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A laundry room is one of the most frequently used areas in a home. Whether you live alone or house a family of five, this space can easily get out of control and become cluttered and messy, making it harder to maneuver baskets, mixing clean and dirty clothes and impairing overall productivity.

By following these steps, your laundry room can become a more functional space where you can clean, fold, organize and truly enjoy your clothes:

Maximize Storage Space
Whether the room is large or small, adding a shelf, cabinet, drawers or an entire organization system is a great start to improving functionality. Use this space to safely store detergent and other cleaning chemicals, as well as dryer sheets, irons and other tools so you can keep the tops of your machines clear and reduce any risks, especially to children and pets. If you have extra cabinets, utilize them for storing seasonal linens, guest towels and more.

Add a Folding Station
Forget carrying clean clothes around the house, bundled up in a wrinkle-inducing pile in a basket. Create an area in your laundry room where you can fold. From a simple table or countertop, to utilizing the space on top of a font-loader, to a mounted shelf that folds out when needed, you have many options to add this functional piece to your space.

Dont Forget the Hangers
For garments that you prefer to be hung and not folded, adding hangers to your laundry room is key. Thankfully, hanging clothes doesnt take up too much room. Add hanging rods under high cabinets, a mounted, fold-out drying rack, or even simple hooks on the back of the door toutilize vertical space.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Buyers agents need to be competitive to attract clients. In many cases, an agent will offer a client a rebate, or a refund of part of the agents commission. Agents also sometimes offer non-cash incentives, such as gift certificates for home inspections or moving services, to bring in business.

Why Do Some Agents Offer Rebates?
Buyers agents may offer a portion of their commission as a rebate because they use technology to operate efficiently and keep their operating costs low. They may be willing to pass some of those savings on to their clients to attract more business since they can more than make up for the lost commissions through higher volume. In a competitive buyers market, or in a market with high home prices, agents may feel comfortable offering rebates since they can still earn a substantial profit. While some agents consider rebates an effective way to attract clients, others believe rebates devalue their services.

How Do Rebates Work?
Buyers agent commissions are negotiable, and in most states its legal for agents to offer rebates. Rebates are usually capped at 1 percent of the purchase price. Since a commission rebate is considered a price adjustment, in most cases the value of the rebate isnt taxed.

You might use the money from a rebate to lower closing costs, to make some upgrades to your new home, to beef up your emergency fund or to cover part of the down payment. If you took out a mortgage to buy a home, your lender would have to approve of the way you decided to use rebate money. In many cases, a lender wont allow a buyer to take cash at closing.

A rebate could let you buy a more expensive house than you would otherwise be able to afford. In a sellers market, that could allow you to make a competitive offer and increase your chance of getting the house you want.

How Can a Homebuyer Find an Agent Who Offers Rebates?
You can try to negotiate with a specific agent one on one, but an easier option is to explore online services that have identified agents across the country who offer rebates. If you go through such a service, youll be able to read agents reviews and speak to several so you can choose the one who is best for you, and you wont have to negotiate a rebate yourself.

In a sellers market with low inventory, it may be difficult to find a house that suits your needs. That means your agent will have to do a lot of work. An agent may be more amenable to offering a rebate under those circumstances if you have already been pre-approved for a mortgage and have narrowed down your home search.

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If youre planning to buy a house, you can choose a conventional mortgage or one insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Its important to understand the requirements for each to make the right decision.

Primary Differences Between Conventional and FHA Loans
FHA loans are serviced by private mortgage lenders and insured by the FHA. Conventional loans are not insured by the federal government.

FHA and conventional lenders limit loan amounts based on location. An FHA mortgage can only be used to buy a primary residence. A conventional loan can be used to buy a house for any purpose. To qualify for an FHA mortgage, the property would need to be appraised to determine its value and to make sure its safe and conforms with local building codes.

If you had a credit score of 580 or higher and you took out an FHA loan, you would have to put down at least 3.5 percent of the purchase price. If your credit score was between 500 and 579, you might be able to get an FHA mortgage with 10 percent down.

To qualify for a conventional loan, you would most likely need a credit score of at least 620, although exact requirements vary by lender. With a conventional loan, you might be able to put down just 3 percent, but you would need a higher credit score. If you had a low credit score, you would most likely have to pay a higher interest rate.

To get an FHA mortgage, your debt-to-income ratio (the percentage of your pre-tax income that you spend to pay your debts each month) could be no more than 50 percent. You might be able to get a conventional loan with a DTI ratio that high, but most conventional lenders want a ratio of 43 percent or less.

Mortgage insurance compensates a lender if a borrower defaults on a loan. With a conventional loan, you would have to obtain private mortgage insurance if you put down less than 20 percent and pay for it until you reached 20 percent equity. With an FHA mortgage, you would have to purchase mortgage insurance no matter how much you put down and continue to pay for it as long as you had the loan if you put down less than 10 percent.

Mortgage insurance premiums for an FHA loan are the same regardless of credit score, but with a conventional loan, a higher credit score means lower PMI premiums. Either way, the amount of your mortgage insurance premiums would be based in part on the amount you put down.

You might be able to eliminate mortgage insurance by refinancing an FHA loan. The FHA Streamline Refinance is much simpler than the process to refinance a conventional loan.

Get Expert Advice
The type of mortgage you choose will affect the amount you pay each month for years to come. Talk to a mortgage professional about your financial situation to decide whether to apply for a conventional or FHA mortgage.

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If youre in the market for a new home, you should consider potential heating and cooling costs. Most people know that the types of windows and the amount of insulation can affect utility bills but dont realize that the orientation of a house with respect to the sun can, too.

How Orientation Can Affect Energy Bills
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. At mid-day, the sun is at a lower angle during the winter and at a higher angle in the summer.

To make the best use of the position of the sun, a house should be built on an east-west axis in a rectangular shape with the east and west sides shorter than the north and south ends. The house should be oriented within 15 degrees of due east-west.

Orienting a house toward the sun can have a significant impact on heating bills in regions with cold winters. Since the south side of a house will receive the most warmth from the sun in the winter and the most natural light year-round, the main living areas should be positioned on the south side of the house. Parts of the house that arent used as much, such as the garage and laundry room, should be located on the shorter ends to provide a buffer to protect the main living areas from cold temperatures and wind.

If the long, front side of a house is facing within 20 degrees of true south, windows on that side can allow plenty of sunlight and heat into the house during the winter. If the angle is more than 20 degrees, the house may get too much heat in the summer and not enough in the winter.

South-facing walls should have at least 50 percent more combined window area than the east and west walls. Since windows on the east and west sides of a house will get little solar heat in the winter and a lot of heat in the summer, home builders often limit the number of windows on those sides.

The orientation of a house can allow you to take advantage of wind. If you live in a hot and humid area, breezes can keep the interior cool. In a hot and dry region, a house can be oriented to keep hot winds out.

The natural landscape can also affect utility costs. Deciduous trees can provide shade to keep a house from getting too hot in the summer. When the trees lose their leaves in the fall, they will allow the home to receive plenty of natural light in the winter. Hills and evergreen trees can block cold winter winds.

Talk to Your Real Estate Agent about a Homes Orientation
Many people are unaware of how much of an impact the orientation of a house can have on heating and cooling costs. If you are planning to buy a home, be sure to ask about its orientation and consider its possible effects on your utility bills.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

While its always a good idea to give your home a little TLC this time of year, thats especially true if youre planning to put it on the market soon. Here are a few tips to help you with a thorough spring cleaning that will leave your home looking its best.

Declutter and Donate
One of the most important first steps is to tackle all of the clutter throughout your home, and a good way to do so is to have everyone make a donation pile. Anything thats no longer being used can certainly be appreciated by another family, from old toys that the kids arent playing with anymore to clothes that have been outgrown. Youll feel good about helping others while also making your home more organized.

Window Washing
Its always a good idea to have your windows professionally cleaned at least once a year and the spring is an ideal time to have them scrubbed inside and out. You might not even realize that dirt and smudges have accumulated over the course of the year, but youll notice the difference when your crystal-clear views are on full display.

Landscape Clean-Up
Whether you make a family activity out of it or call in professionals, a landscape clean-up is likely in order because weeds, leaves and other unwanted debris has a way of collecting in the backyard during the winter. A fresh layer of mulch and pruning trees, shrubs and hedges will go a long way toward beautifying your grounds.

Outdoor Furniture
After being cooped up indoors all winter, everyone can look forward to getting back outside. Thankfully, its time to brush off your outdoor furniture and take it out of storage or try revamping your backyard with a new set of loungers and dining table for al fresco entertaining.

Fresh Coat of Paint
Calling in the painters to do some touch-ups around the home can make all the difference. If youre the type who likes keeping everything in tip-top shape, a fresh coat is always a surefire way to remove the general wear and tear that shows up over the course of the year.

Published with permission from RISMedia.