JUNE 3, 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 23
RE WEEKLY RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE • FARM • COMMERCIAL • AREA DEVELOPMENT 515-233-3299 • 317 5th Street, Ames • All REALTOR® ads within are REALTORS® licensed in the State of Iowa
Online at www.AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly
Page RE2 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, June 3, 2020
HOME HELP HOMEBUYING
DECORATING TIP
GARDENING
DON’T PUT ALL YOUR MONEY INTO A DOWN PAYMENT
DON’T LET ENERGETIC PATTERNS INTERRUPT YOUR RELAXATION
SEEDS VS SEEDLINGS
If you empty your savings to pay a large down payment, you risk not being able to cover other expenses, such as closing costs and home maintenance/improvement costs. Closing costs can sometimes be rolled up into a mortgage, but this will result in more interest paid.
During stressful times, your home should be a refuge. A relaxing place you don’t’ mind spending a lot of time. When redesigning, get rid of overwhelming patterned textiles that prevent relaxation.
According to CNET, “you might also need money for moving costs or home improvements. If you want to paint the walls or get a new closet system installed before move-in, you’ll need to pay for those upgrades. Putting all your money into your down payment means you could end up ‘house poor,’ which is when you put all your money into mortgage-related costs and you don’t have money left for anything else. You can avoid becoming house poor by finding a home that’s within your budget and saving enough money that’s separate from other home expenses.
In Insider, interior designer Sarah Barnard suggests that “energetic patterns may be distracting and can hinder sleep and relaxation,” while “solid textiles, on the other hand, keep from overloading the eyes.”
Before planting, don’t be swayed entirely by the cheap price of seeds. Sometimes planting seedlings is the smarter choice. “Consider the length of your growing season and the needs of the young plants,” advises BobVilla.com. “Transplanting seedlings gives immediate impact and, with such plants as petunias and pansies, you’ll be able to forgo the equipment, indoor space and labor required when starting from seeds. It also makes sense to buy seedlings of plants that take a long time to mature, such as tomatoes, or for small delicate species like cabbage, which need special protection early on.” For quick-growing plants, such as beans and sweet corn, it makes less sense to spend money on seedlings. Additionally, many heirloom plants are only available as seeds. More Content Now
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DEAR MONTY Can a for-sale-by-owner pay a commission to an agent for finding the buyer?
R
RICHARD MONTGOMERY eader question: My house is
for-sale-by-owner. I want to avoid the commission. I have people coming to see the house, but it has been almost three weeks, and none of them have come forward yet with an offer. I got a call from an agent who
wants to show the house but wants to know if I will pay the buyer’s commission. For all I know, the customer may be someone to whom I have already shown the house. I have had agents call to list the home, but this is the first one who wants to show the house. Can I do this? And if I can, should I do this? Monty’s answer: You can pay the agent’s broker. If the agent is suggesting that you pay them directly, it may be evidence of a dishonest agent, unless the agent is the broker. If you decide to cooperate and ask for clarification on whom to pay, and the agent clarifies by apologizing and stating they meant the broker, it sounds like just a poor choice of words initially. If the agent is not the broker and suggests you pay him
directly, you may want to reconsider. What should you pay the broker? As a for-sale-by-owner (FSBO), you are in charge, as long as what you decide to do is not illegal. You can do whatever you choose because, currently, you have no contract with a broker. Because your home is not in the MLS, the agent will have to negotiate with you for the fee. The agent is used to the MLS split, and will likely ask for that percentage. They may negotiate from the stated co-broker split in the MLS because of their fear if they cannot reach an agreement with you, the buyer will want to see the house with or without them. Why should this matter to you? Consider: What exactly are the responsibilities the agent is going to take on? Is it just an
introduction? Will they write the contract? On whose behalf will they negotiate, or are they a transactional agent (one who takes no position)? Will they handle the closing? Negotiate the fee based on the responsibility they are accepting. There is a high likelihood the prospect that wants to see your home is already aware of it. You could ask for exceptions if you know the names of the people who have toured your home. Still, if they have aligned with a real estate agent, their actions suggest that they chose instead not to negotiate directly with you. Richard Montgomery is a real estate industry veteran who offers readers unbiased real estate advice. Find him at DearMonty.com.
R E A L E S T A T E W E E K L Y • W e d n e s d a y , J u n e 3 , 2 0 2 0 • PP aaggee RREE55
Happily growing
together
Incorporate edible landscaping into your garden
By Carole McCray More Content Now
E
dible landscaping can be practiced in several ways. On a small scale, window boxes, containers and hanging baskets are some methods for growing ornamentals and edibles together. Raised beds and planting in the ground are not to be overlooked if space is available. Keep in mind when planting that all your plants should meet the same requirements for sun or shade. For example, if you are growing plants that can take full sun, the other plants you put in with them also need to be able to handle full sun. The same applies if you place plants in the shade. Edible landscaping can also be thought of as what is called “companion planting.” Many gardeners utilize companion planting when they plant different plants close to one another that benefit each other. Planting ornamentals with edibles can attract beneficial insects to the garden that wards off pests and curbs plant disease. Some suggestions for planting ornamentals with edibles: • Lavender is an excellent companion plant with roses in a border planting. • In a sunny garden plot, team red sweet peppers with a colorful mix of zinnias. • Do a duet in the sun of golden sunflowers and tomatoes. • In a container, shades of pink, blue
and white lobelia and Swiss Chard can brighten a shaded perennial bed. A mix of ruffled leaf lettuce and ruffled flowers on petunias complement one another in a container set in the shade. • Vibrant orange and yellow nasturtiums and a mix of colorful peppers and chilies liven up a container garden in full sun. • Small-sized plants such as cherry tomatoes, sweet basil and golden yellow dwarf marigolds become a mini edible garden in a hanging basket or a window box located in full sun. Today’s vegetables come in a myriad of colors. You will see purple-veined kale with dark blue leaves, tomatoes with stripes, blue-skinned watermelons and if you like purple in the garden, try purple radishes, shocking purple broccoli florets on dark green stems, and then there is purple cauliflower. So there is no shortage of selections for mixing your favorite flowering ornamentals with colorful edible plants and for enjoying the best of both worlds of gardening.
Top right: Purple broccoli florets. Above: Kale and marigolds in a raised bed. Left: Spinach, pansies and begonias harmonious in a container garden. [NATIONAL GARDEN BUREAU]
Carole McCray is an award-winning garden writer who has been writing a monthly garden column, The Potting Shed, for regional newspapers for nearly 20 years. Her articles have been published in The Christian Science Monitor Newspaper, Coastal Living Magazine, Cape May Magazine, Growise Garden Guide and Ideals Magazine.
Page RE6 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, June 3, 2020
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PMENT ERCIAL • AREA DEVELO GE • FARM • COMM RESIDENTIAL • ACREA Street, Ames 99 • 317 5th ® licensed in the State of Iowa 515-233-32 are REALTORS ® within All REALTOR ads
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