Moving Nightmares!

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hiring a moving company, moving company referrals, moving nightmares

There are lots of good reasons to hire a moving company. It lowers your moving day stress, saves your back, and with the right company can ensure that your goods are safe from accidental damage.

But for every sweet song of a smooth move, there are an equal number of “moving company blues” tunes out there. From a few sad notes of regret to total devastation, making a mistake when hiring a moving company can be an experience you’ll never forget.

Here are some tips to help make the right move when it comes to choosing partners for your next relocation:

1) Get in-house estimates for your move from anywhere between 2 to 4 companies. Many may say they don’t need to see your stuff to estimate the cost, but the fact is a reputable company will want to see your place first-hand.

2) Do your legal homework on the moving company. Trustworthy companies will have their Motor Carrier number and D.O.T. (Department of Transportation) license information posted online (or with their materials). Check with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) for complaints and do a little research on Yelp.com for customer reviews.

3) Don’t commit to a big deposit or other down payment. Shady operators can abscond with you money and/or hold your possessions hostage to extort “excess fuel charges” or other bogus price changes.

4) Never go with the low-ball offer. If you get three estimates within the same range and one that’s substantially lower, what does that tell you about the quote? Don’t let cheap impulses turn into expensive mistakes.

5) Get referrals from friends, co-workers, and even your H.R. department (assuming you work for a company that deals with relocations). Also… ask your real estate agent!

Are you looking for referrals for a trustworthy moving company? We’d be glad to provide you with private references. Contact us for the information today: Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS – Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners 904-422-7626 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com

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Big Goals This Year?

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Goals, Keep your Promises, New Years Resolution, Strategies and Tools for Success

Are you going to be one of the few who look back one year from now with the extreme satisfaction of having kept your promises to yourself? Or will you be among the millions who vow to try again next year?

We want you to be in the first category, and we want to help you see your goals become reality. So in that spirit, we thought we’d share a few strategies and tools for success this year.

1) Have you really articulated your goal? Is it “be in better shape” or is it “lose 30 pounds”? A degree of specificity is a must, because you’ll need an objective against which you can measure your efforts.

2) Have you gotten excited about your goal? Have you imagined the outcome? Don’t be ashamed to really visualize yourself enjoying the spoils of your hard work. Imagine yourself sharing your success story with pride.

3) Share your goals! Don’t keep your dreams in the closet where no one can see them. Public declaration not only helps you find third-party support from friends and family, but putting them out there makes them harder to abandon when motivation flags.

4) Don’t give in to “all or none” thinking. When you slip, lose focus, or encounter setbacks, don’t use them as license to give up. It will feel worse to crawl back after a blow-out than it will to forgive yourself and pick up where you left off. Accept that progress matters more than perfection.

5) Leverage apps and other technology to help you make progress. Automatic reminders, social networks, and other goal-specific tools can help. (Check out this article on “5 Apps for Keeping New Year’s Resolutions: http://mashable.com/2012/12/27/apps-new-years-resolutions/)

So what are your goals? Comment below! No time like the present to make your dreams public.

(Of course, if one of your goals is to buy or sell a home, we’d be happy to play a big part in helping you reach that objective! Contact us today: Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS 904-422-7626 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com

11 Must-Dos before you call an agent!

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are you ready to buy a home, meet with a real estate agent, Save money and time

If you’re thinking about buying a home, you can save a lot of time and effort by considering a few questions before you meet with a real estate agent. These questions not only give shape to your desire to buy a home, but they ensure your meeting with an agent will be productive! Consider…

1. How long have you been searching for a home?

2. When are you interested in purchasing?

3. What type of home are you looking for? Condo? Single-family? Etc.

4. What family needs do you currently have? How do you think that will change in the next few years?

5. How many homes have you seen so far?

6. What are you looking for that you haven’t found yet?

7. What is your present living situation?

8. Do you need to sell a home before you buy your next home?

9. What is your comfort zone in terms of price? Or to look at it a different way: What sort of monthly payment is within your budget?

10. Have you looked into financing at all yet?

11. Is there anything in particular you want/need to be close to? (I.e. job, other family members, major airports, etc.)

It’s OK if you don’t have answers to all of these questions. In fact, a good real estate agent should be able to walk you through any questions you don’t understand, or the implications of some of your answers.

If you’d like to chat about any of these questions, please give us a call! We’d be more than happy to advise you today: Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS 904-422-7626 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com

Can I Buy Again? I Had a Short Sale A Few Years Ago.

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buying after a short sale, Can I buy now after a short sale, low mortgage rates, rent vs. buy

This month we’ll be reaching out to friends and clients who were swept up in the real estate downturn to check in and see how they’re doing. Many have been in touch recently about the possibility of returning to home ownership.

You might have some of the same questions they have. For instance: Can I get a mortgage? Have home values stabilized? Is it possible to buy again for what I’m paying in rent now? How can I be sure I won’t end up in the same situation?

The truth is, many people who lost their homes as little as two years ago may already be in a good position to buy again. Home prices and fixed-rate mortgage rates are quite favorable. There are many excellent homes on the market which can easily fit in a budget accustomed to current rents. Plus, it’s cheaper to buy than to rent in our area.

If you’re thinking about returning to home ownership, we’d be happy to answer questions you might have, and even connect you with trustworthy lenders who can help you navigate pre-qualification for an affordable home.

Why continue to tolerate the hassles of renting if you can transition back to a home of your own? Perhaps it’s time to say goodbye to absentee landlords, long waits for maintenance requests, and loud neighbors.

If you’d like to stop dreaming about it and start doing something about it instead, let’s have a conversation and see what we can do together to get you back on track for your own home. Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS 904-422-7626 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com or http://www.HanleyShortSales.com