about ten to fifteen minutes at the absolute most. Just so that you beat any rush of people wanting to look at the house as well. This will give you extra time to scope out the house, go to the bathroom and check that the toilet flushes and all the taps work. It’ll feel weird to turn on someone else’s shower but these are things you need to know. This will also leaves you some solid time to engage with the host. Introduce yourself, get a solo tour, hear the spiel, garner some extra attention that could serve you well later. If you think you like the property take a walk around the neighborhood. Don’t be afraid to talk to the neighbors and try to get a feel for the area. Then, when you come back after your walk re-engage with the host, this will garner even more attention, and by that I mean prioritization.

• Know what you want: The important part of this is to stay open minded. If or when a house doesn’t have EVERYTHING you want don’t immediately wright, it off as a miss. It’s important to note everything a property does have that you want first and then begin to think creatively. Is it possible to get the other features that you want another way? Are you willing to remodel or do any add-ons? Consider what you’re willing to do and can afford to change beforehand so that when you’re in the house you can mentally redecorate in peace with that in mind. Also, it’s good to consider what you’re willing to live without if you find the right house but it doesn’t come with 100% of the features that you were looking for before you get there so that those things don’t become hang-ups while you’re roaming the house.

• Ask Questions: This is super important. Have some prepared. Bring a little notebook and write down more during your first walkthrough of the house. Whatever you feel the need to know without crossing over the line of TMI. Have they received any offers yet (this will tell you how quickly you may need to move to make your own)? How quickly is the seller trying to move out (being in a hurry may mean they’ll want to take less time to negotiate and may take a lower offer), Is the sellers’ price flexible (there will be a battle of wits and talking around the subject with the agent but it’s a battle you might win)? How long has the house been on the market (get a sense of the level of desperation, there are details here that you can’t get on the online listing, collect as much context for a long selling period as possible)? Are there any issues with the house (there are disclosure requirements but the agent is going to do their best to sell you the property so do your best to read between the lines here)? What are the average utility costs (this tells you the real cost of the house honestly)?

Adding a Fireplace

Ready or not it’s winter! The solstice has come and gone. The days may be getting longer but it’s still gonna be cold out for the next two months. What better way to wait out cold winter days than in front of a fireplace? So what if your house doesn’t actually come with a fireplace. You can always get install one. Yes, I just told you to install a fireplace in your already fully built house.

Here’s the thing, we’re deep into the late 2010s. You don’t need to take out part of a wall and build a chimney to get a fireplace if you truly desire one. It’ll definitely cost money, a lot of money… it’s an investment. Think of a fireplace as a slightly risky investment, an investment you can enjoy and could, maybe payoff.   

So, fireplaces are a desirable feature. Almost 40% of homebuyers said they would pay extra for a house with a fireplace. The best way to maximize the payoff of a fireplace is to ensure that the price of the fireplace is proportionate to the overall value of the house. A fireplace isn’t calculated separately in a professional home appraisal a $10,000 fireplace holds its value in a $1 million house because buyers expect this feature in an upscale home but a $10,000 fireplace won’t be such a crucial component of a $100,000 house. The fireplace is not going to be the main draw of a lower scale home… so maybe focus on other stuff, like curb appeal.

Also, put it somewhere it’ll actually be used, like a den, family room, great room, etc. Equip your fireplace with energy-efficient glass doors and an exterior venting system that prevents heated air from being pulled out of rooms. If you want fireplaces for smaller rooms, if you are so inclined, to think about a small gas fireplace that’s easy to maintain.

Home Buying Fees You Might Not Know About

The buying process is complicated, super complicated. There are all sorts of variables and things to look out for. One of those things are fees. We all know that buying a house is expensive but what do you actually have to pay for besides the house itself?

Application Fee

Ah, applications. You need to pay this to even start the process. This is a fee the lender charges you… because they can honestly. You can ask for a breakdown of the application fee and might get a little more information but mostly it's an unavoidable nonsense fee that you should expect.

The Home Inspector

I hear what you’re thinking and no, you can’t skip it. Inspectors are what stand between you and utter ruin. They are your champion in the house buying process. Structural issues, mold, roofing, anything that could go wrong, they’re the experts that keep you from being buried under a pile of problems. That can all come to at an easy payment of 300 to 500 dollars. Yes, you still have to pay them if you decide not to buy the house.   

Appraisal Report Fee

This appraisal report fee is also charged by your lender… figures. This one actually goes towards something though. This one pays for the lender to appraise the cost of the house in question so that the buyer, a.k.a you aren’t paying more than the house you’re trying to buy is worth. This costs between 200 and 425 dollars. At least this fee does something useful.

Title Service Fees

Title Service fees covers several different services. Appraisal covers a lot of the necessary government paperwork. Searching public records for the houses title, notary for the person bearing witness to the signing of documents, government filing, etc. This will cost you between 150 and 400 dollars all together.

Lenders Organization Costs

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Your lender with another fee for you. Nope, not very funny unfortunately it’s not a joke. This is an upfront fee for processing the application (yes, the obligatory application fee doesn’t cover this), underwriting (researching your loan), and funding the loan. I really don’t get it either but either way it’s gonna cost you somewhere between .5% and 1.5% of your total loan.

Survey Report

Literally this is just a report that shows you the boundaries of the property, features and dimensions. It costs between 150$ and 400$.

Tax Payment Fee

Here we’ll end with a light one that won’t hurt your soul as much. Tax payment fee basically insures that tax payments on the property are up to date and that the payments you make are appropriately credited to the right home. This costs you about 50$.

So… I’m sure your super discouraged after seeing all of these fees and the numbers that go along with them. Here’s the thing, print out all of your documents, go over them, ask an obnoxious amount of questions you might be able to haggle down the prices of some of them. BE SURE YOU’RE GETTING THE BEST PRICE POSSIBLE! There are far too many fees to have necessary amounts of money taken from you for any of them.

Closet Storage: Stagger Rod System

Ok, so closets usually come in with a standard rod or rod shelf combo that spans across the length of

your closet. This system is fine, you can organize a system based off just this hardware. Long clothes
shorter clothes in middle or vice versa. However, an improved version of this basic rod system may
be a staggered rod system.

A staggered rod system is basically using rods at different levels. The idea is that having staggered
rod system makes it possible to optimize your closet space by stacking levels, fitting more clothes into
the same space, as well as leaving space above and below for storage of things like shoes, accessories,
folded clothes, etc. You can place the rods wherever you please based upon your own needs, closet size
and shape, as well as organizational preferences.  

Double Hang Rods, would be stacked rods above and another rod below.  The top rod should be placed
above your eyeline but comfortably within reach. FamilyHandyman.com suggests you put it at
approximately 84 inches high. The lower rod should be about half of that. If you followed the suggestion
of placing the top rod at 84 inches that would place the lower rod around 42 inches.  This would give the
clothes on top and bottom equal hanging distance for bottoms, tops, jackets, etc.

Long Hang Rods, for hanging pants at full length, dresses, long skirts, long jackets, and coats, etc. items
long enough to reach below the knees or calf length while wearing it. Still, above eyeline, the length
suggested is around 70 inches off the ground.

Medium length rods or Pants rod, this height is for stuff that doesn’t need to be at the length of long hang
rods but are kind of long for the height given to the double hang rods. Items around knee-length or
full-length clothes that you prefer to folded over. The suggested height for that rod was around 60 inches.
If you wear enough pants and own enough for them to need their own rods the suggested length is around
54 inches.

Closet Storage

Perfect closet storage and organization, it’s something we all need and rarely achieved. We all try to optimize our
closet space for maximum storage, or at least try to keep it from becoming a complete mess of clothes and other
assorted items that aren’t actually supposed to be there. So, what could the elusive solution to this common
problem? One good answer could be customization.

When it comes to custom closet organization units and products you will have a good number of options. Too
many, you’ll have way too many options. So, how do we narrow down those options to something more
manageable? You need to start with my personal favorite step, planning.

The most important part of this process is planning. How big is your closet space and how much do you really
plan to keep in the closet itself? Do you have a dresser? Do you use a dresser? What clothes do you prefer to
have folded instead of hanging? You’re going to want to consider things like whether or not you share the
closet space and how it needs to be divided. How much vertical and horizontal space you have to work with.
Do your shoes need to go in there? Do you want drawers inside or outside of the closet? How about shelves or
cubbies? Where will your hamper go? Do you need more hanging space, should you add more rods? Is your
closet big enough to need tablespace? If so, how would you use it and would it be an effective storage method
for you? Once you’ve answered these questions for yourself the real planning can really begin. It might be
helpful for you to sketch out the space or use some kind of room planner that you can find online. Just
remember to take stock of how much stuff you need to fit into the space and what you’ll want and need
to achieve that goal. Also, consider room for an expanding wardrobe or shoe collection. The most important
thing to remember is what you need to keep and will you make use of? The best system in the world will be
useless if it doesn’t conform to your specific organizational needs. You need to make the organization of your
closet natural to you in order for it to do you any good.

Once you’ve planned you can begin to take action. This processed can completely be DIY’s, again there’s a
thousand products and choices available for you to pick up from the store and install yourself. You can also
hire someone else to do it if your plans are to strenuous or complicated for you to be able to achieve yourself.
Check out the rest of our series about different closet organization methods for ideas.

What do you do About Radon?

You may have heard that you need to watch out for Radon and the dangers of radon when you buy a new
house.  Here’s the thing. How many of us know what radon is? Besides, some vague memories from
chemistry and the word radon sounding a little too much like radioactive that makes you uncomfortable
with the idea of radon being in your house, do you know what it actually is? Is it likely to be found in
your house? If it is, is it really that big of a deal?

So, are you likely to run into a radon problem? The short answer is YES, it’s a very common problem to
have. Radon gases are naturally produced by the earth and it occurs practically everywhere.

Is radon that big of a deal then? Another short answer, YES! Here’s the rundown, radon, is indeed, a
radioactive gas. Put simply radon is the breakdown of radioactive materials in the earth releasing traces
of radioactive gases into the air in small amounts. You can’t see, taste, or smell traces of it in the air but
it can be extremely dangerous in large enough amounts. Overtime radon exposure in larger amounts can
cause lung cancer, especially in smokers.

Here’s what you do. Checking for dangerous amounts of radon is simple. You can do this yourself or hire
a professional to it for you. You can get a short-term test, which will tell you what the radon levels in your
house are like over the span of about a week. Then there are long-term tests that give you a better look at
the fluctuations of radon levels in your home over longer periods of time, up to 90 days. The level can
fluctuate. I suggest starting with a short-term test. If the results are around 3, get a long-term test to check
the levels over a longer period of time. If your radon level hits 4, you need to be taking action already.
Radon tests should be done on the lowest level of your house.

Any radon level from 2 upwards can be fixed. I would call a professional to consult on reducing the radon
levels in your home. There are some DIY things you can do to lower the radon level in your home but I don’t
suggest blindly following a tutorial. Some fixes done wrong can actually raise the radon level in your house.

Fixer-upper Property Finds

So, you found yourself a fixer-upper that your thinking of plucking off the market. Maybe you could make it into your dream house. Maybe, after watching one too many design shows on HGTV you’re willing to take on flipping a property yourself as a project and then selling it. Well, I’m not here to convince you one way or the other but here are a few things you should look for in a project property, especially if you looking to sell.

Good structure. You’re not here to start from the beginning. This is not a rebuild the house from the ground up scenario. That’s expensive in both time and money. Unless your getting the property for a steal and you’ll be saving money no matter what, it’s probably not worth having to rebuild the structure.  You need to get a proper, professional inspection.

Good hardware and appliances. You’re not going to want to replace every system and appliance in the house, especially if you’re looking to sell. One thing will be expensive, several would be a nightmare. A couple of updates here and there aren’t too bad but you need to know before buying what the problems are and how much replacing them may cost. Your inspector can give you an idea how long the current systems should last.

Underwhelming. Underwhelming doesn’t usually mean much. People will not buy a house because there’s not enough interest to draw them in. Here’s the thing underwhelming is an easily fixable sin. Most anything can be spruced up with some imagination, ingenuity, and a couple of basic design tricks. Especially, if the house is nice but not very flashy features. The property could be a complete gem, that’s being overlooked because it doesn’t sparkle enough.

Kinda ugly. Speaking of a gem, needing to be shined, it could just be completely covered in mud. Ugly isn’t always a bad thing, at least not for you. Here’s the question is the ugliness structural or is it cosmetic? Cosmetic ugly can be fixed. A bad backsplash, ugly carpeting, those are just bad design decisions, nothing that can’t be changed.

Simple Gardening: Native Plants

Have you always dreamed of having a beautiful garden? Did you always think that once you got your new house you would go out into your brand-new yard and create some floral masterpiece; the likes no one has seen since Victorian era floral gardens? Did you then look up from Pinterest and realize you neither had the time or the inclination to not only set that up but also that you neither have the skill or the theoretical know how to pull it off? Did I mention upkeep? Do you know how to maintain a garden like that? No? Cool, we’re all on the same page.

That brings me to the point native plants. No, I’m not telling you to go plant dandelions. I’m talking plants indigenous to America. I’m talking about gorgeous orange Butterfly Weed, Dainty looking Arkansas Bluestar that you can get in the palest blues and vibrant yellows and oranges. I’m talking about beautiful, (this is a weird thing to say about flowers) natural looking flowers. Flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds… a little bit of wildlife. On top of all that, they’re easy to take care of.

Since native plants are NATIVE they’re good for the ecosystem, there’s nothing invasive about them. You won’t have to do much in the way of soil adaptation if they’re from the same landscape. You won’t need to water them as much because they’re used to the climate and the amount of water, they would usually get from just the groundwater and the rain. It would eliminate seasonal maintenance because they’re natural cycle would be synched up to the seasons and would die or hibernate and come back by itself without much interference.

The care of these plants would be minimal. The brunt of the work would be arranging location and putting the plants into the ground. You need to think about how sun loving the plants may or may not be. If they’re meant to be in the shade, full sun or half and half you need to plan to plant them under a tree or on the side of your house that gets sun half of the day and is in shade the other half.  Young plants or freshly moved plants tend to need more water. You need to either remember to water young plants regularly for a year or set up a system especially for the hotter, drier summer months. Then put down mulch, mulch will cut down weeds which will mean cutting down on weeding.

So,  there it is! I always suggest you go to a local nursery. The people there will be able to answer your questions and help you figure out what you want. They should know the difference between native and exotic plants. Also, the plants from a nursery should come with all the plants general information. Good luck!

Want to Plant Trees?

When you were a kid did you ever eat an apple and saved seeds, later planting them in a jar or your yard? Did you ever get much further than a sprout? Do you ever look at the seeds now and wonder what would happen now as an adult and thought about trying again? Why not, you have a much longer attention span, you don’t necessarily have more knowledge about growing trees but you do have more resources to figure it out? Am I telling you that I can walk you through growing a tree from a seed? No. I don’t know how to do that, but I can give you a couple tips.

Maybe don’t start from a seed: Again, I don’t know how to help you with that. Growing a tree is a strangely delicate process. It needs to be in the right climate (people don’t usually grow apples in Georgia), the soil needs to be right (Georgia clay is not very hospitable), The roots need the proper room to grow, etc. and so forth there’s a lot to think about. Thus, starting from a seed would be even more tenuous. However, if you buy a sapling you have a higher margin for success.  If you go to a local plant nursery they likely are only selling trees that are capable of surviving in your climate. Besides, at least there would knowledgeable or semi-knowledgeable people in there you could ask.

Look at Plant Parameters: Is the type of tree your looking at sun loving? Do they need shade? Will your yard support them? For some reason, people forget that trees… are big. I know that sounds weird to say out loud but you get a sapling around four feet tall and when you’ve stopped paying attention it’s reached fifteen feet and it’s still not done growing. While we’re talking about things that grow let’s talk about the roots. Think of a tree like a glacier, big and mighty above ground, bigger and mightier and more destructive below. Tree roots can damage the foundation of your house. Think about keeping your tree around fifteen ft. out from anything solid like your house, your mailbox, the sidewalk, your fence, you know anything solid. Fifteen ft. is not the rule for every tree, you’ll need to check the spacing requirement for that species. Again, maybe go to a nursery where you’ll be able to get that kind of information with the tree or from a worker. Trees are also fragile in the beginning. When you first plant a tree, it’ll need a lot of attention. You’ll have to water it frequently. You’re going to need to at least look up the maintenance for your specific species of tree.

So, there you go! Go plant a seed or something. I can’t make any promises about the outcome but at least now you have a better idea about the type of commitment a tree is and what you’ll need before you start. Now go do some gardening!

Flood Insurance

Flooding is one of the most common causes of property damage in the US. Water damage is difficult and expensive to fix and devastating to your property, and potentially a significant health risk. It can weaken the foundation of your home, cause mold to grow in your walls, cause your paint to bubble and peel, make your drywall crumble and none of it’s covered by homeowner’s insurance.

Homeowners insurance will typically cover water damage from another source. Burst pipes?Covered. Overflowing sinks or bathtubs? Usually covered. Rain damage? Should be covered. Damage caused by sewage backup? Gross, but your insurance company probably has your back. However, flooding, which someone could easily assume would be under the same umbrella as storm damage, is not covered.  

Which means flood insurance is its own separate entity. Flood insurance is administered by the federal government. That means You can only get flood insurance from insurers that are a part of the National Flood Insurer Program (NFIP). Your insurance provider may not participate in the NFIP program if it doesn’t you may need to either contact an NFIP center for a referral or do a google search.

The rate of flood insurance is also set by the government and not by insurance providers. The rate varies dependent upon risk. This means that the rate of your flood insurance would depend upon the flooding risk inherent of your geographic location. The premiums for low risk areas cost around $405 annually, there are some variations depending on whether or not the property has a basement; there’s also a surcharge that changes depending upon whether the property is a primary or secondary residence. In high risk areas, the same coverage can cost around $2,500. There are government run websites that can give you an estimated rate.

You also can’t just buy flood insurance for that single nasty looking storm or hurricane that all the weather channels are talking about. There is a 30-day waiting period in the majority of cases. So technically you can buy it for a nasty looking, incoming storm season.

So, now for the real question. Should you get flood insurance? The decision might actually be out of your hands. Some mortgage lenders might require you to buy flood insurance if you live in a special flood hazard area. Which at least means that if the structure of your home is damaged by flood water, your utilities are affected, if your appliances are damaged, if your flooring gets messed up, any installed or built-in fixtures get damaged, if secondary structures on your property incur damage, or anything happens to valuable personal items worth up to $2,500, you are covered for that. You can get extensions for other items added on your insurance to cover more valuable items.

If flood insurance isn’t mandatory for you, first congratulations, mandatory anything is usually unpleasant. However, like I said at the beginning, flooding is one of the most common causes of property damage in the US. According to the “Insurance Information Institute,” more than one-fifth of claims for flood damage are from moderate to low-risk areas, areas not required to buy flood insurance. So, it is at least worth looking into.

Delana Cotton servers the north east Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.

Beginners Guide to Homeowners Insurance

What do I know about home insurance? Do you know what types of policies there are? Do you know what type you need personally or can afford? I mean you hear the term home insurance and you think, I get the drift, it’s insurance… on your house. Yes, but home insurance policies can be extremely varied depending on a bunch of different variables such as the possibility of risk based on personal information, geography, the fiscal value of the property and/or home, etc. In a market full of different insurance providers, varying policies, and the differing needs of clients.

Most homeowner policies cover these basics. These basics do not include things like flooding or earthquakes. That’s a different type of insurance that we’ll go over in part three of this series. Basic homeowner policies should include you’re home (Dwelling coverage). Dwelling coverage pertains directly to your house, meaning the structure itself. If your home is majorly damaged in some way out of your control, accidents, acts of nature (yes flooding and earthquakes don’t count but fire, tornadoes, and storms do it depends on your policy. Make sure you know what your coverage is). You should be able to make a claim, there will probably be a deductible (a fee) as a deterrent from making excessive or false claims. However, if your home is somehow entirely destroyed you should be given enough money from the insurance company to recover the amount of money you took out in the loan to purchase your house. You should be able to rebuild the house with the money you claim from the insurance company.

 Basic Policies should also cover personal property (Personal property coverage). This insurance focuses on the items inside your house. This insurance focuses on the personal items inside of your house due to damage to the structure of the house, someone breaking into the house, or something else outside of your control pertaining to the dwelling itself, that should be covered by personal property coverage. If any of those things occur, you should be able to file a claim and get reimbursed for the item or items that were damaged or taken from you.

Other structure coverage: Structure on your property that isn’t your house, a shed or something, fences, I don’t know I don’t go outside.

Loss of use coverage: Something happened and now you can’t stay at your home until the problems are solved. This coverage covers your cost of living outside of your home. There’s a cap, they’re not going to give you more than necessary. If you run out of money before you can move back into your house, you’re screwed.

(Personal liability coverage): Covers accidents that could happen to people who don’t reside on your property or damage on someone else’s property that occurs due to something on your property. Literally an oopsie, that wasn’t on purpose, but it occurred on or due to something on my land insurance.

Finally, there is Additional Coverage: It’s exactly what it sounds like. It covers optional things you choose to add to your coverage because you’re just that ready. These are things that won’t apply to most people in most situations but like I said in the first part of this series, shit happens. It’s best to check for things that could happen in your area but aren’t covered by general policies because they’re not concerns for the population on mass.

These are the types of policies that can be a part of your homeowner insurance. Check out our next article in this series where we talk about insurance not covered in general homeowner insurance FLOODING. 
https://thecottonhometeam.blogspot.com/2018/08/flood-insurance.html

Delana Cotton servers the north east Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.

Deep Cleaning Your New House

So, you’ve bought a new home! First, congratulations on your new home. You’ve gotten past the hard part and now you’re on the final leg of the process, moving in. However, just because the house is new doesn’t mean it’s clean. Before you move in your furniture, you’re going to need to thoroughly clean your new house. Until then anything you move into the space is just going to an obstacle for your cleaning. So now you have the herculean task of deep cleaning the entirety of your new home, but where should you start?

1. Make a List

Everything is more manageable when you have things you can check off of a list You know everything that needs to be done, which reduces the stress of a task. Also, the instant gratification of being able to check things off of a list is amazing motivation. Go from room to room and write down everything that needs to be done in each space. Sweep the floor, dust the ceiling fan, wipe down the baseboards, mopping, dust the mantle, wipe down the windows, etc.

2. Start from one corner to the opposite corner.

It’s best to start from the ceiling, knocking all the dust and the dirt to the floor, so that you won’t end up having to clean the floors several times. I also suggest cleaning from the furthest corner from the door outwards until you make it out of the room. That way if you’re mopping or sweeping you don’t end up putting your dirty shoes or feet on your freshly cleaned floors.

3. Hit the Appliances

If you’ve inherited some of the appliances from the previous owners of the house, first congratulations they’ve saved you a good amount of money. However, even if they cleaned they’ve probably missed something, and you don’t want to cook in the remains of someone else’s crumbs, baked in grease, and dirt. Break everything down so you can clean your appliances thoroughly. Be much more careful with stainless steel, it’s not all that forgiving when it comes to chemical reactions — that blue dish soap and hot water will usually do the trick.

4. DON’T SKIP THE WINDOWS AND LIGHT FIXTURES

Look, I know you're tired of this by now and I’m sorry, but I promise that it’s totally worth it. If your house isn’t new you don’t know when they were last cleaned. You think your light fixtures are frosted glass… they might actually be clear. Accumulation of dirt in clear light fixtures looks strangely like they were meant to be opaque. You would be surprised at how much light you might be missing out on when your light fixtures aren’t clean.

Same with your windows. Unlock the window, lift it about a quarter of the way, then pinch the two tabs on the top toward the center while pulling the window toward you. On higher end windows, the top panel will also tilt in. With the bottom pane tilted into the room, lower the upper pane about a quarter of the way, or until you can see the same tabs that are on the lower pane and repeat the process. When you’re done cleaning, just push the panes back into their tracks one at a time until you hear a click. The increase of natural light will be rewarding.

Move-in Checklist: Steps for Transitioning into Your New Home

So, you’ve bought a new home! First, congratulations on your new home. You’ve gotten past
the hard part and now you’re on the final leg of the process, moving in.   

• Create a move-in budget and a timeline

You’re going to need to know how much you are able and willing to spend on this part of the
process. I know your wallet is in a delicate and vulnerable position and would rather not be
bothered right now but that’s more of a reason to prepare beforehand.

• Create a Battle Plan

Again, I know the last thing you want to do is plan right now. You’ve just gone through the
process of buying a house and you’re tired, you’re emotionally tired, you’re mentally tired,
and I get that, but it’ll be exponentially worse. How much of your stuff do you want to take
with you? What are you going to do with the stuff you don’t bring? How are you going to get
it there? Where are you getting boxes from? Do you have a system for getting all the right
stuff to the right rooms? Are you using labels? Who’s going  to help you move?

• Keep and organize your moving-related bills and receipts

It’s tax deductible, you’re welcome.

• Check on Moving Conditions.

As the date approaches, be sure everything is going according to that plan. What are the
weather conditions for your move in date?

• Set up and cancel old and new services

You’re going to need to cancel your sanitation services and utilities and get them set up at
your new home, hopefully before you move into the new place.

• Deep-clean Your New Home

Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s clean.  You’re going to need to do this step before you
move any of your stuff in. Moving in before you complete this step will hinder the process
making furniture just another obstacle.

• Get your mailing address and official documents updated.

You’re going to need to update stuff like your driver’s license, re-register to vote, get all
your mail forwarded to the right address. Change your address on everything that mails stuff
to you, like amazon. Change your billing address on all your credit cards.

• Move In!

Be sure you’ve taken off a day of work and have bribed, begged, guilt tripped, and
blackmailed your friends and family accordingly. It’s all hands-on deck time. You’ve
planned as well as you could, now be ready to be flexible and adjust as needed.

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.