Keep your home safe while you're away on vacation

Ways to protect your home and its contents while you're away range from simple to high tech. Here are some ideas to secure your home when you're on vacation.

1. Consider a house sitter. It may be an added expense, but having a trusted person stay at your home is a great defense against burglars.
2. Don't advertise you're away. Don't leave an outgoing voicemail stating you're out of town. Also, refrain from listing vacation dates on social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.
3. Invest in an alarm system.
4. Put all lights on timers, so it appears someone is home. A lighted home is a deterrent for break-ins.
5. Have the post office hold your mail and put your newspaper delivery on hold. An overstuffed mailbox and unopened newspapers on the lawn are a signal you are not at home.
6. Leave all doors and windows locked. When possible, utilize dead bolts and secure sliding glass doors by placing a rod in the door groove.
7. Alert police and a trusted neighbor to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.
8. Remove any spare keys that are hidden outside the house. Instead, give a key to a trusted neighbor or family member to regularly check the house.

Cosmetic changes that can transform a home

There are cost-effective ways to transform your new home. Perhaps you want to change the look of your home but a major remodel or professional construction project is out of the question. Here are some DIY ideas that won't break the bank and will revamp your new property.

1. Repaint and revitalize. Never underestimate the difference a coat of paint can make in a room or even one wall.
2. Update your hardware. Replacing the fixtures on dresser drawers, kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities is simple. Accessories like doorknobs, and even hinges can look dated. Spice up a space by swapping out the existing hardware and make it your own.
3. Sand and stain. Don't like your kitchen cabinets but aren't ready to completely renovate? No problem, as long as they are in good condition, you can paint or stain your existing cabinets. Be sure to do a test on the inside of a cabinet that won't be seen to make sure you get desired results.
4. Counterculture. New countertops drastically change a space and are available at most home improvement stores in standard sizes at a reasonable price. They are precut and ready to install.
5. New stream. Faucets in the kitchen, tub, and sinks can be changed. They should correlate with the rest of the style in the specific room.
6. Get floored. Tiles can be inexpensive and transform a kitchen, bath or mudroom.
7. Kitchen views. You can switch out a kitchen backsplash without moving cabinetry or appliances, and the sky's the limit in terms of color and style.

If you're in a tight market, consider these strategies to smooth the process:

1. Stay calm

Don't spend more than you can really afford.

"There's a renewed frenzy" in the market these days, says Christy Dean, a real-estate agent with Walt Danley Realty, focused on the luxury market in Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Buyers can get caught up in the hype, and that can mean spending too much, she says.

"I've seen it happen so many times. The wife is about to have their first or second baby. They have to have a house on this street," she says. "Don't get house poor. Be conservative."

2. Make your best offer

Remain calm, yes, but be realistic. When bidding on a home with multiple offers, you need your offer to stand out.

"Be bold," says Hal Lehrman, owner of Brooklyn Properties in New York. "Usually, the best buyer we have on a bidding war is the guy who lost the last bidding war. He's ready. He doesn't want that to happen again."

The danger is overpaying, but if it's the right house for you, that risk is tempered by other considerations. "In a rising market, you look back five years from now, you're not going to care about that extra $5,000," Mr. Lehrman says.

3. Check credit

Before setting foot in an open house or lender's office, check your credit reports atAnnualCreditReport.com (you can get one free report annually from each of three credit-reporting companies at this website). "If you see anything that doesn't appear correct or needs updating, a good time to make those changes is before you're in the process," says Mr. Gumbinger.

Consider buying your credit score as well. (One option is MyFico.com.) With your score in hand, you're in a position to negotiate, he says. You can say to the lender: "I'm looking for a 30-year-fixed [mortgage], I have a Fico [score] of 760, I can put 20% down. What sort of interest rates and closing costs can you offer me?"

4. Account for assets

In competitive markets, buyers need a lender's preapproval in hand before looking at homes.

"Preapproval is absolutely a must," says Vince Malta, a Realtor in San Francisco and a regional vice president for the National Association of Realtors.

Be prepared for a stringent underwriting process. Lenders want to see a consistent income stream. And a gift or funds transfer must be well documented, Mr. Malta says, in part to ensure you're receiving a true gift, rather than a phantom loan. "If it's not properly documented, it won't be counted toward your down payment," he says.

One benefit to a preapproval is that it sets a price limit on your home shopping, Mr. McBride says. "There's no sense falling in love with a place you can't afford to buy because you can't get approved for the loan."

5. Bring a big down payment

If possible, bringing more than 20% to the table will help your offer remain competitive.

"Anything that helps the down-payment side of it is a persuasive thing for a seller," Mr. Lehrman says. "It reduces the possibility that there will be a bank problem."

6. Be nice

If you're competing for a house with other buyers, stand out by making life a little easier for the seller. For example, be flexible about the closing date.

"If all things are equal - the seller is getting the same dollar amount from me or the next person - but I give the seller the flexibility of the settlement date that he prefers, maybe the seller is going to say, 'Money's not everything,' " says Dominic Cardone, a partner at Keller Williams Real Estate in Media, Pa., and a regional vice president with the National Association of Realtors.

7. Find a good agent

An experienced real-estate agent may alert you to homes before they come on the market. Plus, if your agent is respected, that can help you stand out with the seller's agent.

Written by,
Andrea Coombes