Tuesday Tidbits: First-Time Homebuyer Tips

Here at DCAR, we want to make your jobs easier. That’s why we’ve started up our Tuesday Tidbits series, a weekly email that will provide you with a useful, relevant piece of information that will hopefully come in handy as you work. If you missed any of the previous editions, those are archived here.

Much of the information we use in these emails comes from the National Association of REALTORS^® resources RealtorMag and HouseLogic. We encourage you to browse through their content for other useful tips.

First-Time Buyers Beware!

Buying a home for the first time is exciting, but it’s also scary. The possibilities are endless, but so are the mistakes. Make sure your client doesn’t ruin their new investment with one of these common mistakes.

Your Buyers Just Got Their New Home! Now What?

There are a million different things a homeowner can do to hurt the value of his or her home, and some of those mistakes will inevitably be made at one point or another. But we’d like to provide you with a list of some common mistakes that you can pass onto your clients in hopes that they can save themselves some trouble. There are additional tips at the link provided at the bottom of this email.

Note: This list pairs nicely with our Tuesday Tidbits from August about what to do when moving into a new home. You can find that list here.

1. Go easy on the bleach: Bleach is a fine cleaning product for certain things, but it can also have devastating long-term effects on grout, laminate and linoleum. A better option? Simple water and vinegar.
2. Avoid the ivy: Ivy growing on the brick walls can be an elegant touch for a home. But here’s the thing: “Anything that climbs on the house will damage it.” Tell your buyers to leave the plants on the ground and off the home, the gutters and drain pipes will thank you.
3. Don’t over-mulch: When you’ve finally got your own house, you want to make it stand out, but going overboard on the mulch can actually suffocate the plants.
4. Keep the firewood away from the house: This is an all-too common mistake. Make sure your buyers aren’t stacking the wood for their new fireplace against the wall, otherwise they might be inviting a bunch of new pets into their home — but termites don’t make very good pets.

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Help us help you!

Have an idea for a Tuesday Tidbits subject? Looking for help on a particular topic? Send an email to bfrantz@dcrealtors.org with your input and you might see it in a future Tuesday Tidbits email.

The information expressed herein is intended to serve as a general resource guide for the members of the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS^® and is subject to change. While the District of Columbia Association of REALTORS^® strives to make the information in this email as timely and accurate as possible, the Association makes no claims or guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and expressly disclaims liability for any errors and omissions. This information should not be taken as legal counsel.