Name: Laura's Choice Peanut Butter Muffins - Jack's Favorite!-TEST
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 12 Muffins
Ingredients: ½ Cup Whole-wheat flour; ¼ Cup Rolled oats; ¼ Cup Granulated sugar; ¼ Cup Dark brown sugar; 1 Tablespoon Baking powder; ½ Teaspoon Salt; ¼ Cup ¼ C fat-free milk; 1/3 Cup C natural creamy peanut butter; 2 Tablespoon TBS melted butter; 1 Teaspoon tsp. vanilla extract; 2 large egg whites; Cooking spray; 2 Tablespoon Turbinado’s sugar; 2-3 Tablespoon Dry roasted peanuts (chopped)

My Advice to Sellers: Don’t Overprice Your Home

August 27, 2016 by Laura Kubicki Leave a Comment

Hi there! Here’s another tip for you when you’re thinking of selling your house…

One of the most well-known real estate mantras your real estate professional should tell you is this: “If you overprice your home, it will take longer to sell and it will sell for less money.” Yet, many sellers continue to believe their homes can defy market physics. I understand. You have a lot of great memories and have put a lot into your home and you want it paid back.

But the real truth is, if you really want to sell, overpricing seldom works because buyers search for homes online according to their loan qualifications. If their ceiling is $500,000, they’re not going to search for more expensive homes (in this case over $500,000), and if your home is priced at $505,000, it won’t be found by the buyers who are most qualified to buy it. And remember, when buyers can afford more, they’ll compare your home to other homes in the same price range and your home may fall short in features, location or condition.

Also, remember search price increments vary depending on scale. Buyers use $10,000 increments for $100,000 homes and $100,000 increments for million-dollar homes. Pricing just over a logical range end point like $255,000 or $505,000 will exclude that home from some search results. If you price just under a range end point, like $498,000, your home will be seen by the buyers who are most likely and able to buy your home.

And, while some buyers’ search in higher price ranges than their rounded end point, their intention is to offer less, so that makes setting a higher price for your home counterproductive. And buyers like to feel they’re getting a ‘deal’, so pricing it a little lower, could help generate the attention of multiple buyers and get the price bid up.

Your best chance of selling your home quickly for the highest price possible is to attract buyers who see your home as well priced. You’ll attract more serious buyers who make higher offers with fewer negotiations. And that my friends is what all sellers really want!

I hope this is helpful – remember for tips and other up to date real estate information – “like” me on Facebook at Laura’s Choice Realty! And don’t forget to enter your email and subscribe to Laura’s Choice!

Thanks for visiting the blog today! Come back soon…

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Pickles – Homemade and Super Fast!

August 13, 2016 by Laura Kubicki Leave a Comment

My kids love pickles. Mostly dill ones. Kosher dill ones that is.

Not Zesty

Not Bread and Butter – I love those!

Not too garlicky – ie. Claussens – I love those too!

Not jars filled with pickles nestled with other garden vegetables marked Farmer’s Garden.

Just plain ‘ole Kosher Dills. Vlassic, Great Value, Mt. Olive, Heifetz, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, and you name it brands. All will do. Jason eats them too…

So it probably goes without saying the number of jars of pickles we go through, along with the ever increasing grocery price creep (help!), was beginning to become a bit burdensome…’til one day Jack ‘jarred’ my memory (no pun intended) and said enthusiastically,

“Mom! Let’s save the pickle juice and make our own!”

And off we went to homemade pickle heaven, with my children ‘relishing’ their summertime project that cuts our pickle bill in at least half! They love slicing their own cukes and placing them in the jar of already made, briny liquid – and two days later? Voilà! Pickled pickles!

And what a great real life lesson in “delayed gratification” that can be so hard to teach in these instant entertainment IPad/cell phone days…but I digress…

I know this works well, because not only did my children gobble them down, but when a group of their friends appeared for an impromptu summertime lunch, I pulled out our jar of “homemade” pickles to the oohs and ahhs of the young, frolicky, crowd, and NOT A SINGLE ONE WAS LEFT!

Yep. The whole lot of them, ate the whole lot of them!

And let’s do the math – gag!

A regular cuke is what – around fifty cents. The fancy English kind around $1/$1.25?
At the farm stand in Lewisville this summer – 10 pickling cukes cost me $1.00
In my little “mamma garden” one cuke plant ($3) gave me over 50 cucumbers – what’s that? Like six cents each??? Contrast that with a jar of new pickles, (depending on the variety and where you choose to purchase them), at $2.00-$4.00 per jar (on average)!
And you don’t have to buy vinegar, sugar, mason jars, and all those other pickling spices, which again saves you $$$!

Regardless of where you source your fresh cukes, they’re all gonna net you a great pickle price savings :o), when you save and reuse your pickle juice.

And how about the environmental “reuse the jar” impact?

ALL GOOD THINGS MY FRIENDS. ALL GOOD THINGS!

But wait! There’s more!

No cooking! And your kids can do it for you, keeping their little selves happy and busy as can be!

So think it over! If your family loves pickles as much as mine, and you’re feeling the heavy weight of “store bought pickle” pricing – give it a try and see how you like!

‘Til we meet again my friends! Live happy. XOXO! And don’t forget to subscribe to Laura’s Choice – many thanks!

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Earnest Money – How Much Do You Need?

July 28, 2016 by Laura Kubicki Leave a Comment

Hi Everybody!

If you’re considering buying a home (before interest rates begin to rise), thought it might be helpful to give you some basic information on earnest money, so you have a better understanding of how much cash on hand you can plan on needing when getting ready to start your property search!

Most buyers today understand they need a sizeable down payment and a strong credit score to secure a conforming home loan. But you don’t want to forget to have enough cash on hand for your earnest money deposit when making an offer on a property.

Earnest money is usually handed over to the seller’s agent, to place into an escrow account for saving until the closing date, when your transaction is completed with your closing attorney. This demonstrates to the seller that you are a serious buyer and are backing your intentions to purchase with cash.

Without this, buyers could simply make offers on many homes, essentially taking them off the market, until they chose a favorite. This of course would not be good for sellers! So, sellers rarely accept offers without some early skin in the game so to speak.

There is no set amount for an earnest money deposit – it’s negotiable. Around Winston-Salem and the Triad the average amount is around the .7% of sales price amount. That means if you and the seller agree to a contracted price of $200,000, the average amount of cash you’d need for your earnest money payment would be about $1,400. However, if there are multiple bidders, the seller may ask for up to 3% of the asking price as earnest money – it varies from sale to sale. Then, assuming the sales contract goes through settlement (or closing), that $1,400 earnest money would go towards your down payment and closing costs. If the transaction does not close, there may be a nominal transaction cancellation fee or you may get it all back.

So, I encourage you to be sure your purchase agreement clearly defines the earnest money and refund process, so you know exactly what you’re getting into and there are no surprises. Remember, you can lose earnest money through default, which would happen if you did not perform according to the terms stipulated in your specific purchase and sale agreement. Make sure that you have a clear understanding of all terms and obligations before you sign, which will make for a less stressful and happier house hunting experience!

I hope you found this information helpful and thanks for stopping by Laura’s Choice! And for more tips and information, and to join the real estate conversation be sure to “Like” Laura Kubicki Realty on Facebook! Look forward to seeing you there!

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Laura’s Choice Peanut Butter Muffins – Jack’s Favorite!

July 22, 2016 by Laura Kubicki

Jack's Favorite PB Muffins! — Jack’s Favorite PB Muffins!

Ready for a mouthwatering, “I can’t wait for breakfast” treat? These peanut butter muffins couldn’t be more that!

And since the temps are pushing into the higher end of the 90s down here in the south these days, Jack and I thought a fun indoor morning activity would be to make a quick batch of these for breakfast, snack, whatever…!

NOTE: IF you have peanut allergies – these are NOT for you. Sad face here.

However if you do not have peanut allergies – you simply MUST try these scrumptious goodies. And with oats, natural PB, whole wheat flour, and skim milk, they’re a bit more on the ‘good for you’ side of the fence than not!

So…first Jack got started by combining the dry ingredients…look at that smile!