You are going to buy a home and you have settled on West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle.  How to decide exactly where to move?  There are many things to take into consideration when home shopping.  Here are tips on choosing the West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle home you will be happy with for years and years to come.

Figure out your budget

Sometimes home buyers are so eager, they rush out and look at homes "just for fun" prior to figuring out what they can actually afford.  Don't do this!  If you find something you really like that turns out to be outside of your price range you will either end up struggling with payments that are too large after buying something too expensive, or feeling disappointed before your home shopping has even started because lower-priced homes don't compare to the one you first fell in love with.  Figure out your budget based on how much you can give for a down payment and how much you can afford for monthly payments.  Be sure to factor in property taxes and home maintenance costs. 

Choose the home type you prefer

Now that you know more or less how much you can afford, decide the home type you want.  Do you want a single family home with a large yard that you can garden?  Or, does a condominum where you are not responsible for yard maintenance better fit your lifestyle?

Narrow down the neighborhoods

Different neighborhoods appeal to different people for different reasons.  Perhaps you have young children so a good school district and low crime rate are of utmost importance.  Maybe you know you'll be working at your current job for quite a while and want to live only in neighborhoods that offer short commute times.  Compile a list of the neighborhoods in which you will conduct your home search in order to narrow it down.

Make a list of "must haves"

Create a list of features your home must have in order for you to choose it.  If you have two children and want a third, four bedrooms could be a "must have."  If you are big on the outdoors, being walking distance from a park or forest preserve could be a necessity.  Don't go overboard, however.  This is not a wish list.  You don't want the list to become so long that it eliminates all of the houses in your price range and neighborhoods.

Hopefully these tips help you as you search for that perfect home in the West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle.  Please contact me if you want to enlist the support of a professional with expert experience buying and selling in the area.

West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle residents enjoy having a variety of types of local events to choose from when they feel like exploring the region year-round.  There are regularly outdoor activities, musical performances, and everything imaginable in-between.  The tail end of June is a particularly busy time in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and provides many opportunities for enjoying local culture.  Here are a sampling of events coming up over the next week-and-a-half:

Saturday and Sunday, June 23th-24th: Under Fire: The Battle of Bolivar Heights 1862

Come see demonstrations of field artillery used in the Battle of Bolivar Heights in 1862.  Each day there will be firing demonstrations at 1, 2, and 3 pm.  This is an exciting way for both children and adults to learn a little local history.  This will be held at the Bolivar Heights Battle Field in Harpers Ferry. For more information, click here.

Tuesday and Wednesday, June 26th-27th: Coal Country Tour

This is an overnight tour that will depart from Charles Town, WV.  It will stop at the Tamarack Cultural and Convention Center where there is art, music, crafts, shopping, and dining.  Next the tour will go to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and learn about the "pick" miners who worked there while it was open from 1890 to 1910.  For more information, click here.

Saturday, June 30th: Shepherdstown Street Fest

This will be the second annual street fest held in Shepherdstown and will run from 10 am to 9 pm.  There will be dozens of artists and vendors selling handmade goods.  Additionally, food vendors will be on hand and musicians are scheduled to play throughout the day.  This fest really has something for everyone.  For more information, click here.

Saturday, June 30th: Ices and Creamed Ice Workshop

There will be ice cream making and molding classes available at Roeder's German Confectionary Exhibit on High Street in Harpers Ferry from 11 am - 1 pm and again from 2 pm - 4 pm.  The workshop fee is $5.  All ages are welcome, although children under six years old need to be with an adult.  Everyone gets to eat their treats at the end of class!  For more information, click here.

If you go out and enjoy any of these events, feel free to comment about it!  I love staying connected locally and knowing what is going on in the community.  If you have any events you'd like to let me know about, feel free to contact me.  As always, you can also contact me about anything real estate-related.  Have a good week!

The Kable Team
RE/MAX 1st Realty
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After searching high and low, you've found your perfect piece of Jefferson County real estate.  Congratulations!  New home buyers are usually looking to cut costs in any way possible after making such a big ticket purchase.  With a little planning, there are many ways to save money while moving.  Here are tips:

Don't buy moving boxes

If you start looking for cardboard boxes ahead of time, you can avoid paying hundreds of dollars to buy them.  Ask friends and family members if they've bought any larger items recently and have boxes you can have.  Stop by local grocery and retail stores and ask if you may pick up boxes before they are crushed.  Many towns have recycling centers that will give away cardboard boxes for free when asked.

Don't buy packing peanuts or butcher paper

There are cheaper ways to protect your fragile items than buying packing peanuts or butcher paper.  Do you receive a daily newspaper?  If not, does one of your neighbors?  Save those papers and use them to wrap the wedding china.  Also, think creatively about how you can use other belongings to cushion the breakables.  For example, a bath towel can be used to protect glassware and t-shirts can protect crystal.  This option also reduces your total number of boxes because you are combining items that would've been packed separately otherwise.

See if you qualify for a tax credit

Are you starting a new job after your move?  Is your new home more than fifty miles closer to that job than your old home was?  As long as your move and the start date of the job are within one year of each other, you will probably qualify for a tax credit.  That means you can claim moving expenses as a deduction.  Be sure to keep track of all moving expenses, whether you hire movers or rent a moving van and do it yourself.

 Get rid of everything you don't need

Before a move is the perfect time to go through everything you own and evaluate whether or not it is still useful to you.  Have you used it in the past year?  Do you enjoy looking at it?  Is it in working order?  It is better to get rid of things before you move rather than during unpacking because then you will have fewer things to move and lower moving costs.  Lightening your load could even make you money if you sell some things on ebay or throw a garage sale.

Move at an unusual time

Most people move at the very beginning or end of the month, June through September.  If possible, move sometime between October and May to get lower prices on movers.  If you can move mid-month, even better.  If the moving company doesn't seem very busy, don't hesitate to try and negotiate a bit on the cost.  They just might go for it.

Hopefully these tips help you save money as you move onto your new piece of Jefferson County real estate!  If you have any questions about the local community or about buying or selling real estate, do not hesitate to contact us.

The Kable Team
RE/MAX 1st Realty
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Do you know how you're going to celebrate Father's Day in the Eastern Panhandle, WV yet?  Father's Day is coming up in just a little over a week away, on Sunday, June 17th, 2012.  According to History.com, Mother's Day existed first and was the inspiration for Father's Day.  The governor of Washington state announced Father's Day in 1910, but it did not become an official national holiday until 1972 when President Woodrow Wilson declared it so.  During the 1920s and 1930s a movement to combine both days into "Parents' Day" arose, but failed.  In the United States, dads still get their own day and that day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June each year.

The Eastern Panhandle, WV has a lot to offer for families and fathers so there is no shortage of ways to celebrate dad.  If dad is more of an adventurous type, consider the Father's Day Adventure Special in Harpers Ferry.  Dads can go river rafting on the Shenandoah River with the family or zip line throughout the natural area on a beautiful canopy tour for half-price with a paying guest.  The zip line tours are up to three hours long and include the opportunity to rappel.  For more information, click here.

Perhaps dad would rather celebrate his day by taking a break from the kids and doing something more adult-like.  Live music at Breaux Vineyards could be fun for him.  Althought not in the Panhandle, the vineyards are not too far of a drive in Purcellville, Virginia.  The music is by local group Steele & Oglevee.  Admission is free to all.  Those who would like to try wine tasting can do so for ten dollars.  For more information, click here.

If the dad in your life is more old fashioned, rafting down a river or sipping wine in a vineyard might not be his style.  In that case, why not just take him to a special local restaurant?  The Bavarian Inn is perfect for a fancier day.  Located in the Greystone Mansion in Shepherdstown, the stone fireplaces and dark wood of The Bavarian Inn make it clear that dining there is a unique treat.  On Sundays, brunch is served from 11 am to 2 pm and is the perfect way to treat dad on his day.

If you end up checking out any of these Father's Day events, do not hesitate to let me know!  As always, I am also here if you have any other questions about the Eastern Panhandle WV real estate market or the area in general.  Happy Father's Day! 

The Kable Team
RE/MAX 1st Realty
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