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Ways to Prevent Your Home From Selling

I understand that you really don’t want to sell your Western New York home.  You have wonderful memories and you love your absolutely perfect WNY home.  This site is full of helpful information about selling.

To ensure that you don’t get solid offers from qualified buyers and more importantly no showings then you need to do the following:

• Get your Real Estate advice from your cousin, neighbor, coworkers at the office who saw a program on TV or read something in the media.
• Price your home by this method:  Add up what you owe on the mortgage, your moving expenses and the down payment on the new home.    Don’t look at what has happened in the Market in the last 6 months.
• Don’t use the many resources available via the Internet to post your listing to potential buyers.
• Cut the commission we offer Buyer’s Agents
• Ignore what is going on in the Western New York market and list the house for more than what your agent suggests
• Don’t put a lock box on the house, require us to accompany all showings and absolutely require at least a 48 hour advance notice of appointment!
• Definitely don’t pay attention to advice by recognized Real Estate experts – Answers to the big Real Estate question: “Why isn’t my San Diego Condo selling?”
• Don’t cut the grass, edge the driveway or plant flowers.  Keep the Christmas decorations up in July and the definitely leave the dead wreath on the door.
• Make sure you don’t use a Realtor®… Sell it by yourself and advertise only in the Sunday Newspaper!
• Demand that there is no For Sale sign in the yard in your WNY neighborhood, we wouldn’t want anyone driving by and discover that your home is for sale.
• If a showing sneaks by,  don’t clean up, ensure that you have piles everywhere and by all means be at the showing and stick really close to the buyers and be very annoying…

Read Also:

• My Buffalo home is about to expire!
• Choices too much for today’s home buyers?
• Why Use A Realtor® for your Buffalo Home Purchase?
• My Western New York Home For Sale Is Not Selling!
• Real Estate Explained | What is Absorption Rate
• Real Estate and your pending divorce…
• Five Biggest Real Estate Myths
• Five Reasons Your Home is For Sale and not SOLD!
• Answering Questions that Buffalonians may have about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Just in case you read this and you really want to sell your home, give us a call today at (716) 650-0051 or fill out the form below.  We would love to give you some incredible advice and show you how we will market your home to a successful sale!

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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Are you starting your search for a new home?  A great way is to visit several open houses in the neighborhoods that you are considering to get the feel for the community.   Once you are ready to get serious, working with an experienced Realtor will be of benefit for you in saving you time and aggravation.

It is great fun for many Western New York buyers to search for the perfect home in WNY.  They visit open houses, call listing agents to see homes that they find on the Internet.   Many buyers mistake this as being in their best interest.   Exactly who is that agent that they are calling loyal to?   You might just be surprised that their loyalty lies with the Seller unless you have a Buyer’s Broker Agreement with the  Buffalo area agent.

Read Also: Agency Relationship Disclosure

Open Houses don’t sell houses! Open Houses are a place that agents look to find you — BUYERS to work with.   So don’t be surprised when you register at an Open House to hear from the agents again.

Just as important to Buyers, Open House is an excellent resource to check out agents by Sellers.   If you are considering listing your home for sale and you want to check out a particular agent — see them in action at an Open House…

• What information do they bring?
• Do they have information on other homes for sale in the neighborhood?
• How do they advertising for an Open House?  Ask them why they do what they do.
• How do they stand out and are different than every other Open House?
• How do they interact with people?  What are the questions that they ask visitors?
• Do they follow up after your initial meeting?   And how do they follow up?

Here is a selection of Open Houses in Erie & Niagara Counties that are happening this weekend according to the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors.   This list is updated each Friday with the latest list of homes that will be open over the weekend.    You will also find links to the latest market reports for these communities

Amherst & Williamsville Open Houses

Amherst/Williamsville Condos

City of Buffalo Open Houses – Homes

Cheektowaga Open Houses (Including Sloan & Depew)

• Cheektowaga Real Estate News
• Depew New York Real Estate Market Report

Clarence Open Houses

Grand Island Open Houses

• Grand Island NY Real Estate Market Report

Hamburg & Orchard Park Open Houses

• Orchard Park Real Estate Market Report
• Hamburg New York Real Estate Market Report

Lewiston, Town of Niagara & Niagara Falls Open Houses

Lackawanna Open Houses

• Lackawanna Real Estate Market Report

Lockport Open Houses

Lancaster Open Houses

• Lancaster New York Real Estate Market Report

North Tonawanda Open Houses

• Current Real Estate Market Conditions in North Tonawanda
• North Tonawanda Homes For Sale $100,000-$200,000
• 2010 Closed Sales – North Tonawanda
• North Tonawanda Pool Homes Market Report

Tonawanda Open Houses (Including Kenmore)

• Tonawanda New York Real Estate Market Report

Wheatfield, Pendleton & Cambria Open Houses

Pendleton NY Real Estate Report 2009 Closed Pendleton Single Family Homes 2008 Pendleton Closed Sales Current Real Estate Market Conditions in Cambria New York Wheatfield NY Real Estate News

Featured Pendleton House 6971 Bear Ridge Pendleton

West Seneca Open Houses

• West Seneca NY Single-Family Real Estate Market Report
• West Seneca Multi-Family Homes Market Report
• West Seneca Condos/Townhomes For Sale

Other WNY Communities – Condos

Other WNY Communities – Homes

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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CURB APPEAL FOR THE AUTUMN

• Your WNY lawn should green up now that the hot temperatures are cooling off.  The sun won’t be burning the grass now, so you should be able to showcase your WNY lawn by filling in any bald spots or areas where the grass is thinning.  Fall is also the time of leaves – make sure the lawn is raked and clear of debris.
• Fall plantings in Western New York are so lush and colorful.  Use mums or other like plants to add color and interest to your landscape.
• Make sure to keep your shrubs and trees are well trimmed.  This will tell the prospective WNY buyer that the landscaping has been well maintained.
• Clear up the area of all clutter. By keeping it free of lawn furniture, ornaments, hoses, etc. your curb appeal will be improved.
• Take a look at your drive way.  If concrete you might want to power wash it, if blacktop you might look into moving up that semi-annual resurfacing.  A clean driveway will indicate that it has been well maintained.
• Gutters and downspouts should be cleaned and inspected with any necessary repairs made. Poorly WNY maintained gutters and down spouts can lead to leaks within the home.
• Make sure your screens and windows are squeaky clean – or store those screens so the windows show better.  Dirty, cloudy windows may lead the buyer to think the windows are old and need replacing.
• Ensure that your outdoor lighting is in order and that they highlight the best features of your Western New York home.
• Your front door and outside entry should be in good condition and welcoming; you might want to add a door hanging with rich fall colors.  Also make sure your Western New York door bell works well.
• Don’t forget the street in front of your home – make sure the drains are clear and clean up any trash or leaves that have been blown into your area.
• Another place to zero in on is your WNY mailbox.  This is a relatively inexpensive and easy item to update.  Make sure your house numbers are easily seen by the passing traffic.

Related Posts For “buffalo home staging”:

• Home Staging Does Not Have To Be Complicated
• Staging Your Home – It isn’t always all about what you see¦
• 300 Articles for WNY Buyers, Sellers & Investors
• Photography of your home

Many of the above items will apply no matter the season, but all of the items mentioned above will reassure the prospective buyer that they are looking at a home that has been well maintained.  Need help selling your WNY Home?  Call me today at (716) 650-0051 today or fill out the CMA request below:

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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The Housing Division will implement the Mayor’s Livable Communities in Buffalo Initiative. Leading the efforts is the Buffalo Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation (BNRC). The Housing Division will manage programs and projects that are based on increasing home ownership in the City of Buffalo.

The Making Houses Homes program is a multi-faceted housing program that includes:

• Down payment and closing cost assistance to qualified first-time home buyers
• Low-interest loans and grants to current homeowners for the rehabilitation of their property Construction of a variety of new housing for low/moderate households, market rate households
  

For more information regarding home ownership counseling, click here

For more information contact:
Office of Strategic Planning
920 City Hall | Buffalo NY 14202

Other Real Estate Articles of Interest

• Show me how to own a home!
• Eight Reasons to Move Your Business to Western New York
• Looking at the Erie County Real Estate Trends
• Buffalo Relocation Guide

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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This is a story from my days of selling Real Estate in Florida …

Dangers of Working with a For Sale By Owner!!!!

I had a conversation with an owner of a For Sale By Owner recently that shocked me.

Like most For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes, they are overpriced. Not a big surprise — most For Sale By Owners are valuing their homes on emotion, what their neighbor’s sold their Celebration home for two years ago or what they need to get out of the house.

First off, I have to say the property is special in every way, I fell absolutely in love. I want this Celebration home, it is my dream home. It is a lovely lakefront property with fruit trees and lovely garden in a highly desirable community nestled on a quiet street backing up on conservation land. This home has pluses and it has negatives. It is adorable, but the negatives will keep many from purchasing it at reasonable list price, so it is no wonder this For Sale By Owner home is still on the market.

I had great difficulty in achieving the value I assessed to the home by the For Sale By Owner for lack of compatible properties. I could not justify the price that they had it listed for, and I am in love with this Orlando FSBO home. This is the best house, on the best lot, with more upgrades than the average home in this community?

Anyone else see a potential problem?

I don’t have rose colored glasses on. There are aspects of this Celebration home that detour most of today’s Orlando Buyers! All the bedrooms are upstairs, small bedrooms, only a 1-car garage. Obviously these negatives are affecting the ability to sell this For Sale By Owner home. After sharing what I thought the home was worth, and why I thought it should be priced at my number, the owner asked that I keep the information between us. They did not want anyone to know what I had come up with. They thanked me for my advice and tips for selling their Celebration home.

This made me stop and think. Why did they not want me to share my valuation? And who would I share this with? Perhaps I should take an advertisement out in the Celebration Newspapers sharing what I think all Orlando For Sale By Owner Homes are worth? What are they thinking? If I let the cat out of the bag they won’t be able to sell? I just shook my head and went on my way…

I came up with a couple of thoughts on this particular For Sale By Owner and Buyers in the Celebration Area and the current state of the Real Estate Market in Celebration Florida:

• The For Sale By Owner is stuck on how special the home is and not focused on the ultimate goal – the home SOLD!
• These owners have gotten valuations from several other Realtors who are desperate for the listing (it is an amazing Open House location) so they have told them what they wanted to hear
• Are sites like By Owner, Owners, FSBO, For Sale By Owner Advertising Services and For Sale By Owner helping these owners or taking money and adding to the frustration to these vulnerable owners?
• This home at this price has competition from larger homes, with more to offer than a special location and charm. Orlando Buyers want to purchase the best home for the least amount of money.
• The FSBO believes everything I just told them, but would rather live in a fantasy world of what was not what is.
• There are some incredible values, reasonably priced Celebration homes on the market. If you are waiting for the perfect time, this is the time to get off the bench and get into the game!

Moral of the Story for Realtors:

Provide value to both Buyers and Sellers! If I, the experienced Celebration Realtor can figure this out, what is stopping another Realtor? Stop telling Sellers what they want to hear and get real with Sellers! Buyers and Sellers are using my services because of the value I bring to the table! If I suddenly have a buyer looking for this type of house, I am going to educate them fully as to what the value is.

Moral of the Story For Buyers:

If you are shopping the For Sale By Owner market without an experienced Realtor you could overpay and not get the best home for you! Worse yet, you are purchasing on emotion and could be making a mistake unknowingly. An experienced Realtor can provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision.

Moral of the Story For Sale By Owners:

If your home is listed FSBO it is important to know that you need an experienced Realtor to guide you through the process of selling your home. If one experienced Realtor came up with that valuation, others might come up with that analysis too! You can’t hide the truth, it always comes out… So what is it? Do you really want to sell? Or are you having fun chasing the market down? Can you really afford to keep doing what you have been doing?

Thinking of selling your  _________  home? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call Colleen Kulikowski at (716) 650-0051 to discuss what is happening in today’s Western New York Real Estate Market.  We would be happy to give you a personalized Comparative Market Analysis for your home or assist you to purchase a home.   View additional WNY Market Area Statistics here.

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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Buyers Remorse – Do you have it?

What did we just do?   It is a question that many 1st time home buyers and even people that are moving from one home to another ask themselves.   They suddenly find themselves very worried about the future that it is going to take 30 years to pay off their mortgage and really own the home that they just purchased.   Suddenly the thoughts of the roof, basement and household systems come to mind and what did the home inspector not find.

Read Also: How to get a great Real Estate Deal in Western New York!

First off take a very deep breath!   If you have been working with our team of Real Estate Experts, we have already had the discussions about the expenses and what to expect during the home buying process.  Take a moment and watch this episode of  “I Love Lucy” show.  Ricky and Lucy just bought there country home and they are worried that it will take them 20 years to pay off their mortgage…

See you are not the first, nor will you be the last person to freak out just before you move into your new home?  Here are the second and third part of “Lucy Hates to Leave” if you want to see the rest of the show.   Even then there were issues with title search…    Making the transition to home ownership does not have to be stressful, especially when you are prepared to do so.   Here are a selection of articles that you may find useful in the home buying process.

Financial Related Articles

• Do You have the Credit Score Blues?
• WNY Real Estate Terminology – FHA
• Easy steps to save for the down payment for your new home!
• VA Mortgage Basics
• How do I know if that mortgage rate just quoted me is good?
• What are Mortgage Rates at?
• How to Select a Mortgage Professional in Western New York
• Why you should pre-qualify for a mortgage before you start your WNY home search!
• How Buyers Can Save Money (and aggrevation) on their Niagara Falls Home Purchase

• General Real Estate Topics

• Are you ready to purchase a home?
• 5 Reasons You Should Own Your Own Home
• Why Hire a Buyer’s Broker in the purchase of a Buffalo Home
• First Time Buyer Advice for North Tonawanda Buyers
• WNY Are you Stuck in Analysis Paralysis?
• Choices too much for today’s home buyers?
• Show me how to own a home!
• Excellent reasons to not purchase a Home
• Erie County First-time Home Buyer Program
• What there are multiple offers on the Western New York house I want?
• MLS Frustration – Pending Sales
• Buffalo Home Safety | Changing Your Locks
• Why Hire a Buyer’s Broker in the purchase of a Buffalo Home

Home Inspection Topics

• Asbestos in the Home
• Home Inspection Reports
• Mold Inspection Basics for your Buffalo Home
• Don’t wait until you find the perfect WNY home to select your Home Inspector!

Thinking of buying a home? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call Colleen Kulikowski at (716) 650-0051 to discuss what is happening in today’s Western New York Real Estate Market.

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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$ 239,900

Enlarge photos

	10-14 Cottage Pl Lackawanna, 14218 NY $ 79,000 6 Unit(s) Built in 1920 6039 sq. feet MLS Number: B355058 (IDX)
	622 Ridge Lackawanna, 14218 NY $ 160,000 6 Unit(s) Built in 1920 6608 sq. feet MLS Number: B322454 (IDX)
	397-411 South Shore Blvd Lackawanna, 14218 NY $ 849,000 16 Unit(s) Built in 1959 10824 sq. feet MLS Number: B358022 (IDX)

Thinking of selling your  Lackawanna Investment Property? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call Colleen Kulikowski at (716) 650-0051 to discuss what is happening in today’s Western New York Real Estate Market.  We would be happy to give you a personalized Comparative Market Analysis for your home or assist you to purchase a home.   View additional WNY Market Area Statistics here.

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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Mortgage Professionals are not all the same! Do your homework before you commit to one!

Many buyers make a huge mistake when they select a Mortgage professional.   They make the decision based on Interest Rate.   But that is only one aspect of your decision.

Questions to Ask

Before you commit to a Western New York lender, here are a series of questions you should ask them.  Next to selecting your Real Estate Professional, the most important thing you need to select is your Mortgage Professional.

There are the obvious questions:

• Do You Offer Loan Rate Locks?
• Is There a Prepayment Penalty?
• Are You Equipped to Approve Loans In-House and will you guarantee the Good Faith Estimate?
• How Much Time Do You Need to Fund?

Read Also: How do I know if that mortgage rate just quoted me is good?

But let’s talk about some questions you should ask potential Western New York lenders before you commit to working with them.

Which Type of Loan is Best?

A great Western New York Mortgage Professional will want to discover more about you and your goals before throwing out loan options. The options are very dependent on what you plan on doing over the next couple of years.  One loan is better in certain situations and another loan is better in another. Your financial health will also affect your options.  Just think about it, you would not want a doctor to suggest unnecessary surgery before they take a complete medical history?

A great lender will want to explain the pros and cons to you about:

• Fixed-rate loans
• Adjustable-rate loans
• Interest-only loans
• Negative-amortization loans

Read Also: How to Keep Your Mortgage Approval

What Are All the Loan Costs?

Each “point” is equal to 1 percent of the loan amount. Therefore, 2 points on a $100,000 loan cost $2,000. Sometimes lenders charge origination fees in addition to points. Points “buy down” the interest rate, meaning the more points you pay, the lower the interest rate. Points are also tax deductible, even if the seller pays some or all of the points.

Your lender will explain all the costs of a loan.  This will include not only fees that go into the lender’s pocket but also related third-party vendor fees such as:

• Appraisal
• Credit report
• Lender’s title policy
• Pest inspection reports
• Escrow (where applicable)
• Recording fees
• Taxes

An estimate of these fees constitutes the Good Faith Estimate or GFE, which the lender is required by federal law to give to you.  Ready to speak with a lender before you start your home search in Western New York?  Give me a call at (716) 743-5297 or fill out the form below.

Related Mortgage Articles:

• Answering Questions that Buffalonians may have about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
• What is a SONYMA Mortgage?
• Loan Application Checklist for Buyers
• What is a Real Estate Appraisal?
• Is the economic slowdown done?
• Documents to gather before meeting with your Mortgage Professional.
• Buyer Assistance Programs in Western New York
• Earnest Money Deposit on your new WNY home purchase
• Do You have the Credit Score Blues?
• 100% financing mortgage is still available!
• Easy steps to save for the down payment for your new home!

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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In the Real Estate Industry we have this tool called the MLS.  The MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service.   All members of the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors have access to this tool.   We hope that each member takes time to review their listings to ensure that they are complete and full of information — correct information.   This tool is only as effective if the data in it is entered correctly; which does not always happen.   This data is what is sent to all the other sites.   If it is incorrect there, it is wrong — EVERYWHERE.

What harm can an error on the MLS do?

A lot.  Especially if it is your listing and is input incorrectly in the MLS!  I have spoken about the importance of good photos and how they can ruin your chances of someone seeing your home.   But there is even a more important thing to review about your listing.   The data as input into the MLS.

Read Also: Does your Buffalo Area Home for Sale have it’s own YouTube video?

The next important aspect of a search is the criteria used.  Buyers place very specific criteria in their searches in hopes that it will narrow the search down.  So what happens if your Realtor enters the data incorrectly?

• Well the first thing that happens is the potential buyers searching for YOUR home for sale are not finding it.
• There is even a bigger problem.   The stats that media receive regarding the market can be off.   And most importantly it can affect the Comparative Market Report that you receive regarding your home.   Many times I have to go in and make corrections to the listings that I am comparing.
• The most difficult part of this is now there are so many services that feed our listings directly from the MLS.  So that information is feed out to all those affiliated sites incorrectly.

Scary that your home could be missed by hundreds of potential Western New York buyers that are in fact looking for your home!

Some Examples of Bad Data on the MLS

A $31 Million Dollar Listing in Buffalo NY!

Imagine being the listing that their home is listed for $31,000,000 has been sitting on the MLS for days and nobody noticed?   A misplaced zero and the perfect home will never show up in a search a consumer is looking for homes priced at the $300,000 range.   That could throw off the average list price in a community if not corrected.

Read Also: Five Biggest Real Estate Myths

Wrong community

Allentown is a very popular community that many Buffalonians want to live in.   Allentown is a well defined community, in fact it is a historic district.   Every once in awhile a home a street or two away from Allentown shows up in that MLS area.    Again it throws off the comps for the community and market conditions.   Inexperienced agents may end up showing a home thinking it is in Allentown not knowing the true boundaries of the community.   Can you see a potential problem?   Sure the home that really isn’t in Allentown may get a lot of activity, but when buyers discover it isn’t really in Allentown they will be angry.

Incorrect Square Footage

Square footage does not include the basement, attic or garage spaces into consideration.   So if you have an 800 square foot home, market the home correctly, don’t try and make it something it is not.     You would be surprised how many folks want that square footage!  A good agent will review the tax records and in many instances measure a home if they believe there is a error.

Read Also: Your home’s marketing plan

Wrong Property Type

Imagine searching for the perfect single family home in Bidwell and not finding your home.   Only to find out that you are in the multi-family category?  Or think about about the Patio home owner that is listed in the condos but not listed in the single family homes as well.   Buyer Agents have to look in both areas to find this category of home for sale.   Sad fact is that not all agents spend the time looking in both areas.   Agents have the choice to list in one, the other or both.

Incorrect Property Disclosures

Folks, if you know that there is an easement, or asbestos or any other material fact.  The house floods in April when the snow melts.  Disclose it!  Don’t think that the buyer will fall in love and just buy the house anyway!   Many times this just causes bad feelings and a nightmare.

Read Also: What Should WNY Sellers Disclose to Home Buyers?

A three bedroom home listed as a Four bedroom

This is just wrong.   A legal bedroom must have a window and a closet folks.   Just because the you are using the room as a bedroom doesn’t make it a bedroom.   Or what if someone enters your four bedroom as a three bedroom?   See where there could be a problem?   Your home not being seen by the buyers that want your home.

Read Also: Western New York Home Improvements Worth Doing…

Incorrect or incomplete tax data

When the tax data is incorrect, it just means that an agent has to do more research (unnecessary, I might add) to find the answers for their clients.

No Directions or Bad Directions

Directions are an important piece of information for Realtors.  What if their GPS dies?   It is helpful to have this information on the sheets we carry to showings.   Worse yet are bad directions.

Style of home

Look buyers are picky.  They want what they want.  So if you have a Ranch home, call it a Ranch.   Your Center hall Colonial two story home is not a Ranch.

Text Errors

This is where it can be a lot of fun – NOT!   Does a potential home buyer search for BDRM or bedrooms?   AI = what?  It took me some time to realize they were trying to say “As Is”.  One other aspect that is annoying for buyers is when the text is all upper case.     Only use all capital when you need emphasis on a specific fact.  Spelling errors can be embarrassing, remember to use spell check.  All of that information is ported out to all the affiliated partners.   Those sites are fully search-able by search engines.   These text errors can have an impact on potential buyers being able to see your home!

The data on the MLS is garbage in, garbage out.   If the incorrect information is not on the MLS, it can cause difficulty for potential buyers.   Not all agents  are savvy working with databases.   If your home for sale is incorrect or incomplete it could be missed.

Have you reviewed your listing on the MLS?  Preventing Costly Home Selling Mistakes is a lot easier than you think.   It is important that you work with an experienced Real Estate Professional prepared to market your home to it’s fullest potential.   Call us today  at (716) 650-0051 to discuss your needs and how we can assist you in getting your home sold!

©2010 Buffalo Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

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It is the holiday season and car trips (and plane trips too) and tis the season of traveling with antsy children. It doesn’t matter if you are just going twenty minutes or spending several hours heading to Rochester or Elmira traveling with kids can be stressful. It seems that “Are we there yet?” has been issued already more times than your nerves can handle.

I feel your pain. I have now the joy of older children and they have iPods, DVD’s and the laptop computer to keep them occupied. The best $500 investment years ago was the behind the seat DVD player with headsets. Parents today can pick one up for considerably less.

If you are planning a car trip this Holiday season with the kids, here are a few suggestions, on things to pack in the car to keep you from going crazy.

• For each child buy a bunch of little trinket items and wrap them up. Go to the dollar store and get things that the kids are always asking you for.
• Invest in some paper towels, but even better bring 6 or 8 kitchen towels for the ride, they come in handy for clean ups, make great place-mats in laps for eating in the car and if you have the terrible spill, they work so well.
• Traveling with a baby? Place two or three bibs on them. One gets dirty — take it off without having to put another one one!
• Have a clean washcloth in a baggie with you. Each time you stop rinse it out and you have something to clean sticky fingers. A container of baby wipes is also a great resource to have on these trips.
• A huge stash of plastic bags — sounds silly but you will generate garbage on the way and what better way than when you fill up gas rid the car of any excess garbage.
• Make sure you bring some Windex and paper towels, windows get dirty!
• A pillow and blanket for each child, if you are lucky they will take a long nap during the trip!
• Bring a lap table for each child, bring crayons, coloring books and lots of paper for them to draw as they go by. Note if you are going to travel anywhere where the car will get hot when parked, colored pencils a smarter option. Magic Markers just a bad idea, the caps never stay on and something always gets stained. Check Out: Mom’s minivan
• Create coloring sheets of the trip and things that they might see. Help the kids create a memory book by keeping the sheets in a three ring binder, as they color them, they go back into the binder. At the end of the trip you can use these sheets to add to the photos you take to build a memory book. Check Out: Free Coloring Pages
• Snacks. Bring lots of them, and invest in the individually wrapped items or put items in the small baggies for the kids. Juice boxes put in a cooler frozen solid. Kids get bored they want to eat. Don’t forget carrots, celery, grapes and apple wedges are great snacks too for the car! Check out: iVillage Healthy Car Snacks

Happy 4th of July Western New York!

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