Dos And Don'ts Of Buying A Home

Home buying season is officially here and when it comes to your finances there are dos and don'ts that come along with the often-overwhelming responsibility of taking on a new or higher mortgage.

Here is a list of the top dos and don'ts to keep in mind when you're shopping for a home.

Ensure you're in a good financial place.

With the increase in minimum down payment (20 per cent minimum on the portion of the price of a home over $500,000), it's important to review your financial plan and ensure you are ready to make one of the largest purchases you'll likely ever make. When it comes to deciding on the amount to put down on your home, everyone is different. Some may want to minimize debt as much as possible while others may be comfortable with a higher mortgage if the investment returns look promising.

Keep the emotion out of it.

Buying a home can be a very emotional process which is why it's essential you know your budget before getting emotionally attached. Get pre-approved for a mortgage BEFORE you begin your search. Even if you just start looking casually, you may stumble upon a place that feels like home, and at that point it may be more difficult to stick with what's affordable if you don't have a set budget.

Identify your priorities. What is a "need to have" versus a "nice to have." One way to weigh out the differences is by making a list of the top must-haves and rating them on a scale from one to ten.

When it comes to keeping the emotion out of your decision-making, waiving a home inspection is another big no-no; while you may be over the moon about a home you found, it isn't worth the risk of sacrificing potential unforeseen problems down the road.

Mortgage broker versus banks.

In the past, it was commonplace for homebuyers to resort to their banks for their mortgage requirements and needs, but these days there is an increasing presence of mortgage brokers. Mortgage specialists have access to a range of lenders and rates and can negotiate the lowest rate on your behalf.

Say no to mortgage insurance.

Here's why: with mortgage insurance, everyone at the same age pays the same premium. There are no discounts to be had for a better than average lifestyle, health status, etc. Additionally, mortgage insurance benefit value declines as you pay your mortgage. So even though you will continue to pay the same price for insurance, it will decrease in value and it will be gone when your mortgage is paid off, even though you may have ongoing insurance needs.

Location, location, location!

The farther away you are from your place of work, the more you may end up spending every month on your commute. Weigh the extra commuting expenses after tax credits versus the incremental mortgage payment on a property that would not only make your daily commute shorter and less expensive, but also save you a lot of time.

Happy house hunting!

National Healthy Homes Month

The Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes "OLHCHH"
Welcomes you to the First Annual National Healthy Homes Month 2016 webpage 

National Healthy Homes Month (NHHM) will be held for the first time during June 2016.   This month-long celebration offers an opportunity to learn more about housing and its impact on health and provide resources to encourage local activities as well as empower families to protect themselves from hazards in their home. June’s outreach activities aim to greatly boost awareness and understanding of what federal and local resources are available to make a difference in the lives of all residents, regardless of where they live. 

HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) is coordinating the efforts of NHHM. Thanks to the support and collaborations with other federal agencies and partners; NHHM will provide a deliberate, coordinated and holistic approach to creating healthy and safe homes. Creating a holistic approach includes efforts to combine activities related to:    

1. Childhood lead poisoning  prevention
2. Residential asthma intervention
3. Injury prevention
4. Smoke free public housing
5. Safe indoor pest control
6. Radon Safety
7. Disaster Recovery

The target audiences for the scope of activities are comprised of state and local government agencies, nongovernmental organization, nonprofit organizations, property owners and individual families especially those with small children. 

Each week in June; NHHM will focus on the “Principals of Healthy Homes” and associated set of activities. The themes are designed to highlight the paired topics. When you get your activities planned consider letting us know about them! We would love to hear about the event planning and results.

Minimal Fixes for Maximum Profit When Selling Your Home

Minimal Fixes, Maximum Profit! 

We all want to make the most money we can when selling our home. Talking to your Real Estate Professional will always be best, but you may want to consider:

Curb Appeal

The first impression is always the most important. Mow the lawn, repair the bare spots and trim the edges. Add new mulch around trees and shrubs. Invest in a few dozen inexpensive flowers and plants if the season permits it. Replace the welcome mat.

Look for pesky drips and leaks 

Make inexpensive plumbing repairs BEFORE showing the house. Fix that leaky sprinkler head that sprays the sidewalk and replace that dripping bathroom faucet.

Clean the carpets

Clean carpets look, feel and smell better. Replace small entrance rugs with new ones.

Replace screens

New screens are low priced and can make the exterior look fresh and new.

Replace any cracked or broken windows 

You'll usually have to do this anyway as part of closing the deal. Of course, all the windows should be cleaned thoroughly to give that shiny new feel. Even a brand new house that's dirty will fetch a lower price.

Paint

A bit of spackle and a coat of paint on rooms that have seen accidents needn't cost a lot and don't take a lot of effort.

Just a few inexpensive home improvements can result in more profit when listing your home. After all, shouldn't your home put its best foot forward, before the buyers do?

Required Renovation of Lead Paint in Your Home

Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Consumers

Common renovation, repair, and painting activities that disturb lead-based paint (like sanding, cutting, replacing windows, and more) can create hazardous lead dust and chips which can be harmful to adults and children. Home repairs that create even a small amount of lead dust are enough to poison your child and put your family at risk. For more information, read EPA's guide that describes why you should hire a lead-safe renovator.   

Need to hire renovator or contractor?  Make sure you find EPA or state lead-safe certified renovation contractors in your area.

Who is at Risk for Lead Exposure?

Who is at Risk?

Children

Lead is particularly dangerous to children because their growing bodies absorb more lead than adults do and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. Babies and young children can also be more highly exposed to lead because they often put their hands and other objects that can have lead from dust or soil on them into their mouths. Children may also be exposed to lead by eating and drinking food or water containing lead or from dishes or glasses that contain lead, inhaling lead dust from lead-based paint or lead-contaminated soil or from playing with toys with lead paint.

Adults, Including Pregnant Women

Adults may be exposed to lead by eating and drinking food or water containing lead or from dishes or glasses that contain lead. They may also breath lead dust by spending time in areas where lead-based paint is deteriorating, and during renovation or repair work that disturbs painted surfaces in older homes and buildings. Working in a job or engaging in hobbies where lead is used, such as making stained glass, can increase exposure as can certain folk remedies containing lead. A pregnant woman’s exposure to lead from these sources is of particular concern because it can result in exposure to her developing baby.

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Lead Exposure Data

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statisticsmonitors blood lead levels in the United States. Get information on the number of children with elevated blood lead levels, and number and percentage of children tested for lead in your area.

According to CDC (PDF) (2 pp, 291 K, About PDF)

• The most important step parents, doctors, and others can take is to prevent lead exposure before it occurs.
• Until recently, children were identified as having a blood lead level of concern if the test result is 10 or more micrograms per deciliter of lead in blood. Experts now use a new level based on the U.S. population of children ages 1-5 years who are in the top 2.5% of children when tested for lead in their blood (when compared to children who are exposed to more lead than most children). Currently that is 5 micrograms per deciliter of lead in blood. The new, lower value means that more children likely will be identified as having lead exposure allowing parents, doctors, public health officials, and communities to take action earlier to reduce the child’s future exposure to lead.

EPA uses the CDC data to show trends on blood lead levels in children in America’s Children and the Environment.

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What are the Health Effects of Lead?

Lead can affect almost every organ and system in your body. Children six years old and younger are most susceptible to the effects of lead.

Children

Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in:

• Behavior and learning problems
• Lower IQ and Hyperactivity
• Slowed growth
• Hearing Problems
• Anemia

In rare cases, ingestion of lead can cause seizures, coma and even death.

Pregnant Women

Lead can accumulate in our bodies over time, where it is stored in bones along with calcium. During pregnancy, lead is released from bones as maternal calcium and is used to help form the bones of the fetus. This is particularly true if a woman does not have enough dietary calcium. Lead can also cross the placental barrier exposing the fetus the lead.  This can result in serious effects to the mother and her developing fetus, including:

• Reduced growth of the fetus
• Premature birth

Find out more about lead's effects on pregnancy:

• March of Dimes Healthy Pregnancy Exit
• Effects of Workplace Hazards on Female Reproductive Health, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Lead can also be transmitted through breast milk. Read more on lead exposure in pregnancy and lactating women (PDF) (302 pp, 4.2 MB, About PDF).

Other Adults

Lead is also harmful to other adults. Adults exposed to lead can suffer from:

• Cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension
• Decreased kidney function
• Reproductive problems (in both men and women)

Read more on the health effects of lead

• EPA’s Integrated Science Assessment for Lead
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

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Lower Your Chances of Exposure to Lead

Simple steps like keeping your home clean and well-maintained will go a long way in preventing lead exposure. You can lower the chances of exposure to lead in your home, both now and in the future, by taking these steps:

• Inspect and maintain all painted surfaces to prevent paint deterioration
• Address water damage quickly and completely
• Keep your home clean and dust-free
• Clean around painted areas where friction can generate dust, such as doors, windows, and drawers. Wipe these areas with a wet sponge or rag to remove paint chips or dust
• Use only cold water to prepare food and drinks
• Flush water outlets used for drinking or food preparation
• Clean debris out of outlet screens or faucet aerators on a regular basis
• Wash children's hands, bottles, pacifiers and toys often
• Teach children to wipe and remove their shoes and wash hands after playing outdoors
• Ensure that your family members eat well-balanced meals. Children with healthy diets absorb less lead. See Lead and a Healthy Diet, What You Can Do to Protect Your Child (PDF)
• If you are having home renovation, repairs, or painting done, make sure your contractor is Lead-Safe Certified, and make sure they follow lead safe work practices (PDF)

Determine if your family is at risk for lead poisoning with the Lead Poisoning Home Checklist (PDF).

Lead Safe Home Checklist

Lead Poisoning Home Checklist
The following questions will help you determine if your family is at risk for lead poisoning.

1. Was your home built before 1978?
A majority of homes built before 1978 (especially homes built throughout the 1940s to 1960s), contain lead-based paint, which can have a dangerous effect on the health of young children (under the age of
six) and pregnant women.

2. Do you see walls, furniture, or window sills in your home with

chipping or peeling paint?

Lead-based paint is unsafe if it peels, chips, or cracks. Harmful lead dust is created when windows, doors, edges of stairs, rails, or other lead-based painted surfaces wear away over time. You or your landlord can get your home checked for lead by hiring a trained, certified professional. Many young children put their hands or other objects covered with lead dust in their mouths, which can cause serious damage to their health. Wash children’s hands, bottles, pacifiers, and toys often.

3. Do your children play in lead-contaminated soil near your home?
   Soil around homes with lead-based paint may have lead chips, dust, or flakes in it. Children can acciden- tally swallow this soil while playing outdoors, or the soil may be tracked indoors from shoes onto carpet and floors where children can eventually come into contact with it. Teach children to wipe and remove their shoes, as well as to wash their hands, after playing outdoors.
   
4. Do you store food in imported pottery that contains lead?
   Imported pottery and dishware usually contain lead. To protect your family from lead poisoning, use imported pottery only for decoration, and keep food and drinks in other safe, storage containers.
   
5. Do you work with lead in your job?
   You may be exposed to lead on the job if you work as a painter, ironworker, construction worker, cable splicer, automobile radiator repair mechanic, firearms instructor, metal shop worker, stained glass artist, or battery maker. If you work in a lead-related industry, change your work clothes before entering the home, wash your work clothes separately from the clothes you wear around your family, and remove your shoes before entering your home, as lead can be tracked indoors onto carpets, floors, and furniture.
   

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, have your home tested by a certified professional by contacting 1-800-424-LEAD (5323) or visiting www.epa.gov/lead. If you rent, find out if your landlord has checked your home for lead. Have your children tested for lead poisoning by asking your doctor or your health specialist at a Head Start center to do a simple blood test. Medicaid should pay for the cost of the lead poisoning test. 

Why a Real Estate Agent Needs to Find the Best Home Inspectors

If you work as a real estate broker or agent long enough, you will eventually get dragged into a lawsuit or complaint over some kind of issue the buyer has with the property he/she purchased. If the lawsuit  or complaint is even remotely related to questions about the adequacy of the seller’s disclosures or some other issue involving the condition of one or more components of the home in question, you may find your salvation comes from an unusual source…the buyer’s home inspector. Yes, you read that right. Whether you represented the seller or the buyer in the sale, your ability to walk away from the lawsuit unscathed may depend in large part on how good the home inspector was. Many of you reading this undoubtedly think home inspectors actually deserve the title “deal killers” that gets tossed around whenever a seemingly minor issue derails a smooth closing. However, after reading this and reflecting on the reality of what a home inspection really does, you may find yourself looking more and more often at home inspectors as your saviors. If this sounds ludicrous, then by all means stop reading now and slip back into blissful ignorance. After all, how is it possible for a home inspector to do anything that would ever help a listing broker or agent? On the other hand, even if all you are is mildly curious then please read on.

In a typical post-closing dispute between a buyer and seller, the buyer is looking for someone to pay for repairs involving a leaking roof, water in the basement, rotted wood, etc. In short, the only thing really at risk is money and that is why your E & O insurance was invented...to defend you from the claims of others. In many of the cases involving items first surfacing after closing, the buyer may be the responsible party due to his/her failure to do even the most basic home maintenance in the year following the purchase. In these cases the home inspection may be helpful in showing the condition in question was fine on the date of the inspection and must have manifested itself long after closing. In many other cases, the home inspector may have identified the issue during the inspection and suggested professional follow up and/or repair only to learn much later the buyer simply elected to either ignore the advice or wait until after closing to deal with the issue…only to find the roof repair was a $5,000 issue and not a $500 issue. In far fewer cases (thankfully), the seller really did it and failed to disclose a known defect, tried to repair the defect personally and failed, took steps to conceal it from even his/her own broker/agent, or some combination of the above. In these cases, even the home inspector can be fooled and miss the issue. Remember, the home inspector usually works for the buyer and cannot cut holes in walls, move furniture, or do anything the buyer cannot do until after the closing and transfer of possession. All of these cases involve bruised egos and damaged wallets, but that is pretty much the extent of it.

However, what if the condition in dispute resulted in serious injury or even death? What if a bad electrical panel caused a fire and a child died? It’s probably safe to say no commission you ever will earn is enough to make up for the anguish you will feel if a bad inspection report misses a material defect and results in major litigation involving everyone on both sides of the transaction. Imagine how much worse it might be for the broker who had agents on both sides. Lawsuits involving major defects and personal injury almost always seek damages well in excess of E&O policy limits and put not only your personal assets at risk, but also could result in your license being revoked. How then can a good home inspection help you avoid being drawn into such a catastrophic situation? The answer is quite simple. Whether you represent the buyer or the seller (or both), you want the home inspector to use his/her professional experience and training to thoroughly identify those defects which not only might impact the value of the home, but also (and perhaps most importantly) the safety of the home. Keep in mind the average home inspector will do between 250 and 350 inspections each year and most will be in a relatively concentrated market area. Compare that to the average real estate agent that will participate in maybe 4 sides each year and you should get some sense of why even listing agents should want every buyer to use a good home inspector. Here are just a few examples of actual photos taken by home inspectors who were “just doing their job and represent a fair sample of the types of unbelievable issues home inspectors encounter almost daily. (Thanks to Dave Kogan from the American Society of Home Inspectors for his help finding these photos).

HVAC octopus

Military ordinance in the attic

When in doubt, use spindles

Subterranean water heater

Draft, what draft?

Beyond words

In case you want a bigger bottom shelf

And the grand finale….

Using a 30 amp service to feed a 100 amp panel

As you can see the types of issues found by a good home inspector can truly involve a matter of life and death. Won’t you sleep better if you know a good home inspector is looking at every real estate transaction you touch, no matter which side you are on? In conclusion, this is how one person’s deal killer becomes another person’s savior. The next time you feel like a home inspector is ruining your peace and tranquility, just turn back to these images and be thankful the buyer hired a good inspector to watch everyone’s back.

Home Inspector Receives Life Time Achievement Award for Work with Persons with Disabilities

Steve Zivolich to Receive the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award for Enhancing the Lives of Persons with Disabilities

The Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC) has announced that Steve Zivolich will receive the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Spotlight Award. “The lifetime achievement award goes to an individual who has made exceptional contributions to advancing the rights of and enhancing the life for people with developmental disabilities”, stated Alan Martin, the Chair of the RCOC Board of Directors.

Steve Zivolich will receive the 2016 Lifetime Achievement for his local, national and international leadership in developing innovative employment placement outcomes for persons with disabilities. Mr. Zivolich founded the Orange County, California based non-profit, Integrated Resources Institute (IRI) in 1985, which is well-known for its progress approach and demonstration outcomes regarding integrated community work for persons with significant disabilities.

IRI, and Mr. Zivolich are recognized as having facilitated the largest number (20,000) job placements for persons with significant disabilities in the U.S. Through grants and corporate funding. IRI initiated several demonstration and research employment efforts with: Pizza Hut, Brinker International, California Restaurant Association, Universal Studios Hollywood, Social Security Administration, US Department of Education, California Regional Centers, and various Departments of Rehabilitation throughout the US.

“Nationally, IRI has worked to strengthen the capacity of the workforce development system to improve employment outcomes for people with significant disabilities through  demonstration implementation, as well as dissemination of research. With three decades of peer reviewed evidence-based research data, IRI has verified that Integrated Work efforts lead to positive employment and quality of life outcomes for individuals with disabilities, their families, as well as cost benefits to taxpayers”, noted Mr. Zivolich

The IRI MentorWorks program in Orange County, California currently serves over 100 clients with significant disabilities, and maintains a 96% employment placement rate. The MentorWorks program is a 100% community work based program. All program hours are provided at integrated work settings. Using a “Customized Employment”, and “Mentor” approach, the relationship between employee with disabilities and employer is personalized in a way that meets the needs of both.

IRI also provides consultation support for other non-profit organizations, government, and corporations in the US and internationally to develop similar innovative work placement outcomes for their clients with disabilities.

The award will be presented by the Regional Center of Orange County at their awards banquet on April 8, 2016. The award ceremony will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the Embassy Suites, Anaheim, CA.

Employers interested in recruiting and integrating workers with disabilities into their workforce can contact Integrated Resources Institute at (949) 232-1172.