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Closing costs are typically 2 to 5 percent of the sale price of a house. If you struggled to come up with money for a down payment, having to find thousands of dollars more may seem impossible. With some types of mortgages, the buyer must pay the closing costs, or at least a percentage. In many cases, however, the lender doesnt care who pays those fees. Sometimes a seller is willing to pay some or all of the closing costs.

Why Would a Seller Agree to Pay Closing Costs?
A seller and real estate agent set an asking price anticipating that a buyer will want to negotiate a lower sale price. If you offered to pay the full list price and asked the seller to cover the closing costs, the seller could still come out ahead financially in the end.

Sometimes sellers are in no rush to move, but in other cases they have a strict deadline; for example, if they need to start a new job. A seller may have already bought a new house and may be eager to sell the old one to avoid having to pay two mortgages at once. A homeowner who is motivated to sell quickly may be willing to negotiate to speed the process along. If you have been pre-approved for a mortgage and you offered to close quickly, the seller might agree to pay your closing costs.

An inspection is a routine part of a home sale. When an inspector notices a number of problems, a buyer often demands that the seller have them fixed before proceeding with a purchase. A seller may be willing to cover your closing costs if you dont require a lot of repairs. Just dont let problems that pose a safety hazard slide. Require the seller to fix those before you agree to buy the house.

Will the Seller Cover All Your Closing Costs?
Your mortgage lender may limit how much the seller gives you as a closing cost credit. The lender wont allow the seller to give you a credit greater than the actual amount of the closing costs.

If the seller cant or wont pay all your closing costs, you might be able to work out a split or a reduction in the down payment or earnest money. Another option is to ask the seller to lower the sales price, which would in turn lower the closing costs.

Explore Your Options
Many people, especially first-time homebuyers, struggle to find money for closing costs and are unaware that having the seller cover some or all of those costs is even a possibility. Not all sellers are willing or able to pay closing costs, but many are. You wont know unless you ask. Discuss the issue with your real estate agent.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

We all want our homes to be as healthy a living environment as possible, and for todays luxury homeowners, wellness features continue to be among the most sought-after. Home gyms and amenities that rival a 5-star spa are certainly on the rise in an effort to promote physical and mental wellbeing, but one characteristic that cant be overlooked is indoor air quality, especially for urban dwellers. These days, you can purchase freestanding air purifiers that come in sleek designs or integrate a whole-house purifier into your HVAC system. If you dont currently have one in your home, here are four reasons you may want to consider adding an air purifier.

Air Pollution
Air purifiers can significantly reduce airborne pollutants that find their way into your living space and are unsafe to breathe in. Whether you have a new carpet that may be emitting toxic chemicals, or you live in a city and are worried about harmful emissions affecting your indoor air quality, youre better off playing it safe by filtering your air.

Pets
As much as we love our furry friends, they can wreak havoc on the air in our homes. For starters, they leave fur and dander throughout the house that gets stirred up and can lead to itchy eyes and a runny nose for anyone who suffers from allergies. Additionally, nobody wants their house to smell like pets and a purifier will help to remove any dander and unwanted odors to keep your living environment fresh.

Pollen and Dust
If you suffer from hay fever each allergy season or feel like theres always dust floating around your home no matter how often it gets cleaned, then an air purifier could be a lifesaver. Todays state-of-the-art systems are an effective solution for eliminating pollen and dust particles throughout your dwelling.

Viruses and Bacteria
With flu season right around the corner, an air purifier is the perfect way to combat germs that cause colds and viruses. Its especially important to circulate fresh air in the winter months, when we tend to keep the windows shut and the air in our homes becomes stagnant. If you want to keep feeling your best all year long, purifying the air in your home is essential.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If youre the type who likes to get hands-on with the interior design process in your home, then you know that finding just the right upholstery fabric can be both incredibly exciting and surprisingly difficult. Whether its for the entire couch in the living room or just a few throw pillows in the bedroom, there are plenty of considerations to take into account before settling on the perfect fabric. Here are a few tips to help find the right choice for each room in the house.

Style and Aesthetic
Of course, the first thing we look to when picking out new upholstery is the visual aspect. How will it complement the rest of the room? Will it make this piece of furniture the new focal point or will it blend in with its surroundings? From solid colors to vibrant patterns and prints, the hardest part is usually narrowing it down to a fabric that suits your design aesthetic.

Durability
There are certain parts of the home that receive more wear and tear than the rest. In these particular spaces you may want to opt for a performance fabric. These days, there are plenty of luxurious options that can withstand whatever your children and pets throw at it. A stain-resistant fabric is also ideal for entertaining areas because theres nothing worse than when someone spills a glass of red wine at a party.

Care and Cleaning
Since not all fabrics are created equal, youll want to take note of any particular cleaning instructions before making a decision. Some fabrics might simply need to be vacuumed occasionally while others could require using a specific cleaner or brush regularly to keep it looking its best. If the fabric is not resistant to UV-fading, then try to make sure its out of the sunlight for most of the day.

Tactile Experience
While some people prioritize a fabric that looks luxurious, for others its even more important that it feels luxurious. Whether its a silky satin or a plush velvet, your furniture should be finished with a material thats comfortable when sitting or lying down on it.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Painting a room yourself can be a hassle if you dont know how to do it and dont take steps to avoid problems. Here are some tips to make things go as smoothly as possible.

Choose the Right Paint and Gather Supplies
Start by deciding which color(s) to use. Get samples from a local home improvement store so you can see them in the room and hold them up against your furniture. Think about how the room would look at different times of day with different lighting.

Some brands sell products that contain both paint and primer. The brand of paint, the type of primer you use (if any), the new color and the color youre covering will all affect the amount of paint youll need. Ask an employee for help if you arent sure how much to buy.

Gather essential supplies, including paint, paintbrushes, rollers with extension poles, a paint tray, drop cloths, rags, painters tape and a putty knife. Some brushes and rollers work better with certain types of paint”ask which kinds you should buy. If the room has high ceilings, you may need a ladder for areas that you cant reach with a roller extension pole.

Focus on Prep Work
Wear clothes that you dont mind getting paint on. Try to avoid painting on a rainy or humid day since the paint will take longer to dry. Open windows and use fans to ventilate the house.

If possible, move all the furniture to another room before you start painting. If thats not an option, move the furniture to the center of the room and cover it with drop cloths or lightweight plastic. Cover the floor as well.

Remove any cobwebs and wash the walls before you get started. Use painters tape to cover molding and window and door casings. Remove covers from outlets and light switches and use painters tape to protect them from stray paint. Use a putty knife, if necessary, to create a tight seal.

Follow the Right Process
Use a wooden paint stick to stir the paint before you begin painting and several times later. If youre using multiple cans of paint, pour them into a bucket and stir them together in case the cans have slightly different colors.

Start at the ceiling and work your way down. When using a roller, paint in a W pattern to get broad coverage and to avoid roller marks. If youre going to paint one wall a different color to serve as a focal point, paint the lighter walls first, let them dry, then apply painters tape before you paint the accent wall. Before painting the trim, remove the painters tape, let the walls dry, then place painters tape along the walls.

Set Aside Plenty of Time
Painting a room isnt difficult, but its often time-consuming. Give yourself time to move furniture, apply painters tape and paint”plus time for the paint to dry. Dont be surprised if the project takes longer than you anticipated.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If youre house hunting and find a great deal on an older home that youre ready to jump on, just remember that in addition to having more problems to deal with than a newer house, the energy efficiency in the home is probably going to be something less than ideal.

After all, though an older home will have some nuances and design characteristics that a newly constructed home will not, chances are that unless there have been some major upgrades since being built, its energy efficiency rating will be nowhere near that of a new home.

But people will argue correctly that its easier to make changes on these sort of eco-friendly elements on an older house than it would be for a new home to get the charm of an older house.

If youve pulled the trigger on buying an older home, here are some things that you should be doing to ensure your energy efficiency improves.

First, have an energy audit conducted or check with your utility company to see if they are offered for free”and many are. A professional will analyze the home and recommend a set of measures to improve energy performance. This will help guide you into finding the areas of your home that are most vulnerable to energy inefficiency.

Upgrading appliances is always an easy solution and there are plenty of energy efficient refrigerators, dishwashers or washers and dryers out there that you can buy reasonably. Many stores have no-money-down deals and no interest rates, so you can buy these when first moving in and not have to worry about immediate payments.

Changing out windows can be a costly endeavor, so if you dont want to install energy-efficient windows, a smart alternative is to use interior window Low-E (low-emissivity) films. Energy films block 97 percent of UV rays and 70 percent of thermal infrared light. This will help keep heat gain from getting in during the summer months and retain warmth better in the winter.

Insulating the house better is something thats not too hard to do and can be relatively inexpensive. You can most likely do this yourself with some friends by following along to a DIY YouTube video. Keep in mind, older houses usually have insulation lacking in attics, crawl spaces, basements, heating and cooling ducts and around water pipes.

Additionally, cover the water heater with an insulated water heater blanket so the heater retains more heat and consumes less energy to heat the water.

Next, buy some ceiling fans as they are great for an old home. In the summer, one should use the fan in a counter-clockwise direction so that when you stand directly under the fan, you will feel a cool breeze. In the winter, one should reverse the motor and operate the ceiling fan at low speed in the clockwise direction to produce a gentle updraft, which forces warm air near the ceiling down into the occupied space.

Published with permission from RISMedia.