If you want to live in a sought-after urban neighborhood, you might have to be willing to sacrifice space.

Lesson #1: Decide location versus space before searching for a home
When first-time homebuyer Jarrod was shopping for his first place in Chicago, he faced a tough decision: Should he buy a small home in Lincoln Park, his favorite area of the city, or should he buy a larger home for a lower price in Uptown, about two miles north of Lincoln Park? Jarrod wanted to spend some time weighing his options, but then another buyer made an offer on the Uptown home he was considering. He needed to make a quick decision or face losing the home, so he decided to put in an offer. The sellers accepted, and Jarrod got the home. But almost a year later, he’s still not 100 percent sure he made the right choice. While he loves having plenty of space to entertain in his Uptown home, he misses Lincoln Park’s proximity to restaurants and nightlife. Before shopping for a home, it’s important to set your priorities and decide which is more important to you: space or location. If you settle on this in advance, you can make thought-out decisions during the home-buying process and avoid the unsettling feeling of buyer’s remorse.
Learn More: How to Choose a Neighborhood >>Lesson #2: Don’t commit before you’re ready
Owning a home is a huge commitment — and a more expensive one than some homebuyers realize. Jarrod’s monthly housing expenses, for instance, have gone from about $1,300 a month as a renter to $2,200 a month as a homeowner. Before buying a home, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into so you can decide if you’re financially and personally ready for such a large commitment. In addition to your monthly mortgage payment, figure out how much you’ll be paying for property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, HOA fees and other monthly costs of owning a home.
Learn More: Owning a Home: The Monthly Tally >>NEXT: Lessons 3-7 >>

If you’re willing to make the time and effort, taking on home improvement projects yourself can save you money.

Lesson #3: Sweat equity can save thousands
First-time homebuyers John and Jennifer always knew they wanted to add value to the first home they owned. So when they bought their first place in Roswell, Ga., they immediately started remodeling, and they decided to tackle many of their home improvement projects themselves. The couple spent $20,000 remodeling their kitchen, building a new deck and installing a new patio — upgrades that would have cost $50,000 by their estimation if they had hired a contractor to do the job. If you have the skills, the time and the patience to live with dust and debris for a while, do-it-yourself home improvement projects can save you a big chunk of cash.
Learn More: 10 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home >>Lesson #4: A down payment is never a bad investment
John and Jennifer originally planned to put around $60,000 down on their first home. However, they changed their minds just before closing when they qualified for a loan that didn’t require any money down. The homebuyers opted for 100 percent financing and invested their down payment money in the stock market. After losing about half of that money, they regret not putting it into their home instead. Putting some money down is a good idea for any homebuyer because it minimizes your risk and lets you start off with some equity.
Learn More: 5 Ways to Afford a Down Payment >>Lesson #5: The school district will affect home value
Even if you don’t have kids, it pays to check out a neighborhood’s school district before buying a home, as living in an area with a sought-after school system raises your property value. John and Jennifer’s home, for instance, is in one of the best school districts in Georgia, and their neighborhood typically does well in resale.
Learn More: How to Choose a Neighborhood >>

Lesson #6: A land survey will answer boundary questions
Before making changes to your property, it’s a good idea to find out your exact property lines. A month after they moved into their home, John and Jennifer had their land surveyed and discovered that their yard ended 8 to 10 feet closer to their home than the previous owner told them, leaving them confused as to where to build their fence. You can’t always rely on the seller’s knowledge of the property, so getting a land survey will clear up any uncertainties you have.

Lesson #7: Check building plans for the neighborhood
Shortly after John and Jennifer moved into their home, they learned that a large playground was going to be built in the community — right next door to them. Since the homeowners have no children, they get to hear the squeaky sound of swings all day, but they don’t benefit from having a playground so close by. Plus, having a playground practically in the backyard is hit or miss when it comes to resale — buyers with kids may see it as a selling point, while others may not. Before buying a home, find out if there are any building plans near your home to avoid surprises after you’ve moved in.

<< Lessons 1-2 I Lessons 8-10 >>

Staying under budget when buying a home gives you extra cash to add the upgrades and decor you’ve always wanted.

Lesson #8: Reserve some cash for home improvements
Before Brooke even bought her first place in Decatur, Ga., she was already planning home improvements. To make her plans a reality, she stayed below her budget when buying a home, giving her extra cash for upgrades. With the money she saved, Brooke was able to expand her deck, build a privacy fence and add a shed. Staying a bit under budget can give you the freedom to make improvements, letting you enjoy your home even more.
Learn More: Top 10 Home Updates >>Lesson #9: Dig deeper during inspection
Brooke’s home inspection revealed several nail pops in the shingles on her roof. After having them fixed, she thought she was in the clear because the roof was advertised as new. However, about two years later the nails popped up again and caused a leak. A roofer determined that there were two layers of shingles on Brooke’s roof: a new layer on top of an old one. Brooke felt misled and looked into legal action, but discovered that having multiple layers of shingles is legit in Georgia. If a problem pops up during your inspection, it’s always a good idea to take a closer look. If Brooke had checked out the roof herself, she would have seen the two layers of shingles and known that something was amiss.
Learn More: Top 10 Red Flags for Homebuyers >>Lesson #10: Continue negotiating after the inspection
If a flaw is discovered during your home inspection, use it to your advantage. If Brooke had known more about the roof issue before she closed on the home, she might have been able to use it during negotiations to get a price reduction. Even after inspections, you still have another chance to get a great deal.
Learn More: Negotiate Like a Pro >>

<< Lessons 3-7 I Lessons 11-13 >>

Falling home prices have made some homeowners wish they had waited longer and paid less when buying their first place.

Lesson #11: Real estate is not a recession-proof investment
In the past few years, housing prices have taken a hit across the country. Adam and Becky, first-time homebuyers from Phoenix, Ariz., learned this first-hand. Since they bought their home a little over a year ago, homes in their neighborhood are now selling for half of what they paid, leaving them disappointed that they didn’t wait a little longer to buy their first place. However, no one can predict exactly where the housing market is going. It’s important for homebuyers to realize that if you’re emotionally and financially ready to be a homeowner, it’s always the right time to buy.
Learn More: Stop Procrastinating, Buy Now! >>Lesson #12: Examine both financial and personal costs of buying
Buying a home can require you to make tough personal sacrifices. After adding up the cost of their mortgage payment, HOA fees and other monthly expenses, Becky realized she would need to quit school and get a job so she and Adam could afford their house. While Becky is happy with her decision, if they had saved more money she would have been able to stay in school. Before buying a home, think about what kind of personal and financial sacrifices you’ll have to make. If affording a home is a stretch right now, it might be better to wait awhile and save up more money.
Learn More: Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Home >>Lesson #13: Read HOA documents before closing
Reading a big stack of papers may seem like a huge hassle, but carefully reviewing your HOA documents is important if you want to avoid unpleasant surprises down the road. Eight months after they moved into their home, Adam and Becky learned that their HOA dues were increasing by 5 percent. If they had read their HOA documents, they would have known sooner and been able to prepare. Before buying a home in a community with an HOA, read through the covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs), bylaws and budget and look for anything that could affect you in the future. Also, talk to residents in the neighborhood and get opinions on how well the HOA does its job.
Learn More: What You Need to Know About HOAs >>

<< Lessons 8-10 I Lessons 14-16 >>

Before house hunting, get pre-approved for a loan so you can make an offer with confidence as soon as you find the perfect home.

Lesson #14: Secure financing before falling in love with a house
Clarence Hawkins and his girlfriend Angie were very excited to purchase their first home. So excited, in fact, that they made the mistake of house hunting before locking down a mortgage, thinking it would take awhile to find the “perfect house.” They fell in love with a house in their agreed-upon price range, but were left without solid financing when signing the contract. In the end, securing a loan took longer than expected, and Clarence and Angie lost the house they had such high hopes for. By taking the time to get financing in order before you start house hunting, the whole process can run smoother and you won’t be living in fear of losing a house you love.
Learn More: Understanding the Pre-Approval Process >>Lesson #15: Don’t spend every dollar you qualify for
Clarence and Angie were willing to come down in their price range, and as a result were able to open up their options to a larger chunk of the market. With financing already secured, they found another great house with ease and were able to spend more on decorating and upgrades. Coming down in price also allowed Clarence and Angie to save more each month and lock in a better interest rate. By not spending every bit you qualify for, you can open yourself up to more options and better possibilities.
Learn More: Figure Out Your Financial Strategy >>Lesson #16: Find smart money
Clarence and Angie found their “smart money” by getting a loan through a non-profit organization that had agreements with several lenders to give first-time homebuyers affordable loans. These kinds of opportunities are out there; you just have to look for them. Remember, you still have to be underwritten by the lenders, so be prepared to show your credit history and attend classes and workshops the non-profit group organizes.
Learn More: Federal and State Home-Buying Programs >>

<< Lessons 11-13 I Lessons 17-20 >>

During a home inspection, don’t overlook the details. Examine woodwork and tiling to make sure both the craftsmanship and materials are high-quality.

Lesson #17: Make sure renovations were professionally done
As first-time homeowners Scot and Leeah found out, paying close attention to the aesthetic details of a home is just as important as the structural details when going through an inspection. Oftentimes, do-it-yourself remodelers looking for a quick fix use low-quality materials that turn into a problem for future homeowners. They key is to make sure any renovations were done by a professional contractor using quality materials that are meant to last. Inspecting details up front is very important so you don’t find yourself shelling out even more cash later on.
Learn More: Home Inspection 101 >>Lesson #18: A creative bid strategy helps ensure a good deal
Scot and Leeah used a unique approach to get a great deal on their Denver, Colo., home. By first making an offer of $300,000 on the home, then adding a contingency that they would pay $1,000 over any other competing offers up to a maximum price point of $329,000, the couple could guarantee they got the house with minimal dollars spent over the highest competing offer. Although unconventional, a creative strategy like this can be very effective in today’s market, especially when there are competing bids for the property.Lesson #19: Don’t overlook the landscaping
Scot and Leeah learned first-hand that overlooking the details can end up costing a lot more than you might realize. Updates to the exterior of a home can add up just as quickly as the interior. If you aren’t looking to spend much more on the details once you have found a home, look for a property that already has the amenities and the landscaping that you desire.

Lesson #20: A higher price point might save money over time
After making interior and exterior renovations, many homeowners find that their budget has been stretched way beyond what they initially wanted to pay for a home. Scot and Leeah found this to be very true when looking back at all the renovations they had taken on to make their house a home. For this reason, it can be smart to adjust your price point a little to help you save money over time. By paying a little more upfront for a home that has all of the upgrades and extras you want, you won’t have to worry about paying for them down the road.
Learn More: Figure Out Your Financial Strategy >>

<< Lessons 14-16 I Lessons 21-22 >>

A smart bidding strategy can mean the difference between an offer that’s ignored and an offer that’s accepted.

2363 Keystone Ct, Boulder, CO 80304

Beautiful home in quiet, peaceful, Parkside only 100 yards to the park thru the back gate! This home boasts an extensive remodel with whole house insulation, new exterior stucco, all new windows and doors. Both bathrooms have also been remodeled and new ss apps in the kitchen! Newer furnace and hot water heater! Private hot tub and extra storage in the garage! Wood floors to be installed in the kitchen and dining room or a credit w full price offer. $5k credit for granite and cabinet upgrades.

Green Fallout

The era when green marketing meant sunny logos and big environmental claims is over. Just ask BP.

When sweet, red crude began sticking to the marsh grass in coastal Louisiana in May, it was the end of an era for many people, including shrimpers, fishermen and a huge swath of the Gulf Coast tourism industry. But it was also, at least symbolically, the end of an era for the marketing world.

For more than a decade, BP had flooded the media with advertisements showing solar panels, windmills and waving fields of grass without a drop of oil in sight. It changed its name, KFC-style, from British Petroleum to BP to deemphasize its claim to fame: hydrocarbons. The company adopted a stylized green sun as its logo and rolled out the slogan “Beyond Petroleum.”

But when the company’s Deepwater Horizon offshore well began blowing tens of thousands of barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico each day, no outlay of advertising dollars could change the cold, hard facts: The company that had cultivated the greenest image in the oil industry still derived more than 99 percent of its revenues from gas and petroleum. For consumers who had been fed the image of the company out tending windmills, the revelation was almost as shocking as the images of oil-soaked pelicans.

The BP blowout was the swan song of an old style of green marketing, one in which companies could make green claims and hope that no one would look over their shoulders. In the last five years, a new type of green marketing has taken hold, and it has high standards.

It’s no longer enough to say you’re green in your advertising. It’s not even enough to have one or two flagship green products in your line or to screw in a few compact fluorescents and send out a press release. In a time when consumers and watchdogs measure the environmental impact of raw materials and industrial processes, packaging and transportation, a company marketing itself as green needs to have sustainability built into its DNA, or at least painstakingly retrofitted into its culture. But even more important, green products have to be good products.

You, Only Greener The new maxims of green marketing Be credible. Companies are petrified of being marked as greenwashers, with good reason. Boycotts, media campaigns and a bad public image can tar a company for years. Being honest about your struggle to go green and the progress you’ve made is more convincing than giving yourself a fake seal of approval. Stay mainstream. Less than 20 percent of consumers make purchasing decisions based solely on environmental factors. To appeal to a wider market, think about green-plus … green plus cheaper, green plus faster, green plus better. Be a teacher. Consumers are confused by years of greenwashing and environmental jargon. Communicate your company’s green qualities simply and in a way that consumers can relate to and understand. –J.D.

Research has shown that consumers don’t respond simply because something is environmentally friendly

. “Being green in and of itself isn’t a differentiator except with a small group of consumers,” says Joel Makower, executive editor of GreenBiz.com and author of Strategies for the Green Economy. “Green succeeds only to the extent that it means better–it’s cheaper to buy, it operates better, it lasts longer, it’s cooler for my image. People do want to do the right thing, but they don’t want to go out of their way to do that. They love ‘change’ when it’s a noun; they hate it when it’s a verb.”

Back in 2006, Matt Kolb, a real estate agent in Boulder, Colo., had his “change” moment when a client decided to ride around town on a rented bike to look at houses. Kolb lost the client when he went with a private seller he’d met on his bike ride, but the encounter led Kolb to form Pedal to Properties, a real estate firm that offers agent-led bike tours to houses for sale. Last year, after the company became a major player in the Boulder area, Australian entrepreneur Tim Majors approached Kolb and bought half of the company to help franchise the concept around the country. Their green twist of using bicycles is what helps Pedal to Properties stand out in the homogenous, blazer-clad real estate sector, but Majors says it’s more the company’s overall quality.

“When I bought into the company, I realized we had to be more mainstream to be successful,” he says. Majors helped recruit some of the highest-earning agents in the Boulder area and persuaded Terabitz, a market leader in real estate software, to help Pedal to Properties develop a next-generation real estate platform that uses social media. That has helped Pedal to Properties become not only a greener alternative, but also a company with strong fundamentals. It has launched locations in Northampton, Mass., and Sonoma, Calif., with more on the way.

And the bike tours, which are optional, aren’t just a green gimmick. Majors says they offer buyers a real advantage. “Biking slows down the buying process and gives clients a feeling for the community. They get to see what it’s like to bike to local schools or churches. It’s a great differentiation from other real estate firms.”

But the company is cautious about calling itself “green,” even though it’s made strides in becoming paperless by handling massive real estate documents electronically and have pushed the idea to others in the industry.

“I would never say we’re absolutely 100 percent green,” Majors says. “But we understand the responsibility of a green company, and we’re very environmentally conscious.”

That’s another distinction between old-school green marketing and today’s generation of green salespeople–a willingness to reveal exactly what the practices are and a willingness to admit strengths and weaknesses to customers. That’s the basis of “radical transparency,” a practice in which a company allows consumers to examine its manufacturing processes, warts and all. The outdoor gear and clothing company Patagonia, for example, created a mini site called The Footprint Chronicles in which consumers can track individual products and their carbon footprints from their raw materials to their delivery to store shelves.

“Making a change like that is like turning a gigantic ship–it doesn’t happen fast,” Makower says. “No company is or likely will be perfect. There’s no such thing as a sustainable company yet in the truest sense of the word. We have to accept our green status as imperfect or be paralyzed by imperfection.”

In many respects, green transparency is being forced on the corporate world. Sustainability stats are likely to become as common as food nutrition labels when Wal-Mart implements its sustainability index during the next few years. The index will assess the environmental effect of all of the 100,000 products Wal-Mart sells, from Coca-Cola to Black & Decker. That’s the type of large, mainstream change that can drive other companies to improve their green bona fides.

Government is getting involved, too. After almost 15 years without a revision, the Federal Trade Commission is updating its guidelines for green claims, creating verifiable definitions for buzzwords such as “sustainable” and “biodegradeable.” It’s begun calling out greenwashers, too. Last year, the FTC fined four companies for selling bamboo-derived rayon clothing as 100 percent pure bamboo and hit Kmart for improperly marketing paper plates as biodegradable. More states are implementing strict laws to cut down on greenwashing, meaning that green marketing needs to focus on honesty and transparency.

Easy access to information, understandable definitions and a crackdown on greenwashing are essential if green marketing is to overcome its weak link: consumers.

In an Eco Pulse survey conducted this spring by The Shelton Group, a Tennessee-based marketing firm that tries to mainstream green products, 64 percent of participants said they were interested in buying green, especially low-cost, low-risk items such as cleaning products and recycled paper products. But, in practice, green products haven’t caught fire; according to the survey, only about 20 percent of respondents said they are “consistently green in their behaviors or purchases.” Part of that is because consumers are confused about which companies are truly green. In a 2009 BBMG Conscious Consumer Report, survey participants rated Wal-Mart both the greenest and least green company. All of those green “seals of approval,” green bottles and eco-sounding product names make it difficult for consumers to determine which products are the real deal. So, they often simply cut green out of their decision making.

“Twenty-five percent of our respondents said they had no idea how to decide if a product is green,” says Lee Ann Head, Shelton’s vice president of research. “The vast majority of people still make their decision based on reading labels–but at the same time they don’t trust the labels. There’s still a sense of buyer beware with green products.”

And because consumers don’t understand exactly what green means, they often conclude that the green product won’t perform as well.

In the service industry, selling yourself as green can be an expensive endeavor, especially if there is no guaranteed payoff. That’s why Joey Terrell went it alone when he decided to refresh his Joliet, Ill., Denny’s by building a LEED-certified restaurant in 2009. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design , an independent certification program run by the U.S. Green Building Council.)

Denny’s gave him permission to build the green restaurant as long as it cost about the same as a regular store, he says. The project turned into a marketing boon itself as Terrell’s Denny’s raced a nearby McDonald’s to become the first green-certified restaurant in the country.

When it was all said and done, Terrell says, he came in $40,000 under budget and is saving about $20,000 a year in energy and water conservation. Plus, he’s benefiting from a marketing boost. “We’re seeing double-digit sales increases over last year. It’s a surprise for us, we weren’t anticipating that. People generally come into the restaurant and tell us it’s because it’s green,” says Terrell, who is planning to turn his Mokena, Ill., Denny’s green, too.

“People tell us they love eating in the restaurant but can’t pinpoint why,” he says. “Maybe it’s because the air is fresh with reduced contaminants, and the skylights make it feel like you’re eating in a meadow.”

In many ways, green marketing has transcended marketing. To market itself as green, a company has to do the often difficult work of actually being green, not simply flashing pictures of windmills.

But unlike the first generation of green marketing, which imploded when the expensive products failed to live up to customer expectations, today the momentum is so strong, and the benefits often so compelling, that companies aren’t likely to abandon their green efforts. In fact, much of the most successful environmental advances have happened under the radar as companies have squeezed waste and inefficiency from their manufacturing processes and reduced packaging. For instance, the aluminum can is a third lighter than it was 20 years ago, a remarkable green achievement that doesn’t show up in Budweiser advertisements.

Green marketing eventually will fade away, and if innovation continues at the current pace, that will be sooner rather than later. Not because green marketing is ineffective but because green is becoming the status quo. When all cleaning products are nontoxic, when every appliance is an energy sipper, when all toaster ovens are 100 percent recyclable, green will cease to be a factor. Until then, marketers need to plug their green achievements without making that their only notable selling point.

“Green is no longer a trend, it’s inextricably linked to how companies do business, design, use and dispose of products,” Makower says. “In 10 years, you won’t be able to sell a car without electric assist. Green will be part of the fabric. It’s those other differentiators, like cost and performance, that will still be important.”

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Jason Daley is a freelance writer based in Madison, Wisc.