MOVING TIPS

Planning to Move? Here are some interesting tips by Diane Benson Harrington which I thought were interesting and can help make your move lot easier.

If you’re planning to use a moving company, call now. As busy as they are, they usually need plenty of notice — often at least six weeks or much more if you’re moving a long distance.

Be sure to build in some overlap between the closing/possession date of your new home and the last day of the lease on your rental (or closing date of your current home). Moving always takes much longer than you think. If you want to make any changes to your new home — for instance, paint some walls, put in new carpeting or refinish wood floors — plan enough time to do it BEFORE you move in so your furniture and belongings are not in the way.

Pare down your belongings. There’s no sense moving things you don’t need or want. Look through your house for rarely used items. Discard anything that’s beyond repair, have a yard sale to get rid of the rest, and plan to load unsold merchandise into your car right away so you can take it to the charity of your choice.

Make notes about your new house — room measurements, door measurements, location of electric/cable/phone outlets — so you can determine exactly where your belongings will go. Measure appliances to make sure they fit the space available. When I moved from Florida to Colorado, I measured my refrigerator’s width but not its depth. I hadn’t taken my new kitchen’s floor plan into consideration, and my fridge stuck out so far that I couldn’t open the dishwasher. I’ve also had friends who bought wonderful overstuffed furniture, only to find they couldn’t get it through the doorways of their new house.

If the previous homeowners are taking their curtains and blinds, you’ll want to measure windows in places you want privacy immediately (like bedrooms and bathrooms) and buy curtains or blinds before you arrive.

Start arranging now for phone and utility hookups. Phone companies, especially, now need a few days (or even a week or more) to get you connected. Arrange now for the type of internet connection you want (if it’s DSL or broadband rather than dial-up), and order extra phone jacks or cable outlets if you need them. Fill out a change of address form with the Post Office. If you have automatic debits on your bank account, alert your creditors if you’re changing banks.

You can buy boxes and packing material from a moving company or other sources, but that can be expensive. Instead, ask grocery stores, electronics stores and office supply stores for their discarded boxes. They usually large enough, sturdy enough — and free. Invest in a tape gun, and start saving up newspapers (ask your friends for theirs, too) so you’ll have plenty of packing material if you don’t want to buy bubble wrap.

Be sure to pack a box of essentials — a telephone, a couple of changes of clothes, a few pots/pans/dishes/utensils, toiletries, medications — to get you through the first few days. Also, if your mover is late and there are items you couldn’t live without for a few days (like a computer, if you work from your home), consider taking that in your own car.

If using a mover, be sure to pack any small, nonbreakable, valuable items (such as jewelry) separately so you can take it with you in your own car. Large valuable items, such as artwork or electronics, should be clearly noted on the mover’s inventory form in case of damage during transit. Do buy insurance to cover any damage that may occur. (Note: movers generally will not insure anything that you pack yourself unless the box itself is missing.)

Take the time to record the makes, models and serial numbers of your electronics and other items in a notebook or on a sheet of paper. Put this information, along with owners’ manuals, extra keys, birth certificates, car titles, wills, insurance information, and other vital documents, in a special folder that you’ll keep with you. In your new home, find a place for this folder (or put it in a safety deposit box), so you’ll always know where these important papers are (and can easily grab it in case of a fire).

Clean as you pack. Unpacking is hard enough work without the added effort.

If you’re renting right now, be sure to clean your apartment or rental house so you don’t risk losing your security deposit.

Before you unpack, get a clean start by wiping out drawers and cupboards, sweeping out closets and solid-surface floors and vacuuming the carpets. Next, make up the beds and put towels in the bathrooms. Then you can take your time with the rest of the unpacking.

Enjoy your new home!

www.deepbrar.com

New pictures of South Lakes subdivision in Fuquay-Varina

Windcrest

Windcrest, located in Holly Springs, is one of the most beautiful subdivisions by KB Homes builder with very reasonably priced homes. The community features large swimming pool, a club house and children’s park. Being right next to Sunset Ridge, the houses have really appreciated since 2007. Although the community is sold out, there are some resales available.

The houses range from low $200’s to high $200’s. The HOA dues are $90 quarterly is managed by Talis Management Group.

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Holly Glen

Built by Beazer Homes in Holly Springs, Holly Glen offers 1 and 2-story single family floor plans ranging from 1,950 to 3,906 square feet and spacious 3-6 bedrooms. Special features available per plan in this community include 2 & 3 car garages, great flexible spaces such as lofts or bonus rooms, 1st floor owner’s suite, inviting front porches, and stone or shake accents. A one year lawn treatment program provided.
Holly Glen is an established serene community with a pool, tennis courts, playground, picnic area, and a pond located just

off of hwy 55 bypass on Avent Ferry Rd. It is less than a mile from Holly Springs High School, and Holly Ridge Elementary.

Convenient distance from the Airport, Shopping Malls, RTP, Cary, Raleigh and much more.

Inventory as well as Pre-sale Available!!

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Braxton Village

Braxton Village is a fantastic neighborhood featuring superior homes built by award-winning Royal Oaks Building Group. It is minutes away from Cary, RTP, and Raleigh and is conveniently located 2 miles from Hwy 55 Bypass on Avent Ferry Road near downtown Holly Springs.

This is a wonderful family neighborhood with a swimming pool and tot lot. Braxton Village is close to Harris Lake and Shearon Harris Municipal Park. The community is also located at a convenient distance from Holly Grove Elementary, Fuquay Middle, and Holly Springs High School.

The HOA dues for Braxton village are $60 quarterly. The prices for houses range from $170’s to mid $200. There are still many move-in ready homes available, along with some resales at great prices. So act quickly to find your home if you are thinking of buying a home in Braxton Village.

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Park Grove

Thinking of buying a home in Fuquay Varina? Park Grove could be the right choice for you.

Park Grove is a fairly new subdivision by KB Homes in Fuquay Varina, one of the most successful builders in the area. Although, all of the houses are sold out by the builder, there are still few resales and inventory homes available for new homebuyers.

Park Grove is located right off of Hwy 55, less than two miles from the new Walmart and Fuquay Varina’s downtown. It is also within 30 minutes distance from the Airport, Shopping Malls, Raleigh downtown, and other points of interest in the area.

The HOA dues for Park Grove are $75 quarterly. The houses range anywhere from $200,000 to $300,000, and are available in many different floor plans.

www.deepbrar.com

Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft

A well-measured program of preventive steps can protect you from identity theft.ID theft-related fraud fell by 12 percent in 2007 and 300,000 fewer adults were victims, according to the latest from Javelin Strategy & Research, the longest-running ID theft study in the nation.

At the top of the list of reasons for the decline is “greater consumer vigilance and awareness,” according to the report.

When someone steals your identity, you don’t wander around aimlessly like some John or Jane Doe. Someone pilfers enough of your personal identifying information – name, address, Social Security Number, drivers license, credit and financial account numbers and the like – then masquerades as you to make purchases, withdraw cash or otherwise undermine your financial assets and your name.

ID theft can cost you time and money (an average of $691, according to the report) to correct the misdeed and it can ruin your credit enough to prevent you from making major purchases, including buying a home.

Companies that manage personal information have improved their ID theft protection measures, but consumers who protect their own personal information are the first line of defense.

Here’s what Javelin suggests.

• Move your financial transactions online by turning off paper invoices, statements and checks, including paychecks, and replacing them with electronic versions where offered by employers, banks, utilities or merchants. Avoid mailing checks to pay bills or deposit funds in your banking account. Instead, pay bills online and use remote deposit check imaging services on online banking sites.This effort rubs out the paper trail. Crooks are more likely to steal information on paper, from personal belongings and through telephone calls, rather than online.
• Monitor your accounts regularly online at bank and credit card Web sites. Americans who monitor their accounts online are most likely to uncover suspicious or unauthorized activity early.
• Likewise, review your credit information frequently. You can do so three times a year for free at the federally sanctioned AnnualCreditReport.com by getting one report, from each of the three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – in turn, every four months.
• Reduce unnecessary access to your personal information wherever possible. For example, don’t carry Social Security cards, unused credit cards or checks, and don’t leave sensitive documents out in the open.
• Never provide sensitive financial information over the phone or Internet, including Social Security numbers, passwords, PINs or account numbers (unless you placed the call directly to a verified and trusted location) such as the number on the back of a credit card or statement.
• Add your name to the federal Do Not Call registry and direct marketing opt-out lists to reduce solicitations that could be bogus.Even as overall ID theft has fallen, “vishing,” criminals using telecommunications, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and like methods, is on the rise. That’s because, as more consumers shift more transactions to secure online services, thieves are becoming more creative on the telephone claiming to represent nonprofit and charitable operations.In the same vein, wireless phone accounts have become the most frequent types of new accounts opened fraudulently by criminals using stolen data. The trend exceeds that of fraudulent new credit cards, loans, checking or savings accounts.
• Install and regularly update firewall, browser anti-spyware, and anti-virus security software on your personal computer, and keep operating systems updated. Updates typically come with spyware, virus and other protections.
• Consider placing a credit freeze on your credit report or your child’s credit report if you know you won’t be using credit for some time. Child ID theft is on the rise because thieves know you and your kid aren’t likely to check the child’s credit report for some time due to a lack of credit use. Check your state’s “credit freeze” law. The cost may be nominal or free. The three credit reporting agencies offer the service for a fee.
• If you are an ID theft victim, report it to the police, affected accounts, and call any one of the three credit bureaus to have a fraud alert placed on your account to prevent future infractions as you sort out the mess. Contact one bureau to place a fraud alert on your credit report and that company is required to notify the other two so that they too can place an alert on their versions of your report.

Types of Mortgages (Fixed VS. ARM)

Decide what type of loan is right for you

Before you even start looking for a lender, you have to know what type of loan you are looking for. There are two basic types: fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages, known as ARMs.With a fixed-rate loan, the basic monthly payment — interest and principal, not counting taxes, insurance or any assessments — stays the same for as long as you have the loan. With an ARM, the interest rate can change. When and how it changes will depend upon the type and length of the ARM you have. There are one-year ARMs, where the interest rate stays the same for the first year, and then changes based on where the index rate is on the date it changes. There are three-year ARMs, five-year ARMs and so on.The charm of an ARM is that the initial interest rate is usually lower than a 30-year loan.In general terms, one of the main factors you should think about when looking at a mortgage is how long you can reasonably expect to stay in a house. If you know you will be transferred in two years, then a two- or three-year ARM makes sense, since you’ll be buying a new home at whatever the interest rate will be at that point, no matter what interest rate you pay now. If you plan on being there for the long haul, a fixed-rate loan is your best bet.There are a couple of mortgages that deserve special attention because they can be very dangerous … which, in mortgage terms, means expensive. You should stay away from:Option ARMs. Buying a loan with four different payment options seems like a great idea. But if you make the “minimum payment” every month — which many borrowers do — you’ll actually be adding to your debt, not paying it down.

2/28 or 3/27 adjustable-rate mortgages. The dangerous and expensive loans forced many subprime borrowers into default or foreclosure and are too costly to work.

And think hard, before taking out a:

Forty- or 50-year loan. By spreading the loan over four or five decades you’ll pay tens of thousands of dollars in additional interest, build equity very slowly, and lower your monthly payments surprisingly little.

Interest-only loan. These also appear “cheaper” because all you are paying is the interest. The interest, in many cases, however, can fluctuate from month-to-month. And regardless of what it does, you are not reducing the principal unless you have the discipline and income to make extra payments.

Jumbo loan. Before borrowing $417,000 or more you should ask yourself if you can really afford to pay $3,000 or more, month after month, for a house. If you become ill or lose your job, do you have enough money saved to keep up with the payments? Did we mention that you’ll pay a higher interest rate for a jumbo loan, too?

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South Lake Subdivision in Fuquay-Varina

South Lakes is Fuquay-Varina’s first master planned community, from the award winning developer of Highcroft, Cameron Pond, Madison Place at Carpenter Village, The Hamptons at Preston, Pemberley, Wayman Park, Greythorne, and Weycroft. South Lakes combines small town charm with all of the amenities of today’s active lifestyle. In a natural setting of unparalleled beauty, South Lakes is situated amid 5 stocked lakes and 120 acres of open space and green-ways. And while everything about South Lakes will make you feel it’s a world away, the community is located only 15 miles from downtown Raleigh (on US401)

South Lakes is created by one of the most successful development companies in Triangle. Impact Properties Group created Cameron Pond community in 2006 which was name “Community of the Year” for North Carolina.

Check out the video of the community

For more information on South Lakes, the floor plans, availability of inventory homes, Prices, or any other questions, please visit my website at www.deepbrar.com . You may also contact me via e-mail or phone.