When it comes to buying their first Staten Island home, many people are unaware of the basic facts of how their mortgage works. A survey by Zillow indicated that more than one third of potential first time homebuyers don’t understand the most fundamental details about their mortgages. This lack of understanding could cost you thousands of dollars, so make sure that you understand your mortgage before you make a serious financial commitment.

Here are a few of the important things that many people don’t know about mortgages and how they work:

Mortgage Rates Can Vary Depending on the Day

Did you know that mortgage rates can change daily? Simply by monitoring the changes in these rates, you could enjoy the benefit of saving a lot of money. Even a…

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Imagine walking into your Staten Island home and turning off the alarm, locking your doors, opening the windows and starting your coffee maker, all with a few taps of your finger on your smart phone? What if you had a home security camera that you could monitor from anywhere and a motion sensor that would send you an email when your kids come home from school? What if you could open your blinds or unlock your home for a visitor, even from halfway around the world?

The technology that powers our home security systems is getting more and more sophisticated and in the future, our homes will be more responsive than we could ever imagine. Rather than a simple line of defense that keeps out burglars, it will be a completely integrated and custom designed…

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The best way to approach the sale of your Staten Island home is to be completely emotionally detached and to handle the sale like any other business transaction. However, this can be difficult to do. A home holds a lot of memories and you will likely have a strong emotional connection to it. These feelings will make you highly biased, can cause you to ignore your home’s flaws and will skew your perception of what the home is worth. It can also make it difficult to make the move on a sale, even when you have a reasonable offer.

Put Away Personal Affects

When you are getting prepared to sell your home, pack up all of your family photographs and put away any personal mementos. Not only will this make the house more appealing when you are showing it to…

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You have found a home and are ready to apply for financing. Your pre-approval amount comes back not as high as you would have expected and at an interest rate significantly above what your friends just got on their loan. This could be because you have an average to poor credit score.

Mortgage lenders base their interest rates on many things, but your credit score plays a large part. Anything between 720 and 850 will typically get you better interest rates. A mediocre score is usually between 660 and 719, and a low score is 659 and under. If you have a lower score than you’d like, below are a few traits for you to follow of people who receive high financial marks.

They don’t max out their cards.

It’s better to keep a low revolving balance on a few…

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One of the important aspects of owning a Staten Island property is having the knowledge of how to keep it maintained to avoid costly repairs and serious damage. Over the years weather and use will wear down both the interior and exterior of your property. If you are able to practice preventative care on your home, then you will prolong the life of all of its systems and components. At least every six months or so, you should be performing an inspection of your property so that you can ensure that it is still functioning properly and safely.

Preventative Home Maintenance

What should you be looking for when it comes to preventative home maintenance? Here are a few of the important pointers to keep in mind:

Pests and Insects

Check your home…

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Paying for the mortgage isn’t the only expense that you will need to consider when you are buying a Staten Island home. There are many other costs that you will have to think about and these can come as a shock if you haven’t planned ahead for them. Some very enthusiastic first-time homeowners will gloss over these costs and later find out that their budget is overwhelmed.

Here are a few of the costs that you should consider when you are becoming a homeowner for the first time.

Moving Costs

Once the home purchase is complete, you will have a whole new wave of additional costs concerned with moving into your new home. You might be able to ask your friends for a favor, but usually you will have to spend some money on a moving company to transport…

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Paying off the mortgage on your [City] Home faster means that you will not only have the satisfaction of owning your own home sooner, you will also have the benefit of paying much less in interest over the years. The faster you pay off your mortgage, the more money you can save, so here are some tips to accelerate your payment.

Pay Bi-Weekly

Did you know that if you take your monthly mortgage payment and divide it into two bi-weekly payments; you will end up making a full extra month of payments every year? You won’t notice the difference, but over the years this will end up saving you thousands in interest.

Put Any Windfall Toward the Mortgage

Was your tax rebate larger than you expected? Have you received an inheritance from your great lost…

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If you’re absolutely sick of looking at the popcorn ceiling of your 1980’s home — it’s time for a change. However, behind the façade of a ceiling is a mess of plumbing, wiring, joists and structural beams, so you have to be careful and creative when updating your home.

Whether you’re dealing with an older home, a tricky duct system or an unfinished basement, below are several ceiling solutions to brighten up the space above your head.

Bring back wood paneling.

The 70’s are making a comeback. If you have a flat or slanted ceiling, wood paneling is easy to affix and can create a cozy cabin-like feel. This works well in living rooms, bedrooms and basements where you want generate a warm, comfortable atmosphere. 

Create an industrial vibe.

If…

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Making a commitment to go green in your home not only helps the environment, but also your wallet. The federal government and New York are offering tax breaks for upgrades made in 2013. So, take an interest in Mother Nature and advantage of the tax incentives by making your home more energy efficient.

 1. Invest in a tankless water heater.

On-demand water heaters heat your shower or washing machine water as needed, so they are not constantly working to keep a large amount of water continually hot. Electric tankless water heaters can sometimes be twice as energy efficient as standard water tank heaters.

 2. Install ceiling fans.

Ceiling fans help circulate the air in a room to make it feel cooler. This reduces the need to turn on appliances…

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Just 2 days to go!

Each year Tom Crimmins Realty participates in the Relay for Life for American Cancer Society. Tom and his staff solicit sponsors as well dig as deep into their own pockets to raise as much money as possible for cancer research. Each year they raise more money than the previous year for this great cause.

Looking to donate or help out. Feel free to contact Tom Crimmins Realty at 718-370-3200 or donate directly at the Tom Crimmins Realty Relay For Life page. It’s a great feeling to give!

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