Top Ten Relocation Headaches

1. Not having enough details & demographics about your new hometown.

Gather as much information as possible about your new destination, from sources such as Our Power Relocation Tools, your relocation package from Town & Country Realty, Chamber of Commerce newcomer packages, and location magazines.

2. Not having your home priced and showable for selling

Check your home thoroughly for all needed repairs before listing it for sale. Pay attention to details such as gapped caulking, chipped tiles, paint...it's often these little things that potential buyers will notice. Also, have the home professionally cleaned, including carpets. If you haven't had your home appraised in the last two years, do it before putting the home up for sale. Also, make sure your Realtors give you a Good Comparable Market Analysis. This will show what other comparable home in your neighborhood have sold for recently.

Over pricing your home at the outset will result in slow showings and a delay in selling.

3. Poor research of what your money can buy in your new city.

Many factors such as differing salary, cost of living, taxes and housing prices affect what the same dollar can buy in different parts of the country. Resources such as Our Power Relocation Tools, the Chamber of Commerce, Realtors, and

Runzheimer Reports can give you this information.

4. Not getting a mortgage pre-qualification letter before house-hunting.

While pre-qualifying with a mortgage company doesn't provide final loan approval, it does give you a realistic price guideline and shows sellers that you are a somewhat serious and qualified buyer. We recommend getting pre-approved.

5. Not protecting yourself with the best home inspection possible.

This goes for both the home you're selling as well as the one you're buying, although who pays for the inspection (buyer or seller) is negotiable in each separate contract. A good inspector should be: A member of the ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors); bonded, licensed and insured; able to provide references; up front about their fees and what is included (are termite inspections extra, for example.) Your Realtor or mortgage loan officer can recommend a certified inspection company.

6. Setting up the best interim housing between destinations.

When you first arrive in your new town, you'll most likely need to have temporary housing arrangements until you can close and move into a new home, or find a permanent rental. This may be anywhere from a few days to a few months. If you foresee needing interim housing for less than 30 days, the easiest option is a suite hotel geared for extended stays, such as a Residence Inn or Lexington Suite. For a month or longer, corporate apartments or homes are much roomier, more comfortable, and usually 20_60% less than paying a daily or weekly hotel rate.

7. Moving your household and "stuff" safely from point A to point B.

Depending on the size of your household and the distance of the move, you may want to consider hiring a moving company. Obviously, doing it yourself can save quite a bit of money; however, the time factor, experience of professional movers and the insurance they provide your contents may make hiring the better choice.

Moving companies can give you either a binding or non-binding estimate. Binding means that the cost is held to exactly the estimate they give; this means that they will actually physically inspect your home before giving the estimate. A non-binding estimate is only an approximation and no guarantee that the final billing won't be more.

However, federal law sets a ceiling of no more than 10% additional charges over the estimate. You will also want a moving company that can guarantee the pickup and delivery dates.

8. Having a trailing spouse who needs to relocate into a new job.

By the year 2000, 65% of all households will have two incomes, creating a significant burden when losing one income as a result of relocation. 27% of companies provide spouse employment assistance; if yours is one of them, take advantage of it. If not, try to begin establishing a network before you arrive, contacting any friends or acquaintances in your new city; subscribing to the newspaper; contacting recruiters, placement firms and career counselors; contacting the chamber of commerce and employment commission; and joining organizations, especially networking ones. If a job still hasn't been landed by move time, consider volunteering or joining a temporary agency - great full time careers have been started from both.

9. Finding the best new schools for your children.

Concerns about family and children is the second most frequently cited reason for reluctance to move. There are many ways to find out all the information you need to make a wise decision. If you haven't decided on a particular area of town, the chamber of commerce can give you a wealth of statistics on all local school districts, as well as private schools. Using Our Power Relocation Tools can provide excellent information. If you have decided on a particular area, We can get you a school district information package.

10. Concerns over your children making a smooth transition.

In addition to educational concerns, we also worry about the emotional effects of a major move on our children. They may be resisting the move; may even be angry. Will they adapt well...will they make new friends? Probably the best way to ease the way is to involve the kids in the move. Provide them with the same information about your new town that you have. Rent or buy videos about your destination to watch as a family. There are also many excellent books geared to children of all ages.

This information is provided to you as a free service from Teresa Snyder’s Home & Loan Finder Hotline in hopes to aid you down the right path with real estate & mortgages. If you have questions or concerns about either real estate or home loans, please  email  me or call 883-3421 & press 0 to leave a message for Teresa and she will return your call within 48 hours.

We appreciate that you have taken the time and interest in our Home & Loan Finder site and we hope the information we have provided has been useful to you. At any time you feel you need more information and/or would like to contact us- please do so by what ever method is most comfortable to you- email us at tcrealty@cdsnet.net or leave us a message and choose your personal return call time between 11 am and Noon or 6 pm to 7 pm and the number we can contact you at those times.

Sincerely,

Teresa N. Snyder

By Referral Only® Real Estate & Mortgage Consultant, GRI, ABR

P.S. By Referral Only® means that your satisfaction is my highest priority. I want to serve you in such a way that you would be delighted to tell your friends, family members, and co-workers to use my service when they have a real estate or mortgage need.

Key to your dreams since 1972 - Town & Country Realty has been helping Local Area Families realize their dreams of home ownership. It all starts with you!