Karen's Perspective

The Essential Handbook for Buying a Home

I was thrilled last night to receive this review of my book from Yolanda M. Johnson-Bryant of Literary Wonders! on The Author’s Hideaway.

If you haven’t yet read my book on buying a home, I hope you will. And, when you do, please let me know what you thought and how it helped you.

Monday, January 9, 2012

REVIEW – The Essential Handbook for Buying a Home by Karen Rittenhouse

Date: 12/31/11

Title: The Essential Handbook For Buying a Home

Author: Karen Rittenhouse

ISBN 10: 0983775249

ISBN 13: 978-0983775249

Pages: 143

Publisher: Southeastern Investments, LLC

Cover: Paperback

Reviewer: Yolanda M. Johnson-Bryant – Literary Wonders!

Rating: 5 Stars

The Essential Handbook for Buying a Home by Karen Rittenhouse is a great tool for first-time homebuyers, those who have previously owned a home and those who currently own a home.

In the current down turn in the housing market, homeowners and potential homeowners need to be armed with as much information as possible to help them decide if owning a home is really for them and if now is the time to own one.

Rittenhouse’s book includes information that most real estate agents and lenders won’t necessarily tell you. For instance, there are opportunities available that will allow a buyer to lease a home before they buy, but many potential buyers may not get this information unless they know to ask.

01 / 10 / 2012
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Self-storage: Choosing, Packing and Organizing

Self storage is not only about choosing the right storage facility. Storing things in an arranged manner is important. Whether you are moving or are settled in your new home, self-storage services are indispensable. These services can be utilized during a home or an office relocation.

Often, homeowners have to stay in a temporary accommodations while their new property is being renovated or painted. Whatever the reason to rent a self storage unit, browse and do research on what different storage companies are offering. Here are a few things to take good care of while considering a self-storage unit:

01 / 09 / 2012
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Guest Post

Real Estate Coaching and Training

For those of you who, somehow, may not be aware that we offer real estate coaching and training, the following is a shameless plug.

This letter was written by our newest student in Raleigh and I just had to publish it.

Dear Doubting Thomas –

My name is Mark Bynum and I am a new member to TriadMasterMind.com. I have currently been with the group for a whopping total of 3 days. In those three days, I have had access to their website and my first one on one mentoring session with my mentor, Coach Fred.

I wanted to take a moment to tell you a little bit about my journey to this point and what I’ve found so far. I have wanted to invest in Real Estate for many years, but never thought it possible until approximately two years ago. At that time, I finally got fed up with dreaming about investing and decided to get started.

Like many others, I had an insatiable appetite for knowledge on how to do this business correctly. Likewise I started spending thousands of dollars trying to gain knowledge. I attended many “guru” events and bought many courses from people who boasted they could deliver all I needed to get going for only $1999 – $15,000. I’m sure you get the picture. Needless to say, I did get some good information, but never enough information that I felt would work for me here in North Carolina.

01 / 08 / 2012
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Keeping Your Home Warm this Winter

Baby, it’s cold outside. Time to put a big, cozy warm blanket around your house. Following are some tips to help you stay warm this winter by keeping the heat where you want it, inside!

Heating unit – Hopefully, you had your heating unit serviced last fall so it’s functioning now at optimum level. If not, have it serviced now because we still have several cold months ahead of us.
Pipes – Double-check insulation around exterior pipes that are exposed to freezing weather to be certain they’re insulated and that water cannot seep under the insulation. Tape and repair loose or damaged insulation. Add more anywhere it’s needed.

01 / 05 / 2012
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Planning for Your Future

One of the most important steps you can take toward success is to make a plan. You must know where you’re going to determine how to get there. You must have a written plan so you can modify what’s working and what’s not and to be able to see the difference.

Get started today. Write out your goals for the next 1, 3, 5 and 10 years. Doesn’t have to be fancy. Just dream. No, you won’t know the “right” answers because you don’t have a crystal ball. But dream. In 1 year do you still want to be at your same job? In your same home? With the same person? In 3 years? In 5? When do you decide that what you’re doing now is/isn’t working?

What year do you think you can be financially free? When I did our first outline, I put 15 years = retired. If you don’t write down what you see today, you won’t know (1) if you hit it accurately (2) if you’re able to move faster than you anticipate (3) if you’re not moving fast enough and need to make adjustments.

01 / 04 / 2012
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Goal Setting

Goal Setting

focus on success

If you want success in any area of your life, I can’t stress strongly enough the need for setting and writing down your goals. Here we are at the perfect time of year to do that.

The first time we wrote our goals, we did 1 year, 3 year, 5 year and 10 year goals. What really blew our minds was that we accomplished our 1 year, 3 year and 5 year goals all in the first 6 months!

A couple of things we learned were (1) our goals weren’t big enough and (2) we were working too darn hard! Now we set annual goals and know pretty well what we can accomplish in 12 months, but the goal setting keeps us on track and keeps our “reason” always in front of us.

I’ve already written Goal Setting, Why you Need and How To, so check that out. In addition, I have a wonderful CD by Tony Robbins on goal setting and I want to share some of his great tips with you.

01 / 03 / 2012
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Goal Setting

What to do With Your Christmas Tree after the Holidays

Christmas Tree

1.) Make a feeder for birds and squirrels!

First, remove all ornaments and lights. Take the bare tree and move it out to your yard still in the stand. String it with popcorn and cranberries, sprinkle with birdseed or hang bird feeders from the boughs. Smear pine cones with peanut butter, hang apple rings or orange halves. Hang hollowed-out orange halves in the tree and fill them with nuts.

Enjoy the show as the birds feast on your gift to nature! Not only will the tree provide food for wildlife during the cold winter days, but it can also be a place for them to hide from cold winds.

2.) Mulch the tree for your garden. It can then be used in the landscape as a cover around trees, shrubs, and flowers. This helps insulate the soil, conserve soil moisture, and retard weed growth. It also helps return nutrients to the soil as it breaks down. Pine needles are great for ground covering and mulch.

01 / 01 / 2012
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Never Give Up – Here’s to a Fantastic 2012!

12 / 30 / 2011
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Is This a Good Time to Buy Real Estate? YES! Here’s Why:

I’ve had several book signings lately (please check out The Essential Handbook for Buying a Home) and the first question most people ask always fascinates me: “is this a good time to buy real estate?” Or, I hear, “oh, real estate. This isn’t the time to be buying real estate.”

I blame the media for this kind of ignorance. It’s not stupidity, simply mis-information. Actually, this is a FABULOUS time to buy real estate and, if you aren’t buying, you WILL be kicking yourself 10 years from now.

Real estate is cyclical. Values go down from time to time, but they always come back up. In fact, unlike stocks that can go all the way down to ZERO value (and companies simply cease to exist), real estate goes down but never to zero. Even in “blighted” areas that are filled with crime, the land itself always maintains value and will be worth more in the future.

Why? For one thing, no more real estate is being made. For another, the population continues to grow and, therefore, the need/demand for available real estate continues to increase.