A home inspection is a crucial part of the homebuying process. At this point, a home inspector will walk through a house with you and examine the property inside and out. If a home inspector identifies underlying problems with a residence, these issues could put your purchase in jeopardy. On the other hand, if a home inspection reveals that there are no major problems with a residence, you may feel comfortable proceeding with a purchase.

Ultimately, how a homebuyer approaches a property inspection can have far-flung effects. For those who want to achieve the best-possible home inspection results, we're here to help you get ready for a house inspection.

Let's take a look at three tips to ensure you know exactly how to approach a house inspection.

1. Prepare for the Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios

Regardless of how a home inspection turns out, you need to be ready. That way, you'll have a plan in place to act quickly, even in the worst-case scenario.

In the best-case scenario after a house inspection, you likely will take a step forward in your quest to complete a home purchase. Conversely, in the worst-case scenario following a home inspection, you may rescind your offer to purchase a house and reenter the real estate market.

It also is important to remember that you can always walk away from a house sale if an inspection reveals there are significant problems with a residence. For a homebuyer, it is paramount to feel comfortable with a house after an inspection. If a home raises lots of red flags during an inspection, a buyer should have no trouble removing his or her offer to purchase a house.

2. Ask Plenty of Questions

A home inspector is a property expert who can provide insights into the condition of a residence. Thus, you should rely on this property expert as much as possible.

Don't hesitate to discuss a home with an inspector. Because if you ask lots of questions during a home inspection, you may be able to receive comprehensive property insights that you may struggle to obtain elsewhere.

3. Analyze the Inspection Results Closely

Following a home inspection, you'll receive a report that details a property inspector's findings. Review this report closely, and if you have follow-up questions about it, reach out to the inspector that provided the report.

Lastly, as you look for ways to streamline the homebuying journey, you should work with a knowledgeable real estate agent. This housing market professional can put you in touch with the top home inspectors in your city or town. Plus, if you want to request home repairs or a reduced price on a house after an inspection, a real estate agent will negotiate with a seller's agent on your behalf.

Let's not forget about the support that a real estate agent provides at other points in the homebuying journey, either. If you ever have concerns or questions during the homebuying journey, a real estate agent will respond to them at your convenience.

Prepare for a home inspection, and you can use this evaluation to gain the insights you need to make an informed homebuying decision.

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Disposing of waste is a common practice in all homes; in this age and time, it's essential to practice more than one disposal option. Kitchen waste if not correctly disposed of, would attract insects and larvae into your home – and cause your house to begin to smell.

There are many waste disposal options available to homeowners to select from – depending on your lifestyle. It's essential you dispose of your kitchen waste responsibly as rotten food releases methane; a greenhouse gas that's dangerous to your environment. Consider the following waste disposal options for your kitchen.

Conventional Trash Can

Many homes do not have access to garbage disposal but practice the traditional waste disposal option. Depending on your lifestyle, you don't need a big container for your trash can. Before putting your garbage bag into the trash can, consider laying it with old newspaper. What this those is to absorb moisture preventing it from leaking into your trash bin. 

Composting

Composting is another common way to dispose of kitchen waste; It's recycling your kitchen waste to serve another purpose. Composting is a green way of disposing kitchen waste. Get a compost bin to sit in your kitchen for disposing of things like eggshells, tea bags, potato peel, coffee, and leftover foods. Empty the contents of the compost bin into your garden every couple of days. It's an effective method of disposing of food waste while also recycling to make compost for your garden. 

Garbage Disposal

One popular option for getting rid of your kitchen waste is the garbage disposal option located underneath your kitchen sink. It's an excellent option for getting rid of leftovers, expired food, peels, and other unwanted food items. When using this option, you need to be careful to avoid clogs and jams. Get the help of a waste disposal company to install this effective disposal option in your home. To extend the life span of your garbage disposal, ensure you practice these simple steps.

• Run your disposal daily to avoid freeze up or rust.
• Use cold water in place of hot water to dispose of waste.
• Run disposal longer than necessary to ensure complete flush of food down the drain.
• Cut your trash into smaller pieces before feeding into your garbage disposal.
• Use the peel of citrus fruit to clean out your garbage once in a while and also to eliminate unpleasant odor. 

Animals

For people who live in an environment where they keep or rear animals, disposing of kitchen waste is usually not a problem. Animals like pigs, goats, birds, etc. can eat almost everything from the kitchen that ends in the garbage. Ensure you get informed on what food to feed your animals with before supplying them with your leftovers. 

Proper disposal of waste encourages a clean environment, and a pleasant environment means good health. Follow these tips to ensure that your home and neighborhood are well-kept.

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You think a lot about ways to keep your family and property safe, but there are so many little things that need to be secured. If your home has sliding glass doors, you may not know how to secure them properly. Read on for steps on how to get your sliding glass doors completely secure.

Know The Risks

While sliding glass doors and windows provide your home with a lot of light, without the right coverage, thieves can see right into your home and view all of your belongings. Visibility is one of the most apparent security risks with sliding glass doors. 

The other fundamental risk is that these doors can slide off the track. If you’re unaware of it, it can be an easy way for criminals to get right into your home. Keep in mind that the locks on your sliding glass door may not be as secure as a traditional deadbolt lock that you have on your door.  

The Fix

A dowel rod is one of the easiest ways to secure your sliding glass door. This rod fits in the track of the sliding door to prevent the door from sliding at all. To make this fix efficient, you’ll need to measure the track and get a dowel that’s the perfect size to fit in the track. You also should ensure that the rod is thick enough.

Sensor alarms also exist that help you to identify when the door is open. An alar like this deters thieves and even alerts you as to when the door is being opened. This feature can be helpful if you have young children as well. 

Another security option for your sliding glass door is to install more heavy duty locks. Typical locks on sliding glass doors have latches that are shaped like a hook connecting to the door frame. These latches can be easily forced open. There are double bolted locks that allow for a more secure door. These locks can be a great addition to security along with the dowel rod since the locks are harder to break.

Check Your Door

Although it sounds painfully obvious, checking that your sliding glass door is locked every night before you head to bed will be an extra layer of security for your home. Make sure that the dowel rod is in place and any alarms that you have are set. Diligence is one of the best forms of security that you can have. It’s also vital that your door is functioning properly. Any problems that exist with the door should be addressed promptly.       

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In real estate terminology, you may hear about various ratios and where you need to fall within the ratio to qualify for the home you want. A ratio simply expresses a relationship between two values: they compare two things, so a student/teacher ratio might be shown as 18:1, or one teacher for every 18 students. Different ratios apply to residential home buyers, investors, sellers, and lenders, but here are a few that might apply to you.

Loan-to-value or LTV

A comparison between the amount of a mortgage loan and either the home’s purchase price (for new buyers) or its appraised value (in a refinance) is its loan-to-value ratio. Lower LTVs typically qualify a buyer or homeowner a lower interest rate because there is less risk of default to the lender. So, a conforming mortgage with 20 percent down often garners a lower rate than an FHA loan with only five percent down.

Higher LTVs place more risk on the lender so if the market drops, the home could be “upside-down” or worth less than the amount of the mortgage.

Debt-to-income ratio or DTI

More important to home buyers is the debt-to-income ratio. Also called a debt-service ratio, it expresses how much money the borrower makes monthly compared to the monthly ongoing debt payments and obligations. A lender uses this figure to determine how high a mortgage payment you can handle. The first number is your income (gross) from your job, plus any other income that can be counted such as child support or a trust disbursement that you can use to make your mortgage payment plus taxes and insurance, and if applicable, association dues.

The second number uses the same calculation as the first plus any long-term debt such as a vehicle or school loan and consumer debt. This amount is the percentage of your income used to pay housing and long-term debt. So, a ratio of 30:37 (also written 30/37) means you spend 30 percent of all your income on housing with no more than seven percent obligated to debt service. That leaves you with 63 percent of your income for food, auto insurance, medical bills, clothing, and other expenses. Qualifying ratios adjust over time, but the Federal Housing Administration lists the qualifying ratio and the formula to determine it to qualify for an FHA loan.

Price-to-income ratio

Your DTI comes from your personal debts and income, and the LTV comes from a specific home's value, but the price-to-income ratio expresses the affordability of housing in a given locale. Most often, it is the ratio of the median home price to the median household disposable income. This ratio helps you determine if the home you want to buy is overpriced (it will be hard to sell) or under-priced (super good deal) for its geographical location. Lenders use this ratio as one additional factor in determining risk for that specific home.

To learn where your ratios fall and to determine if an area is right for your household budget, let your local real estate professional guide you.

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