For Millenials, Gen z-ers, and beyond, the prospect of purchasing their first property is far scarier and seemingly unattainable than in previous generations. In the past, real estate was still a major purchase, but a typical household in which the father had a full-time job and the mother stayed at home had sufficient income to buy a home and raise a family.

In today’s reality, even with a dual income, couples are scraping by if able to buy a home at all. As a result, many of today’s young families are relegated to renting or squeezing into a condominium. The prospect of finding a real estate deal within their budget isn’t seriously entertained.

Unlike other industries, most people think there’s no such thing as a serious deal in real estate. But for those with good credit and solid employment that are just shy of affording a home, there is still hope!

Be diligent, follow these tips and if you’re patient, you will be able to finally make your dreams of homeownership come true.

1. For Sale By Owner

When homes are for sale by owner, you can get really lucky and find a listing that’s below market value because the seller accounts for savings on agents fees. Additionally, they are generally much more willing to negotiate, enabling you to explore terms with them to meet your budget. The trick is finding these real estate listings. The best way to be the first one with your foot in the door is by going to the big real estate websites, like Trulia and Zillow, and setting alerts for whenever a ‘for sale by owner’ property comes on the market in a desirable area.

2. Rehab Loan

A lot of young buyers could swing purchasing a home, but often what they can afford is undesirable. Understandably, they’d often prefer biding their time in a non-committal rental unit than buying an old run-down home they can’t afford to front the cash to renovate. Luckily there’s a type of loan you can apply for that allows you to incorporate renovation costs. This gives you the opportunity to hunt down great real estate bargains without having to worry about the quality of your home in the short term.

3. Foreclosures

Banks focus on money management, not property management. For this reason, in the unfortunate scenarios when peoples homes get foreclosed on, banks are willing to give significant discounts just to unload the property. However, with foreclosures, they’re a mixed bag, there are a lot of run-down properties with issues the previous owners probably couldn’t afford to fix. Work with an experienced agent and make sure you have a thorough inspection conducted so you know exactly where you stand. As mentioned in number 2, rehab loans are a great way to make a foreclosed property a viable option.

Whether you want to save the environment, or you just want to save money on your electrical bill, you probably turn off certain appliances and electrical products before you leave for work or go to bed. But you might not actually be saving as much as you think. 

In fact, 10% of residential electricity in the US is used by various products that have been turned off, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL). Their study showed that certain electronics like your TV, microwave, and air conditioner don’t actually stop using energy when you turn them off. Instead, many products and appliances go into what is known as “standby mode,” which means they cannot be completely switched off unless they are unplugged. 

Here are the biggest “energy vampires” in your home, and how much energy they use when they are turned off, according to the LBNL’s research. 

Television

One reason your TV is always using a small amount of energy is to be able to receive a signal from a remote control. When a television with rear projection is turned on it uses around 186 Watts, but when it is off it uses an average of 7W to as much as 49W. 

That means a person who leaves their TV off (but plugged in) for 1 year, uses as much as 425kWh, which would have the same greenhouse gas emissions as driving a car for 735 miles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Cable Box

If you’ve ever turned off your cable box before a long trip to save power, you might have been wasting your energy. The average set-top cable box uses around 18W when it’s off, while a cable box with DVR uses an average of 44W when it’s turned off. 

If you have more than one TV that uses DVR, you can save energy by requesting a multi-room box that allows you to use the same DVR throughout the house. 

Computer

Turning a computer off saves a lot of energy. When they are on, the average desktop computer consumes 74W, while turning it off only uses 3W. But if you don’t like to shut your computer down too often, putting it in sleep only uses 21W. 

Computer monitors can also use a lot of energy when they are on (65W for CRT, 28W for LCD), but their consumption also goes way down they are in sleep mode (12W for CRT, 1W LCD) and it’s near-zero when they are off. That means you can save a lot simply by setting your computer to go to sleep after being inactive for a certain length of time. 

Note: Sleep mode is not the same as a screensaver, which does not save any more energy than having the computer on. 

Game Consoles

The average game console uses 27W when someone is playing a game, and 23W when it’s off but ready. That might be why a Carnegie Mellon University study found that approximately 1 % of US residential electricity consumption comes from game consoles. 

According to the study, the most energy-efficient game system at the time was the Nintendo Wii, but the reason for that was because: “they are used one-third as much as the other consoles and have very low power consumption in active mode.”

Find Your Biggest Energy Hogs

There are many other devices, appliances, and products that the average person has plugged in and forgot about. You can find out which devices are energy hogs when they’re turned off with an electricity usage monitor. All you have to do is plug the monitor into the wall and then plug your device into the monitor. It will tell you how much power is being used by the device when it’s on or off, and some of them even tell you how much it costs to keep the device plugged in. 

Solutions

One way you can make things easier is by plugging several energy vampires into a power strip, which will allow you to turn several products off at once. However, you have to remember to turn the power strip off every time. Plus, when you turn this power strip on, all the devices will enter standby mode. To make things as easy as possible, you can get a smart power strip that will cut the power to an outlet when the device goes into standby mode. 

All pet owners know that a pet isn’t just a fixture, they’re a part of the family. And just like any other member of the family, they require a lot of care. When we say ‘pets’ we’re not referring to goldfish, but dogs and cats. Like humans, in order to have a healthy existence, pets require attention and affection. The lengths pet owners often go to ensure their pets have everything they need and more is astounding, but oftentimes they neglect to account for them when house hunting.

When house hunting, especially in competitive markets, finding an ideal house can be very challenging. Finding a layout you like on a nice property in an ideal neighborhood that’s in a good school district, in addition to many other factors, is not easy. Buyers tend to pounce on the first opportunity they get, often neglecting the needs of their pets.

A pet-friendly environment is an essential aspect of a successful home purchase. The last thing you want is a stressed pet when acclimating to your new stomping ground. A home or neighborhood that is not conducive to your pet’s contentment will compromise your contentment.

1. Community Pet Standards

Not all communities are pet friendly, in fact, some even have by-laws regarding pets. Before purchasing a home, ensure that you meet all the criteria and aren’t stuck in a situation where you’re in a community that doesn’t allow pets or places a restriction on how many you can have. Certain communities also have breed restrictions on dogs that are perceived as more aggressive.

2. Backyard & Neighbourhood Parks

If you have medium to large breed dogs or outdoor cats, they’re going to need plenty of room to roam. It’s suggested that larger dogs be walked for 1 hour a day. Having a yard large enough for them to stretch out is a start, but proximity to parks is essential. Also, take a look at the type of park, some parks are more pet friendly than others with designated off-leash areas and other pet-friendly perks.

3. Flooring

The ideal flooring for your pets is resistant to scratching, allows your pet some traction, is comfortable, and easy to clean. Make sure the flooring on a prospective home is suitable or contemplate if you are willing to upgrade it. If upgrading, speak to a flooring expert about the best options to meet those criteria and from there it depends on what your preferred style is. Carpeting, for example, is great for comfort and traction but is difficult to clean and will get torn up. Hardwood is easy to clean, but your pet will be slipping all over the place and scratching up your floor.

4. Stairs

Stairs can be a hazard to pets, a slip can result in a devastating injury to your fur baby. No matter what type of flooring you have, if your stairs aren’t carpeted, consider installing a stair runner so that your pet can get proper traction when ascending or descending the stairs.