If you are a renter looking to buy your own home, you may be wondering if a condo, a townhouse or a duplex might be the way to go.  But which one do you choose and what is the difference between the three options? Generally, each choice offers you home ownership with varying levels of maintenance, responsibility, as well as personal privacy. What is right for you may depend on how much of a “house” feeling you want from your new home and perhaps how much you wish to mow your own lawn or plant a garden.

What is a Condo?

Typically, a condominium is where several owners share ownership of a building or buildings in a development. Basically each own their own respective unit, but they also own an interest in the land that the building(s) is on, the common areas of the complex such as pools, recreation areas, game rooms, community rooms, elevators, stairwells, corridors, streets, surrounding land, etc.

Depending on the size of the complex, your condo may offer space and some privacy from neighbors, or there may be only a small number of units on property, either way you will probably have neighbors nearby. If you’re concerned about noise or unpleasant neighbors, ask around about the general atmosphere of the grounds and if there are any noise or other problems that arise from a particular unit or building. When you view the unit for sale, listen for sounds from the other units. If you can hear a toilet flush in the condo above you, realize you will be hearing these sounds daily if you buy the condo.

Most times, condos have association rules you must follow and fees you will have to pay monthly. The rules can be just basic, like don’t paint your front door with polka dots and no loud noise after midnight. Or they can be more restrictive, like what types of flowers are allowed to be planted, if you may plant anything, and even where you may place your BBQ grill. Make sure you read the restrictions and can live by them.

A “condo fee” or “association fee” is usually paid each month by all the unit owners and it typically covers the cost of the exterior maintenance such as repairs, painting, lawn care, and snow removal. Typically, the association sets aside a portion of these fees collected as a contingency fund, which covers any special costs incurred as part of building upkeep, such as a new roof or repairs, to heating or plumbing equipment. Factor the condo fee into your mortgage costs and property taxes when considering this option.

Types of Condos

There are condos in buildings in the city and there are “garden style” condos, which are two to four in separate buildings. To add some confusion, there is a style of condo called a “Townhouse Condominium” is a building style that describe a condominium unit on multi-levels. This is not to be confused with an actual “townhouse”.

What is a Townhouse?

A townhouse is one of a row of attached dwellings that share common walls. Each townhouse owner owns the land beneath their townhouse and there may or may not be common areas set up by the developer. There are lot lines that separate the ground under the buildings even though the buildings are attached. Often, more maintenance is required because you own the exterior of your townhouse. You may have more privacy and more of a feel of a “separate” home, since there are no neighbors living above you, but you may also have regulations that dictate what you can do to the exterior.  For example: what paint colors are allowed and if you can add a large deck to your back door.

If there is an association that maintains the grounds, maintenance fees for townhouses within a complex are usually slightly lower than condos.

What is a Duplex?

A duplex is a single house which with two units that share one common wall. It can be owner occupied with two separate owners dwelling in the two units, one unit rented to tenants or both units can be rented. Typically you own your half, including the land on your side and are responsible for your half in terms of maintenance.  The two owners may share a driveway and therefore might share some of the costs of maintaining the property.

Your REALTOR® can help you define and understand which option is right for you.  Ask questions and consider all the factors before you limit what you go and see.

Perhaps you’ve done it before.  A big move where you take all of your current home’s contents and transport them to your new home. Sadly, the more stuff you acquire, the more backbreaking a move can be.  You can save some impact to your wallet and do it yourself or you can spend some money and hand over the task to professionals, but you should base this important decision on whether you can do the task at hand or whether it is more than you can manage.

If you think you can handle the move yourself, look at all the details and be certain of it.  The last thing you want is to rent a truck that is too small, count on friends to help with the lifting and find yourself solo or get halfway through and realize you can’t finish the job at hand.

How do you analyze if you can self-move?

1. Look at the volume of your possessions.  If you own very few pieces of large, heavy furniture or appliances your odds of success are pretty good.  Often the truck rental business can give you an idea of the size truck you might need, based upon the number of rooms you have furnished and large items they can tick off the list. But ultimately it will be up to you to determine to go with a little wiggle room in the truck size, try to squeeze it in and hope for the best or make multiple trips-if possible.  This can backfire, cost more (sometimes extra miles can add to the rental costs) or lead to items that don’t fit. Discovering you miscalculated on moving day is not good.  Always allow for extra space and things you might be forgetting about that will be going with you.
2. Can you get assistance from friends or family you trust, who will not back out on you at the last minute? If you are not certain you will have the muscle power to do the move, it might be best to hand the reins over to the professionals. There are some items that you just cannot move by yourself.
3. Packing takes some skill and organization. Do you have these skills and patience or will some of your most precious possessions probably get broken before they get to your new home?  Be honest with yourself about your skills and dedication to making a move go off without major issues. Arm yourself with packing knowledge like: How to wrap up breakable items, placing the heavy items in the bottom of the box and lighter things on top. Place heaviest and bulkiest furniture in the truck first and make sure you even out the weight on both sides of the truck.

If handling the move yourself seems like a poor choice or just an overwhelming option, it might be time to find a moving company to do the heavy task.

How do I Get Help?

1. Get estimates before you choose a company. Compare services offered and overall costs. Check with your local Better Business Bureau to see if any major complaints have been filed.  Ask friends or co-workers for referrals.
2. Be prepared for the movers. Gather the basic info they will need, though most companies will come over to your current home to see how many rooms and the amount of furniture and belongings that will be packed. They will follow that with an estimate of how much the moving costs will be.
3. Be aware that there could be extras added on to the estimate. Extra bulky items like a piano require extra care and often require specialists. Stairs or long walkways that lengthen the distance they must carry your items can increase the final cost as well.  Be sure the costs include packing materials and all the actual labor of packing. Get the entire agreement in writing including the date of your move and arrival of your belongings.

Moving can be stressful and depending on how hands-on you feel you must be and how easily you could fund hiring a professional mover, the decision may be easy to make.  But do you homework and know the pros and cons and costs of both choices before you decide.

It can be overwhelming when looking at homes that need a lot of work. With hard work, and some careful considerations, you can find yourself a good deal.  The first step is to talk to a lender and explain that you are in the market for a “fixer upper”. Not every loan works with this type of home, and some loans are better for places that need a bit of updating or renovations.

Are you planning on buying the home for yourself or fixing it up to quickly sell? You should be aware that some lenders require homes to be owner occupied. Your Realtor will be able to help guide you to homes that will allow you to “flip it”, if that is your intention.

So your agent has found you a home to view and you arrive with some excitement and big plans. When you get out of your car you are shocked by

Potential Home Buyers Across the Country to Celebrate the Market with Thousands of Open Houses

Prudential Verani Realtors® will be joining forces with thousands of other Realtors® nationwide to show off the homes on the market this weekend. What’s the occasion? April 20th and 21st are the official dates of the National Association of Realtors’® (NAR) Nationwide Open House Weekend!

Join Verani agents throughout New Hampshire, Northern Massachusetts, and Southern Maine as they show off the homes that are available right now. If you’re on the fence about buying a home, or you’re unsure of what’s available, this is the best weekend to take a look. There will be more homes showing this weekend than any other weekend in 2013. For a complete list of upcoming Verani open houses, visit www.verani.com/listing/open-houses. Check back often as new listings are added daily, right up to the beginning of the weekend!

What is an Open House?

Simply stated, an open house is an event where all are welcome to visit and explore a home that is currently on the market. More importantly, an open house is an opportunity for home buyers to experience a home and much of it’s potential use.

The NAR Open House Weekend offers a unique opportunity to compare several open houses in one weekend. Unlike private showings, an open house offers an experience much different from a walk-through with an agent. Attending open houses offers the chance to see the house in action, setting the mood similarly to a friendly get-together. Weekend open houses, pending weather, can also be a great time to take a walk through the neighborhood and see the area. After seeing several houses and neighborhoods. from the perspective of the open house, you may find that the perfect home for you is a totally different house than you previously thought.

Remember, if you want to find Verani’s open houses, visit the Open House Listings Page and find the homes you want to see this coming weekend. We’ll see you there!

If you are looking to buy a home you will probably be asked by your buyer’s agent what types of houses appeal to you.  This means more than location and number of bathrooms.  There are different styles of design that come into play when defining a home, the layout, and its visual attributes.

There are specific names for these different styles of home and they may be terms you know or perhaps some you have heard of but have no idea what it looks like. Here are some house types defined to help you narrow down what suits your taste best.

A Ranch: Ranch style homes have only one-story and the layout is typically pretty simple, with the main living space on one end and the bedrooms at the other. Ranch homes can be a simple rectangle, L shaped or U shaped. Most feature a picture window or two, usually in the living room or dining area.  The ranch style design was the first to make the open space concept popular with the living room, dining room, and kitchen and in some cases family room occupying one large area. A popular feature is an attached garage.

A Split Level: In a split-level you enter the home on a landing in between the first and second level of the house. You either go up a few stairs to the second level, typically a living room, dining room, and kitchen, or you go down a few stairs to what is usually a family room, den, or extra bedroom. There are no long staircases in a split-level house, just three or four steps between each level. The split-level may have one or two levels above the second level, typically with bedrooms and bathrooms.

A Cape Cod: The Cape Cod design is a one and a half story home with the main living area on the first floor. Usually a Cape Cod will have a center entry with a living room, dining room, kitchen and one or two bedrooms on the first floor. A stairway goes up to the attic/second floor, which often is expanded by adding dormer windows and turned into a regular second floor for additional bedrooms and a bath.

A Colonial: Colonial houses are multi-story houses with the main living area on one floor and bedrooms on one or more higher floors. The styles can vary greatly, for example a home design may be Victorian with open porches and elaborate trim, Georgian with decorative columns, or Federal with the doorway close to the ground and shutters on the windows.  They typically have the most “square shaped” footprint and are a very popular style for homebuyers looking for space.

A Tudor: The Tudor design made their appearance in the United States at the end of the 19th century, originating back to the reign of the Tudors in England from 1487 to 1509. Tudors are all about the design, not the size of the house. They can be as small as a cottage or as large as a mansion. Tudor’s design features include inlaid brick patterns, exposed wood frames, and multiple chimneys.

Image courtesy of Alaskan Dude

Coming to Portsmouth on April 13, 2013: Two Realtors® from Verani Realty in Portsmouth are “thinking outside the box” selling homes in the Seacoast area. Diane Silva and Suzanne Butcofski are the Realtors® and “conductors” of the newest happening in downtown Portsmouth: weekly Home Trolley Tours for the Seacoast.

Silva came up with the idea while sitting outside “Breaking New Grounds” with friends and listening to many passersby ask about area real estate.  Since she sells real estate, the idea came to her to help folks that are “hanging around” Market Square, hop on a Portsmouth trolley and see a handful of homes on a Saturday.

Regal Limousine is providing the trolley. Mortgage companies are sponsoring the weekly event.  Both Silva and Butcofski will be on the trolley with a lender and an affiliate each week. The trolley will leave from Market Square at 11a.m. every Saturday starting April 13th and bring folks to various homes listed for sale around the Seacoast.  Each home will host a “mini-open house” along the tour.  “It’s certainly a new idea on the Seacoast and so far, we are having tremendous positive feedback,” says Silva.

The point is to help Buyers and Sellers connect. Buyers will join the Tour and see a home they may not have otherwise had a chance to see if searching on their own.  Silva and Butcofski have many years of real estate experience, with Silva starting her career in New Hampshire in 1994. They say their clients are excited about this idea and look forward to the first tour on Saturday, April 13th from 11am – 1pm.  The red and green Verani trolley will pick up buyers at the Verani parking lot, 111 Maplewood Ave., at 10:45am and in Market Square at 11am.  Registration is suggested.

Homes on the tour will be decided by the two Realtors® each week. The tour will be advertised in the ”Portsmouth Herald” weekly. Contact Diane Silva & Suzanne Butcofski at 603-957-1210  for more information on the Verani Home Trolley Tours.

image courtesy of Captain-tucker

If you have met with your Realtor® and are looking at how much home your budget can afford, there may be a few options to consider that will save you money and perhaps get you into a bigger living space.

There are fixer-upper homes out there to consider. If you are handy with tools, have the time, patience and funds it will take to make all the needed renovations and repairs yourself “as-is” could be a great option.  This is not for the home buyer with very little spare time or the impatient perfectionist.  This will be sweat equity and it will still cost you in materials and perhaps hiring a professional to help with some of the home’s repair issues and/or renovations. But, eventually you could end up with an updated, larger home, for a lot less than it would cost to buy it move-in ready.

Another option your agent may have mentioned is taking a look at a “short sale” listing.  Though not for everyone, if you are a buyer with patience, access to sound legal advice, and are willing to consider taking on a few home repairs, a short sale listing may be your discounted ticket to home ownership.

What is a short sale?

Whether your ideal vacation home is a lakefront home, a cottage by the sea, or a ski slope condo, now may be the perfect time to buy that vacation property. Residential prices are extremely reasonable right now, but they are slowly rebounding upward. Combined with record low interest rates and sellers possibly feeling like spring- and a new crop of buyers- may never come, you could find yourself with incomparable deals.

There are concerns when seeking a vacation property.  How will you find what you are looking for? Once you buy, how do you keep a handle on the costs of upkeep and taxes? By pairing up with a Realtor® you will have a real estate professional to guide you to the best vacation homes to select from, ones that fit your needs and hopefully “the one” that will serve as your family’s vacation destination for many years.

As for managing the costs of a vacation property, it is best to ask an attorney to advise about taxes and using the vacation home as an investment property when you are not enjoying it (there is a restriction on the number of weeks you can use it if you are claiming it as an investment property). In other words, renting it out in off-months or weeks when you will not be using it.  Some people cover all their costs this way and some even make money.

Here are a few tips to get you started: