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Living

getting the most of out home buying season with Owners

Buying and selling a house at the same time has to be one of the most challenging things to do in a lifetime, especially in a weird market. You may have already found some Castle Oaks homes that you like the look of, but that doesn’t mean that buying will not be a stressful process. For those of you that have been hanging around since 2013 you probably remember all of the stress I was under while we were selling and looking to build/purchase a new home.

Home buying season is upon us and if trial and error, tears and anger qualifies one as an expert on a topic than I am well versed in the struggles that come with purchasing a home. There are so many things to be aware of when purchasing and one of the major tips I have is to do your research to make sure you are getting the best deal all around. If you are look into purchase a home for the first time or a family home and live in the Brabham area of Australia, it is also just as important to do your research into the type of home you want to purchase. You should also be aware that there are plenty of legal struggles surrounding housing sales I’d consider looking into Conveyancing Quotes comparison sites that’ll make sure you get the best deal and great support through the buying process.

Now that it is easy to gain access to some of the tools real estate agents use to find homes it is easy and imperative to become involved in your home buying process. I can’t stress this enough. I’m sure I was a little more involved than desired but I ended up with what I wanted.

I was often sending homes to our agent because I knew she was busy and I couldn’t stand to think about missing out on a great deal because she was working with another client or busy. In essence taking this approach can mean that in hindsight you did all of the work on finding your home and still be responsible for paying the agent a commission. I’ve discovered a new, better option for those of us who really want to own our home buying and selling experience- Owners.com.

This top 10 U.S. online brokerage offers innovative services to home buyers and sellers. Sellers are able to list their home for a flat fee of only $695 (including MLS exposure) which means on a $300K transaction, that savings is $8,305 (up to 1.5% back) when buying a home (saving approximately $4.5k on $300k transaction)*.

This new choice in end-to-end real estate services allows you to keep a portion of the commissions for doing a portion of the work yourselves. Just think about where you could put the money you save! Update a bathroom or kitchen, open a college fund, or take a vacation!

As Owners.com branches into Atlanta they discovered that 78% of buyers in this market are impressed with the idea of not having to pay for services they don’t use, which in terms of the current market trends means a boost in using these new options to buy and sell.

According to the same survey by Owners.com, home buyers in Atlanta are significantly more likely to say they prefer ‘move-in’ ready (79%) to a ‘fixer-upper ’ (21%). Using their website allows you to search for a wide-range of home styles within your budget, including those listed For Sale by Owner. The buyers rebate will give you a chunk of change to tackle improvements for those who seek a fixer-upper!

Owners.com offers home buyers the option to search for homes that are not only For Sale by Owner (FSBO) but MLS listed properties as well. You can easily search by zip code, neighborhood, school district or city and put the power of the home buying process into your own hands.

Here’s a property listing in Sandy Springs for instance with a lot to offer!

I’ll be back to talk about how Owners.com helps sellers in the near future. In the meantime, if you are looking to step into home ownership for the first or third time Owners.com is definitely worth looking into. Thank goodness I’m done with this process but I send you all love, support and Owners.com to help you along your way!

*Buyers can receive a rebate Based on an average home price of $300,000 (U.S. Census. Jan-Sep. 2015) and average buyer agent commission rebate of 1.5%. Some limitations apply. Rebate not available on all properties or For-Sale-By-Owner listings. See Owners.com for details.

This discussion has been sponsored by Owners.com. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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Featured• Gardening

how to start a garden with $10

I jumped into gardening in 2014 when we purchased this home. Not being sure if it was something I would be totally interested in, I opted to have a container garden instead of having my husband dig an in ground one and get Treequote.com in to remove some of the trees out back. Unfortunately due to the slope in our backyard and an overabundance of shade in the areas where the land is flat I’ve decided to upgrade to square foot gardening this year.

Now don’t get me wrong, over the years I’ve accumulated tons of tools, ranging from a backpack blower (read backpack blower reviews here), a lawn mower, tons of different seeds, gloves and just general equipment. But, I didn’t start that way.

We are currently in that funny phase of weather where the days are warmer but the nights are still a little cold and we can’t write off one last frost. I’m sure it’s like this in other parts of the world but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a head start on your garden by starting your seeds indoors.

With $10 or less you can start your seedlings with just a few items that you can pick up from your local big box retailer or home improvement store.

You will need:

seeds { $1.29 – 3.29 per pack}
aluminum pan { 2 for $1 at Dollar Tree}
peat pellets { approx. $3.50 for 36 }
water

Start with laying the peat pellets at the bottom of the aluminum pan. Do not crowd them, once you add water they expand

Once they are all laid out, pour water into the corner of the pan. and wait for the pellets to swell. They will grow to about an inch in height.

Once they have grown, peel some of the netting back, take a toothpick and lift the dirt a little bit, drop the seeds in and lightly cover them. Only add about three seeds. You will eventually thin them out, at this point you just want to make sure you have some germinate.

After you have planted the seeds, empty the water from the pan. You do not want the peat pellets to sit in water.

Now it is time to watch them grow. Lettuce will germinate within 3-5 days. Now you want to make sure your seedlings get light. I have put mine under a grow light to ensure they get a good start. I’ll be back next week to show you how to make your grow light for around $10.

Happy Gardening until next week.

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Featured• Home• Organization

junk drawer organization

I don’t think there is a kitchen in existence that doesn’t have a junk drawer. The drawer that catches all of the wayward items that

a. Don’t have a dedicated home

b. Have a home but someone is too lazy to take the few steps to place it there

c. It actually belongs in the kitchen but no time has been taken to give it a dedicated space there.

My junk drawer was getting a bit ridiculous. Went to stuff something else in there and couldn’t close it and decided it was time to do something about it.

I started by removing all of the items and going through them. Let’s be honest some of the stuff in those drawers need to be in the trash. After discarding everything I used some wire trays and plastic baskets from Dollar Tree to store everything else. I’ll come back around and make it pretty, think gold spray paint and a new drawer liner but I needed it to function now.

When it comes to what I keep in my junk drawer outside of the normal things like spare keys, batteries and pens I try to think of all of the things that go wrong when we are on or way out of the door. Somebody comes in the kitchen ready to go with a nasty or ashy face, there is lint on my black sweater that I didn’t see, I’ll be talking to people and need a stick of gum.

Think about how your life works and make your junk drawer not just a place to house “junk” but a place that stores last minute necessities so you don’t have to run back into the house when you are on your way out of the door.

I am slowly working through my drawers and cabinets. If you’ve missed any of these posts, here is how I organized my pantry, and coffee station.

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Featured• Living

life lately

As much as my heart desires to complete a project 365 I just can’t do it. I’m way too flaky to take a photo a day and the pettiness in me won’t let me take two photos on Wednesday and pass one off as being taken on Monday. Just not in me.

I still capture many random moments in our lives so I’ll share them from time to time as a glimpse into our life.

Here is life lately:

Imagine marinating the meat for your favorite meal, turning on the stove and discovering your stove cooked it’s last meal yesterday. This happened. I was without a stove for nearly a week. I did not cook and did not feel bad. In hindsight there is a crockpot and griddle that could’ve been used but that is neither here nor there . I had a week in which I did not cook and I didn’t feel any way about it.

We managed to throw the most bootleg Superbowl party ever. Cause we are all in eradicate debt mode our budget didn’t call for a full on Superbowl party. When a few friends asked if they could come over, we said yes but you have to bring your own food and drink.

I know. I know.

It was the chicken wings they left that fed us for the week while the stove was broken. Man, that really worked out. They got to see Bey in large form and hear her in surround sound and we got dinner for the week. WIN

I have dreams of a wash and go this Summer. I keep chopping on my hair not because I love it so much but that I am hoping to get my curls back. I think I see them, do you? Heat damage is a muva.

…and parenting these people has been challenging to say the least. They are developing their own personalities and are needing to be parented differently. Send wine and good vibes for my nerves of course.

Working on this for a March 1 launch. A little excited and a whole lot scared.

I’m sure I’m not the only mother who doesn’t sleep when her kids are sick. A spiked fever or a puke session in bed while I’m sound asleep, the thoughts keep me sleeping with one eye open when I have a sicky poo. Then they wake up well rested and I’m tired.

… and this is what strep looks like

I suppose she became sick and tired to avoid cleaning up?

What’s life looking like on your end?

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