How To Buy Your First Home

By Carter Phoenix

Have you decided to purchase your first home? It's a very exciting time and can be a tad bit confusing because there are so many things to consider. Preparing yourself with the information that will make the process as smooth as possible is the important first step. Truth be told, if you're a first time home buyer, it can be very confusing to figure out which aspect of it to tackle first.

Many people tend to buy a home simply because they have fallen in love with the way it looks, its layout and the neighborhood that it's in. But that is the wrong way to do it. Sure, appearance and location are important as well but there are plenty more things to consider before you make your final choice. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Knowing how much you can borrow will dictate the price range you'll be shopping for. These days and due to the current state of the economy, very few people can actually afford buying a home outright unless they have inherited a huge sum of money, this can be quite impossible. So think about getting a mortgage. It sounds a little daunting but if you choose the right people to borrow from and get your finances straight, it should be no problem at all.

Getting a mortgage these days is not impossible but you need to have patience and understand there will be a lot of hoops to jump through to make it happen. The amount that your mortgage lender would be willing to lend you totally depends upon your current income, the debts that you have, as well as your savings,how long you have been at the same job and your credit history. Getting pre-approved for a specific loan amount will hasten your buying experience. Doing things that way would make it easier for you to find homes within your price range and avoid spending too much.

The next step is to start the process of searching for a suitable home. Real estate agents are invaluable professional to have on your side for the single largest transaction of your life. Take your time and interview a few different agents to find one that you are comfortable with. You can also use the internet to search for homes without even leaving the comfort of your own home. All of these would provide you with enough options when it comes to houses within your price range.

Once you have found a home that meets your needs in terms of price, size, location and style it's time to make an offer. Your real estate professional can do this for you, however if you're buying a house directly from the owner then this would allow you to make an informal offer to your seller.

So you and your seller have reached an agreement, now it's time to get things on paper, which means getting an official deed of sale. This would state just how much you'll have to pay to buy the house, all the things included in the sale (such as furnishings, outbuildings etc.) and the date when you can move in.

With all that over and done with, all that's really left to do is move in. Buying your first home is daunting and there's no doubt about that. But you needn't be scared because as long as you know and understand everything that comes with buying a home, everything would be just fine. Happy house hunting!

About the Author:

Are you a first time home buyer that doesn't have a clue where to begin? My new guide "How To Buy First Home" reveals the detailed process for buying a home. Even if you are using a real estate agent you should know how to buy a first home so you can spot potential problems up front before it too late.

Advantages of Solar Energy: Accessible for Everybody

By Jim Martin

Learn what the advantages of solar energy are and how can you build solar power system at your home.

Solar energy is derived from the rays of the sun, as is evident from its name itself. Solar energy has numerous benefits for users. However, until recent years, this source of energy could be used only during the day. Presently though, the current technology enables individuals to effectively store and use solar power, even during the night. We would be discussing some of the major benefits of solar energy in this article.

While it has always been customary to depend on the sun for heat and warmth, generation of electricity even during the night provides an added advantage of solar energy. It is pollution-free and eco-friendly in nature, and as such, is one of the most recommended sources of energy. In case the solar energy package has a battery backup or is grid-tied, it can also store the electricity, which then can be used at night. The benefits of solar energy, however, go beyond these factors.

If some amounts of electricity generated in this process remain unutilized, it can be made saleable by moving them to the utility or the grid. No upfront payment is required for this transfer of surplus electric power, and some money can be made out of it. Running costs are extremely low on solar energy, helping the consumers drastically cut down on their expenses on electricity. With no movable parts, the solar panel itself does not have any other additional costs too. Thus, there are three major benefits of using solar energy for generating electricity: a) reducing the electric bills of consumers by large amounts, b) helping users earn some cash by selling surplus amounts of electricity, and c) the extremely eco-friendly nature of solar energy.

Earlier, most of the electricity generation systems used traditional fossil fuel sources. These sources often polluted the air, by releasing gases like sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), mercury and nitrous oxide (NO) in the atmosphere. These gases, apart from polluting the air, acted as some of the main greenhouse gases, that contributed to the significant amounts of global warming. Solar energy does not make use of these gases, and hence is environment-friendly in its nature. Usage of solar energy also helps to avoid harmful acid rains or smog-formation, unlike other energy sources.

Solar power is advantageous, since the supply of raw material (i.e. sunlight) is abundant and renewable, and the solar energy stations can be set up independently as well. Other accessories of the system are also freely available. Solar power stations function noiselessly too - much to the convenience of users. These facilities, hence, make solar energy extremely popular for various purposes. The solar energy systems can be installed at all parts of the world as well. Solar power packages often come complete with battery banks, converters and control panels. Controllers are used to convert modules of power from solar panels to usage of battery. These systems, with their tough trailers, are often used by geologists, when they move in lands, hitherto unexplored, in search of oil and minerals.

In the present day world, the internal combustion engines, and in turn, vehicles that use those engines are facing a crisis. This is chiefly due to the amount of fossil fuel going down, and the rapid hike in oil prices. In this scenario, it is indeed advantageous to make use of solar power. Experiments with solar power based vehicles are on, and the markets have already seen the presence of hybrid cars. According to experts, fossil fuel driven cars would be effectively replaced by entirely replaced by solar power driven vehicles, that too within the foreseeable future. The latter would also prevent the release of the polluting carbon monoxide gas. That would definitely ensure a cleaner, healthier atmosphere.

The usage of solar power systems is gaining wider coverage, and newer forms of solar energy are also coming into existence. The costs of photovoltaic cells are also decreasing, accentuating the advantages of the solar power systems. As a mainstream power source, solar energy is gaining rapidly in popularity, and that too, for widespread fields of usage that were nit using this source before. Experts feel that internal combustion machines are on their way out, taking away with them the poisonous toxins from the air. Thus, the environment becomes cleaner and pollution free.

In view of the manifold benefits of the solar energy packages, they should be adopted by all families. However, certain prior information regarding the ideal way to install a solar energy system needs to be obtained, preferably from a manual. The manual should also have details regarding the availability of the separate parts for the system, free procurement of the batteries, as well as relevant safety measures that should always be followed. Plus, you will need to know the best place for installing the system, as well as the wiring methods in advance. With this information, you can easily use solar energy at your home.

About the Author:

Jim Martin is a researcher, inventor, home energy consultant and author of the best-selling e-book, "Earth 4 Electricity- Renewable Energy Made Easy". To Learn More about Jim Martin's Unique Step By Step Solar and Wind Power System Visit: Earth 4 Electricity. For further information visit: Solar Energy Advantages and Disadvantages .

Digital vs. Traditional Scrapbooking

By Julie Gazaway

Lately there has been more and more attention drawn to digitally scrapbooking instead of scrapbooking the traditional way. There are many reasons why you might want to swap over, if you haven't already, here are 3.

1. Time - Time is very precious, and we all know scrapbooking takes time. So, why not maximize the time you have? If you sat down and figured out how much time it takes to scrapbook, youd be amazed! First, you need to go through all the photos you want to use and edit and print each one. Then you need to go shopping, which is actually the fun part, and pick out all the products you plan on using for the scrapbook album. Then you go home, set it all up and start creating! But, while youre creating, there's endless cutting, gluing, punching out, printing, etc. The list just keeps going. Then for the part we all hate; cleaning up! It always seemed like once I got into my creative groove, it was time to clean up! And since I dont have a room dedicated to scrapbooking, I had to clean up every single time, which used up a good chunk of the time I had for scrapbooking.

Now, let's compare that to digital scrapbooking! You hop on your computer, surf the web for products you want to use and purchase, and immediately have them in your possession through downloads! Next, you add them into your digital scrapbooking program, and you're ready to go. You add you're pictures as you need them, so no need to edit and print before hand! And when you're done, you walk away from the computer! You're clean up time goes from minutes, to a couple seconds! Now that small time slot you had to scrapbook has been used to the max!

2. Convenience - Think back to the last time you scrapbooked. Do you remember sitting at a table with your products all around you, hoping for inspiration? Not to mention all the photos and supplies! I remember feeling so overwhelmed by the mess; I had a hard time being creative!

Compare that to digital scrapbooking. The only supply you need is your computer! You can basically sit anywhere and scrapbook. It doesn't matter. You could be sitting on a plane, squished up against your neighbor and be scrapbooking! Now, that's convenience.

3. Money - This is the main reason I switched to digital scrapbooking. I have commitment issues! I would work on a page and love it! Then days later, I would pull it out, and think, "Thats horrible!" "I hate it!" "What was I thinking?" So, I would throw it out, and start over. I couldn't commit on a theme for a page, let alone an entire scrapbook. Every day I would change my mind, and more money would end up in the trash. So, I started creating my layouts on my computer to save me time and money. I found I liked it a lot better, because if I came back a couple days later and hated it, I could hit delete and be out nothing, except my time. Then I began comparing the cost of having a scrapbook published vs. creating a traditional scrapbook. Here is a brief rundown of my findings:

Traditional (20 page album) $0.60 per background page (that's really good, most cost more) $1.50 in embellishments & extra paper for framing photos (some pages more, some pages less) $15 photo album (once again, that's really good - most cost around $25-$30) $5 in sheet protectors (a box of 20 costs $10, and youd only use 10 pages) $0.50 in photo prints (that's an average of $0.17 per picture and 3 pictures per page) Average of $72 per album (glue, adhesives, scissors, cutters, punches, stamps... and mistakes not included!)

Digital (20 page album published in a hard bound 12x12 book) $7 (Optional purchase of digital scrapbooking products online) $44.00 for book publishing (Quote taken from Shutterfly.com on June 12, 2009) $11.99 Shipping & Handling Average of $62.99 per album. And remember, that album is bound in a hard bound book, where you'll never have to worry about embellishments and photos coming off the pages. And the pages aren't so thick they take a 2" binder.

Once I saw how much I could save by switching over to digital scrapbooking, I made the change, and have never looked back!

So, if you're still debating on switching to digital, give it a try! You'll never go back!

About the Author:

Julie is the owner of www.digitalscrapbookingmadesimple.com and has been a digital scrapbooker for 4 years. Her site is packed with free pattern templates for scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking backgrounds and embellishments, tips on how to design digital scrapbook pages, and much more!

You Will Swoon When The Benefits Of Co-Branded Cards Croon.

By Lucy Edwards

It is fast becoming popular to get branded prepaid card programs. It helps you as well as the catering companies to grow their business. You can improve your brand image by issuing cards to the customers while they can enjoy the vastness of services.

Foraying into co-branded cards helps the host companies to expand their customers. Thus the revenue also expands. It is prevalent in the gifting industry to enter the co-branded debit card programs with Visa or MasterCard. This gives a two-way boost to the host company as well as the generic debit card program.

An existing relationship with a customer can be enhanced further by issuing co-branded debit card programs. Customers love the versatility of this card as they can now pay their bills through the card or go shopping. It offers you to withdraw cash from any ATM in the world due to such a wide acceptance.

Such a generic debit card program is hassle-free. Co-branded cards are issued almost instantaneously. You can use epayarea for utilizing this service anywhere in the world. Simply log into www.epayarea.com and start paying for various utility bills or likewise. Now, you do not have to move around for petty errands, co-branded card programs have made that easy.

When you are traveling out of town, it is not secure to carry cash all the time. Generic debit card program delivers that security to you. Withdraw money whenever you want, or simply, buy what you feel like. These cards are acceptable all over.

You can check the balance on your branded prepaid card program via epayarea or through other websites. Each transaction carried out on your Visa or MasterCard cards can tracked down since the first one. You can also top-up the balance on your card by epayarea.com and likes.

With such prestigious names like Visa and MasterCard, trust is no issue. Consumers trust on paying money by Epayarea.com because they know that it is linked to a brand. That brand leverage will always be there.

Hop on the market to get yourself a branded debit card. Give your family the lifetime experience even when you are sitting too far from them as you can track them down on epayarea. Find your little independence in the dependent card shopping! Jus enter the world of fancies on www.epayarea.com.

About the Author:

Co-branded cards are a better way of pushing the benefits of MasterCard, a great leap ahead. Epayarea.com from EPAY Inc. will provide you with necessary suggestions on debit cards.

Where To Look For Cheap Auto Insurance

By Joseph Welusz

The following are four different ways you can get cheap auto insurance. It is possible to save hundreds of dollars on your auto insurance though most people don't bother because it is easier to stay with their current auto insurer. If you are looking to completely change your insurer then you should shop around to get the bets possible insurance for the lowest price. You can look for any discounts that you may be eligible for, you can increase the amount of your deductible or you can decrease the coverage you have on an older car.

To compare which auto insurance is the least expensive you will need to shop around and compare different companies. Purchasing inexpensive auto insurance does not mean you should be getting bad insurance or auto insurance that is similar to having no insurance at all.

Understanding the terms and conditions is as important as a great starting rate, which may quickly rise after a brief introductory period. It is also a smart move to understand how to process a claim if you should need to. Some things to look for are how long it takes for a claim to be processed, when you can expect payment from claims and how to make a claim or if there is a time period involved with claims.

It is possible to find discounts without changing your auto insurer. If you have any negative points on your driving record you can get rid of some by taking a defensive driving course. The less points you have then the less your auto insurance will cost. it also may turn out to be less expensive to install a car alarm as you frequently will find companies providing discounts to those with ant-theft devices on their car.

The amount of your deductible will affect the cost of your auto insurance. Most auto owners chose a low deductible so that when they make a claim they will have to pay very little from their own pocket. If you have a higher deductible and higher collision then you can significantly decrease the premium you are saving each year, it is possible to save up to $1,000 each year.

Older cars may not need to have complete coverage, as the cost of the coverage may actually be more then the value of the car. You will need to compare how much you are spending on auto insurance to the market value of the car. It your insurance is more then the value of the car you should look to eliminating your collision or comprehensive coverage. You can even get rid of both.

About the Author:

If you enjoyed this article you might like Joe's website QuoteMatcher.com where you can get more Discount Auto Insurance tips to help you save money. By going to Joe's site you'll be able to get Cheap Auto Insurance by comparing multiple insurance quotes from local brokers and large companies.