Mortgage Lowdown

What can you do when you just can’t find a home that’s right for you? Make one yourself! More and more homebuyers are opting to design their own dream homes. Of course, it’s not as easy as simply picking out a plot of land and getting to work. You’ll need to map out the interior, create landscape layouts, plan your budget and consider colors. We’ve complied 20 of the best resources that can help you figure out all of these details and get to work on your dream home.

1. Google Sketchup: Use this versatile 3D tool to design new models, help with the modeling of your kitchens, bathrooms and other areas of your home and plan your garden landscape. User friendly and simple to use, Version 6 of Sketchup allows you to upload your designs to Google Earth using real world coordinates and share them with others through Google’s 3D Warehouse. The site also provides video tutorials and user guides for those who need extra help.

2. Small Blue Printer: This online tool helps you with the blueprints for your home. You can either start from scratch or load an existing design and modify it according to your taste. You can view the isometric projection of your plan or take a 3-D walk around inside the walls you create. If you’re not able to stay connected to the Internet, there’s a smaller version of Small Blue Printer available to download and use on your PC.

3. Garden Planner: This online tool, as the name suggests, helps you plan your garden and makes designing your landscape a piece of cake. You can view an animated demonstration of how the software works before you start building your own design. A smaller file is available as a download if you prefer to work offline.

4. Envisioneer Express 3.0: Winner of a Users’ Choice award, this freeware allows you to create floor plans, 3D models and interior designs for your home. You can also display and review professional designs created with other software such as Cadsoft Envisioneer, 3D Home Architect Series, the Carey Bros 3D Deck and Landscape, IMAGINiT Builder 3D, the Home Depot 3D Home Designer, the Home Depot 3D Landscape Designer and CFM 3D Comfort Zone.

5. RSMeans QuickCost Estimator: The process of designing your house doesn’t just involve drawing plans and placing objects; there is no possibility of your design becoming a reality if you overshoot your budget. So before you start building based on your blueprint, make sure you’re well within your means with this calculator tool. It provides you with approximate costs for more than 50 building types across 930 locations in the United States and Canada.

6. 3D Kitchen Designer: Start at square one or use precooked prototypes to design your dream kitchen using this easy to use free online tool. Use it to create your floor plan before you put in the cabinets of your choice. Then add your appliances, doors, windows, sinks and countertops in the style and color of your choice. You can also use this resource to remodel an existing kitchen.

7. Design a Room: Use this online resource to design each room in your home. Select various types of room styles, then match your ceiling, floor colors and textures accordingly. Outfit kitchens with the cabinetry and appliances of your choice. You can enlarge your design or save them to your personalized product folder.

8. Patio Designer: Are you planning on adding a patio to your home? This is the perfect tool to help you with the design and layout. You can choose to add to three ready-made designs or create your own.

9. Resene EzyPaint: Before you splurge on paints for your house, you should explore the appearances that different colors provide. This virtual paint software helps you do just that. Compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems, this tool includes a video to help you get started.

10. Arrange-a-Room: Not sure how you’re going to place all of your furniture in your new home? You don’t have to lug heavy chairs and couches back and forth to see how they’ll fit. Use Arrange-a-Room instead. Download the Shockwave plug-in and you’ll be set to go. Play around with your furniture layout in each room until it’s perfect for you.

11. See My Design: This interactive online tool helps you plan your design, select your interiors and choose the right paint colors. Plus, there are options to help you decide on the best floors and comfortable positioning of your lights.

12. Stock house plans: Unable to come up with a plan for your house? This website provides a list of plans for various styles of houses. The styles include a varying number of floors, different rooms and their dimensions all around. You can also alter the plans according to your specific needs.

13. Kohler Plumbing CAD Symbols: If you’re stumped by the plans for your bathrooms and kitchen, turn to Kohler Plumbing CAD Symbols. Download the 2D and 3D symbols for AutoCAD from their site.

14. SunAngle: If you want to do your part to help the environment, build an eco-friendly home. Use SunAngle to strategically use the power of the sun for heating in the winter and staying cool in the summer. Use their solar calculator to determine the angle of the sun’s rays according to location, time and date.

15. Dream Green Homes: Unable to figure out where to start when planning your environmentally friendly home? Your search stops here. Dream Green Homes provides users with sustainable plans and layouts for different styles of homes. You’ll consider the building materials used and the functions that the house will serve.

16. The Natural Home: This is a great resource to check out if you’re looking for information on sustainable home designing. Their information includes passive solar, zero-energy, high thermal mass and do it yourself solar house plans.

17. Building Cost: This site features a calculator that allows you to estimate the cost of building your home. The estimates are based on labor and materials used as well as the size, location and design of the house.

18. Paint Online: Choose your home’s model and experiment with colors of your choice for the exterior and interior.

19. Chief Architect: Use this tool to not only create your floor plans, elevations, cross sections and landscapes, but also to calculate the approximate cost of building your home. The trial version of this software is free.

20. The Complete Home Journal: More of a planner and organizer than design software, the trial version of this tool is free to use. It allows you to get your inventory under control, organize your project details and print out relevant reports. The trial versions are fully functional, but you won’t be able to save your plans.

Are you planning to sell your home, but not sure if you want to shell out thousands of dollars to hire a real estate agent? Don’t bother. Here are 10 ways to sell your home without having to share your profit with an agent. 

1. For Sale By Owner (FSBO): Stick a For Sale By Owner sign out on your yard to let prospective buyers know that your house is up for sale and that you’re in charge of the entire transaction. Get the word out by using these methods:

• Advertising in local newspapers or other media;
• Posting fliers in apartment complexes and various public locations around town;
• Informing friends, relatives and acquaintances that you’re selling your home;
• Hosting an open house in which buyers can walk in and look around your house on a predetermined day;
• Sending out details of your house to local real estate agents.

2. Sell to the highest bidder: Auction your home on the traditional chopping block or online with eBay. Put up attractive details, set your base price and let buyers battle it out to snap up your home. Use eBay or other auction websites like uBid and Bidz or register with traditional auction houses in your area.

3. Advertise inventively: Are tried and true methods not working? Go for wild and wacky, then! Throw a high-profile party in your home and be sure to mention to all attendees that the home they are having a great time in is for sale. Or, grab the attention of everyone that passes by: rent a billboard to advertise your house.

4. Sell using a lease option: Allow buyers plenty of time to decide if they are really ready to buy your home for keeps: let them lease your house with the option to buy when the lease has run out. This not only allows prospective buyers more time to decide on the house, but it also provides you with some income in the interim.

5. Sell on the Internet: Take advantage of the popularity of the Internet to offload your home. Advertise on various web pages with attractive pictures. This is a low cost option that allows you to reach buyers in locations outside of your metro area.

6. Get on TV: Staging is becoming the trendiest way to sell your house. Reality shows span all genres and the real estate world is no exception. This is evident in programs like Sell this House, Get it Sold, Designed to Sell, Take this House and Sell it, and Buy Me. They allow sellers to see buyers’ reactions to houses up for sale and provide them with small monetary amounts. They also offer sellers helpful suggestions from real estate, design and home improvement experts to enhance their home’s appeal.

7. Upload movies on the Internet: Sell your house by letting prospective buyers take a video tour. Shoot videos of the various rooms in your house and upload them on video sites on the Internet. Besides the ever-popular YouTube, you have options like JumpCut, Motionbox, Video Egg and Grouper.

8. Use social networking sites: Do you have a profile on Orkut or MySpace? Use your network to get the word out about the sale of your home. Post pictures and video, then get everyone you know to spread the news.

9. Sell with an MLS Listing: You may not be interested in using the services of an agent, but many buyers use on. Instead of a full listing service, use flat-fee MLS so that buyers and their agents are allowed access to details of your house.

10. Sell to a franchise company: If you’re in a hurry to sell and not horribly concerned about the price, franchise buyers are your best bet. They buy your home at below market price after conducting appraisals to determine a price for your house. If you need to get a house off of your hands in a hurry, contact a franchise buyer to see what they can offer you.

No matter how you plan to sell your home, take these tips into consideration:

• Prepare your home: clean up the exterior and make sure the interior is free of clutter. A well-maintained home is the best advertisement there is.
• Set your asking price after doing a small amount of research. Try and estimate the real value of your home by taking into account the prices of similar houses in the neighborhood. 
• Only consider offers from buyers who are pre-qualified for a mortgage.
• Make sure you have a good real estate attorney at hand to care of legal issues.
• Be prepared to handle the stress and tension of negotiations.