Tips that will surely make moving easier!

Moving to your newly owned place is really a great feeling but it also has the down side of it, the stress and hassles that goes with moving. It takes time and effort to move your entire life from one place to another so I gather some tips that I have learned from my personal experience and hopefully can make moving a bit easier and let you enjoy your first few days in your new home.
1. De-clutter –

Plan ahead, do an inventory of your things and segregate it to; Things to keep; Things to donate and Things to get rid of; this is the best opportunity to have fresh start in your new home by avoiding bringing junk and things that you no longer need. Stop being the pack rat that you are, just bring what you really need. Donating some pre-loved items would also be good for you or if you need extra money you can do a garage sale, this will help you get rid of them and get something out of it still.

2. Ask for help – are you going to hire movers, rent a truck or just ask help from relatives and friends. Things to consider: budget – do you have a budget to hire professional movers or you don’t; distance – how far is your new place from the old one, is it practical to just hire professionals or DIY; vehicle capacity – would a car do the moving, how many rounds will it take or just rent a truck so it will just one time big time; and capabilities- can you and your friends lift big furniture by yourselves or you need to get help from professionals

3. Boxes, Boxes, Boxes – everyone who is moving needs a lot of boxes, it is where you can put all stuff in and move them to your new place. Since you will need a lot of it, for you to be able to save some money, go to local grocery stores, liquor stores and ask for boxes. If you are so lucky you can even get them for free. Their trash can be great help for you! Packing tapes, markers, colorful post it stickers and a notebook for your main list.
4. Make a list – this is your master list, label each box on which room you need them to be on the new house, like – kitchen, master’s bedroom, bathroom, etc. Then before you place anything in the box, list it on your notebook so you would know which item is in which box. This will be very time saving during the unpacking stage.

5. Organize – do color coding on your boxes, put colored post it stickers and be specific on putting labels. Let’s say boxes with pink stickers are for mom and the ones with blue are dad’s stuff. Especially for the clothes, undergarments, beddings, curtains, etc.
6. Personal Boxes– make sure that everyone in the household has personal box where they need to put the things that will need urgently or the things they want “right away” once you move. Pair of clothes, phone chargers, towels, keys, etc. this way it will save you the hassle of digging in the boxes every time you need something during the first day.

7. Use your own luggage – you can put your clothes and other stuff in your luggage, it will have space and boxes.
8. Use your own linens/tablecloths/towels – if you don’t have bubble wraps your own linens/tablecloths, towels and napkins can be wrapped into your glassware before putting them in the boxes to avoid any of them to be broken during the transfer.

9. Zip-lock/tape the screws – get a zip lock and put the screws of the furniture or appliance, make sure you label them. Or you can just tape them on the specific item they’re supposed to be used like on picture frames, lampshades, etc.

 
10. Gather and keep the valuables with you – make sure you put all the important documents in one envelop/bag. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, titles, liens, contracts, etc. Also, jewelries or other valuable item. Since these are very important things you need to keep it near you and secure it first once you arrive in your new place. Put them in a vault of something.

 
Hope the list helps! Enjoy and Welcome to your new home!

 

Home-buying process

Buying a new home? I understand that this event is really exciting and can make you very impulsive when it comes to decisions and all. But we don’t want to ruin your life’s milestone just because of a single mistake of being unaware of the process. So here is the home buying process you might want to check on first before getting your new house.

Buyer searches for a property through various portals
-First of course you will look for houses, designs, sizes, location, neighborhood, prices. You can check different portals in looking for your new home. It’s like doing a window shopping; take your time in checking different houses, the more options you have the better. Then get into a shortlist of the houses that you liked best, from that list you will move to the next step of filtering which is the best for you until you came up with your best choice.
Buyer gets a loan pre-approval or obtains proof of funds

-Now that you already know which house to buy, get a loan approval if you are going to use mortgage or just obtain proof of funds for Cash payment. This will be needed in the process of buying your new home so secure these documents from your financial institution.
Buyer gets a buyer’s agent to represent them and assist in offers

– Now you need to get an agent who will represent you throughout the whole process. This person will not only help you with all the leg work but will also provide you legal advice, walk you through laws and legal documents that are necessary in the process, and help you draft your offer on the house that you want to buy. Also part of his responsibility is to make sure that your rights as a home buyer are secured and the standard processes and procedures are followed.

 
Respective agents will exchange offers and /or counter offers
– After much Marketing effort, we expect buyer’s offers to come in. There could be just one or multiple buyer’s offer for a property. It is the seller’s agent duty to gather them and submit it to the seller for review and approval. We can technically call this the negotiation phase, wherein the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent are in communication and discussion through offers and counteroffers. The price, conditions, requests, timelines are discussed until the buyer and seller come into an agreement.

Purchase agreement is signed Escrow phase begins

– Once the contract has been signed by the seller and all parties involved in the transaction, it is called the contract ratification. Escrow Phase begins. This is the process in which documents are being kept by a third party administrator and is held until the closing of the transaction. The turnaround time for this phase depends on how the buyer will pay for the property.
The mode of payment that you will use will determine the turnaround time you will have in the escrow phase.
Cash – 15 days
Loan – 30 days
Renovation Loan – 45 days
Escrow closes once a new deed is recorded in the buyer’s name
– This is the end of the sale process. There are a lot of events before we can finally close the transaction. Exchange of keys, all financial terms and obligations are settled- to the seller, the agents
(buyer’s and seller’s), the Escrow Company, and all the other vendors and the deed or the title is now under the name of the new owner.

Never too late

I started and practically grew up in the BPO industry, It is not easy to be there specially to stay there but I can say it is already my comfort zone after all these years. But there will be a time in your life that you have to set priorities to things that matters the most, family. I started looking for a job that will help me balance family life and work at the same time.

When I applied for a home based job, I am a little hesitant but I said to myself at least give it a try. Day 1 came and the expectations set were scary but I was up for the challenge. As days passed by I found myself enjoying, I realized that it was never too late for me to learn new things, explore things I can only read and watch about before. The Real Estate Process, its ins and outs. I am now excited to look into pictures of houses, also I am really excited to work on my marketing and writing skills, I know I will be able to learn and polish those skills and more in the coming days, just like what I said, It’s never too late.