Cleaning out? Getting ready to move or just clearing the nest?
Planning a yard sale? I found this great site that you’ll want to advertise on if you’re selling or map from if you’re shopping.
Check out Yard Sale Treasure Map.
Put in your address, the distance you want to drive and the day you plan to shop. Apparently, the list comes from sales listed on Craigslist so, if you plan to sell, be sure your information is listed there.
Happy bargaining! Let me know your results!
Have you checked to see if your city has any live and/or work incentives? Cities need for you to live and work in them because you pay the bills and generate tax revenue for wherever you live. In this economy, many cities are beginning to compete, not only for industry, but for population. There just may be incentives to live where you want.
St. Louis Park, Minnesota, has just such programs. The population is 47,000 and St. Louis Park is located just 10 minutes from downtown Minneapolis. If you work for a local business there, you qualify for a $2500 loan toward buying a home and an additional $1000 if you buy a foreclosure. Don’t like that it’s just a loan? Stay in the home for at least 3 years and the loan is forgiven! Great way to improve their economy and sell distressed properties!
The City of Cleveland offers residential tax abatement on newly constructed and rehabilitated homes in all 36 neighborhoods. A newly constructed home in Cleveland receives 100 percent, 15-year tax abatement for construction of the home. Rehabilitated properties receive a 100 percent, 10-year abatement on the increased value of their property after the work has been completed.
As an example, a $150,000 home without the tax abatement pays $2970 per year in tax. With the abatement, they pay $594 for a savings of $198/month!
The number 1 way to find the perfect rental for your family in the area you want to live is:
walk the neighborhood! Find where you want to be and walk it, talk to neighbors, they know which properties are rentals or if a neighbor is hesitant to advertise but needs to rent.
Years ago, my husband and I drove by some ADORABLE 1920’s bungalows in downtown Pasadena, CA. We stopped the car to look because they were so beautiful and the location was perfect. There were amazing rose trees all along the walkway in the center courtyard that connected the 6 individual bungalows.. My husband said, “I’m going to go knock on the door to see if anything’s available.” I couldn’t imagine we’d be so lucky. But, we were! Of course the residents knew each other and the woman who answered the door told him that one was actually available but, because they were so desirable, they were never marketed but rented by word of mouth. We lived there (and loved it!) for years.
And we’re exhausted, but very happy.
More moving tips: when you know you’re going to move, join a gym! The amount of physical work you’re about to experience cannot be over emphasized!
Check and recheck all appointments. When you’re packed and ready to go, the movers not showing on time, the cable guy not coming to the new home as scheduled, the power company forgetting to send someone to read the meter so they can set up your electrical, all of these and a lot of other things can really mess up your move! Re-confirm appointments! Make sure the person you talked to really scheduled your appointment! It takes some time but the mistake you prevent will be well worth it.
Our biggest problem was the moving estimator. We were billed $220 per hour by the movers. We were only moving 5.5 miles to our new home. The time estimate we were quoted was 5 1/2 hours which came out to be a reasonable charge. Well, it took 11 hours and the movers (all 4 of them) worked hard all day. The mistake was entirely the estimator’s. However, when it came time to hand over my credit card, there was an additional $1100 to be paid. I didn’t pay for all the additional and the estimator is supposed to be calling me to “work out the misunderstanding”. Now, I could understand if he’d been off by 2 hours, maybe 3, but 5 1/2? Double the estimate time? Part of this problem is not mine…
Moving? It’s a lot of work just getting the boxes! (just ask my husband) So far, we’ve packed over 100! And, like I’ve said before, banana boxes seem to be the sturdiest. We go to the local grocery every other day to get them. Did you know that bananas are delivered to the stores every two days? They’re so fragile and so perishable that they don’t keep long so the stores have them delivered more often than any other product!
At any rate, we’re boxing all we can to make the move as easy as possible so – banana boxes, free and sturdy. Plus, you can stack more easily when most of your boxes are the same size.
4 days to go until the movers come! We emptied the attic last night and started packing the kitchen yesterday. Almost there!
