Category: Relocation

How To Find A Family-Friendly Neighborhood.

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It’s time to find a neighborhood full of families, to give your kids opportunities to build friendships and memories. Your best resource for locating these family-friendly neighborhoods is your agent.

If you’ve located a possible neighborhood, and wonder if there are lots of kids, take a look around. Look for swing sets, bicycles, basketball hoops or chalk drawings on the driveways or sidewalks. These are signs of a family-friendly neighborhood.

Also check the surrounding area for parks, playgrounds or pools. These amenities are an indication that families are most likely close by. These locations may also boost your sense of community if you frequent them with other families from your neighborhood.

Once you’ve settled on a neighborhood, you’ll need to know what homes are for sale in the area. Search by address or define an area on an interactive map on the Mel Foster Co. website. Another great search tool is the Mel Foster Co. app. It’s free and you simply launch the app in the neighborhood you desire and all homes for sale pop up on your screen with the Foster Finder. The app shows all homes for sale, not just Mel Foster Co. listings.

Looking for a family friendly neighborhood?
Looking for a family friendly neighborhood?

Why You Need A Real Estate Guru.

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Are you in the market to buy or sell a home? It is important that you consider working with a licensed Real Estate Professional in order to save yourself time, money, and hassle. There can be a lot of confusion and guesswork when you are out there navigating the market on your own. Here are a few reasons why it’s in your best interest to work with a Real Estate Professional.

Negotiations

From the appraiser, to the home inspector, to the buyer, there are nearly a dozen people that you will have to answer to while selling your home. Let an agent do this busywork for you. Negotiating effectively can mean thousands more saved or earned.

Paperwork

Let an agent with experience navigate and prepare the documents needed when closing on a transaction. Missing something here or there can cost you time and money. Also, each state has different regulations surrounding the purchase or sale of a home. A Real Estate Professional has the experience needed to guide you through.

What Is Your Home Worth?

Pricing your home correctly will attract the right buyer and make sure it isn’t on the market for too long. However, you need the eyes of someone not emotionally attached to your home, to ensure the true value is assessed. The National Association of REALTORS found that, “the typical FSBO home sold for $184,000 compared to $230,000 among agent-assisted home sales.”

Value of an Agent
Value of an Agent

3 Tips To Consider When Buying A Home.

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Tip #1: Keep Your Money Where It Is.

One thing that you want to avoid before purchasing a new home is making any other large purchases. You don’t want anything to negatively impact your credit score before buying a home. This includes opening new credit cards, or taking on new debt. Lenders want to feel confident in your ability to be financially responsible, especially when they’re considering you for a loan. In short, don’t take any risks with your credit score if you’re planning on investing in a new home.

Tip #2: Bigger Isn’t Always Better.

When you’re buying a house, you may gravitate towards the biggest home on the block. It’s important to consider what your potential resale value will look like. If you have the most expensive home on the block, it will only go up in value as much as the homes surrounding it. The largest house only appeals to a few people. If you’re planning on reselling, you want to have the largest number of potential buyers possible. Instead of searching for the best house on the block, you should search for the house that best fits your needs.

Tip #3: Survey the Neighborhood.

People often fall in love with their homes, but they often fail to consider the neighborhood. If you’re planning on having children, you need to determine what school district the home is in. Even if you aren’t planning on children, you still should research what schools are nearby because it may impact the resale value of the home. It’s also not a bad idea to try your morning commute from the house, to determine if that would impact your decision. Don’t be afraid to drive through the neighborhood during different times of the day to really get a lay of the land.

Exterior Home Shot
3 Tips When Buying a House

Tips For A Smooth Move

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Mel Foster Co.’s relocation specialists have helped thousands of families relocate to the Quad Cities. Our award-winning staff offers a variety of relocation and real estate services. There is so much to think about and do when planning a move and we can help!

Once you’ve found a home in your new community and set a closing date, contact a mover. Your Mel Foster relocation specialist can help you find moving companies. It’s never too soon to start sorting through your closets and storage areas and determining what you need to keep, donate or throw away.

As you pack up your photos, take a look at your furniture and decide if you need to sell pieces or purchase additional items for your new home. Measure your furniture and consider if it will fit into the floor plan at your new home.

Start a moving paperwork file and find new providers in your community or transfer your records. Be sure to find a new bank, doctor, dentist and vet. Research clubs or civic organizations in your new town and contact the local church to let them know you’re relocating.

About a month prior to your move, check these items off your list:

  • Change your address with the post office and IRS.
  • Forward magazines and newspapers to your new address.
  • Contact utility companies in both your old and new location.
  • Make travel arrangements.
  • Contact your insurance agent in both your old and new location.

With a little planning and help from Mel Foster Co.’s relocation specialists, your next move can be an exciting adventure!

The Low Down on Relo

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Mel Foster Co.’s award winning Relocation Division is staffed by specialized agents who understand the challenges of moving to a new community. There is more to a move than just buying or selling a house. Utilizing the services of a Mel Foster relocation agent is like having a personal assistant guide you through the moving process. The service is free and Mel Foster relocation agents can help you move into or out of the Quad Cities.

When it’s time to make the big move, the first step is working with your relocation agent to determine your budget to rent, buy or build. You might also need temporary housing while you conduct a more long-term home search and your agent can do all of this for you and help you find a lender if you are buying.

While you are preparing your budget, a cost of living comparison can be done to help you find out how far your money goes in your new community. The analysis looks beyond home prices and examines utilities, groceries, transportation and healthcare.

The Mel Foster Co. website is packed with useful information for homebuyers. In addition to seeing photos of homes for sale, you can gather community data and neighborhood specifics that will help you narrow down your search with your relocation agent.

No matter where your move takes you, your Mel Foster relocation agent can set up a community orientation tour. It’ll help you get a basic lay of the land, see where your new job is located and help you find schools, stores and restaurants. This tour also shows you where you can have fun and helps you visualize the community you’ve been studying online.

If you are moving to the Quad Cities, you can request a free Mel Foster relocation package. You will find out what arts and cultural amenities exist, where you can explore the outdoors and what incentives may be available to buy or build in a particular town.

Once your search is underway, your relocation agent can help you transition to your new location by tying up loose ends at your old home. Finding a listing agent and working on the move out check list together will allow you to confidently walk out of your home knowing that you’ve left it in the capable hands of your agent.

As you prepare to move into your new home, your agent can provide contacts for utilities and repair companies to get your home move in ready. Your relocation agent can also assist with securing insurance coverage for your new home through our Insurance Division. Consider the time you’ll save by relying on your Mel Foster relocation agent!

Relocation agents are specially trained to understand the needs of an entire family during a move. It can be a time of much uncertainty and relocation agents can assist spouses in finding employment in a new town. Your relocation agent is the one constant you can rely on to make a smooth transition to a new community. Why go it alone when there’s help from the Mel Foster Relocation Division.

Nobody knows this town like we do! At Mel Foster Co., we MAKE it HAPPEN!


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