Of course, relocation services can take some of the worry off your shoulders. But they can cost thousands of dollars. The good news is you can manage a move by yourself, save tons of money, and still have some sanity left on the other end.

In this three-part series, I’ll talk about:

• How to identify the best neighborhood for your family
• Unconventional ways of finding a great house (with a focus on rental properties)
• Finding a trustworthy mover and organizing the details of your relocation

My family and I are in the midst of our fourth long-distance move (including one overseas), and as a single I packed up house six times. While I’m not a relocation expert (yet), I hope that the skills I’ve gained from our itinerant lifestyle can help others make the experience a little less daunting.

HOW TO FIND A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD

Finding the right neighborhood is a huge factor in determining the success of your move. Because we all have different needs, tastes and lifestyles, there is no “best neighborhood.” One person’s paradise might be another’s dungeon.

Here are some methods for finding the right place for you. I suggest trying as many of them as you can. Finding a neighborhood is like assembling a mosaic: each small tile you place will help you see the big picture more clearly.

Fun Online Tools

Of course visiting neighborhoods in person should be at the top of your list. But with kids in tow and travel expensive, sometimes much of the legwork has to be done long-distance.

NeighborhoodScout.com

Recommended by Money magazine, NeighborhoodScout can help you search for the best neighborhoods for you, with categories such as urban sophisticates, first-time homebuyers, or great deals on great towns. In the advanced search you can even select median home value and an urban, suburban or rural setting.

If you’d like to find out more about a certain place, type its name in the Learn tab and get all sorts of details about a neighborhood and its residents, such as age and lifestyle, education level and income. The description tab is an especially welcome feature, which distills the statistics and gives you a written overview of the neighborhood.

NeighborhoodScout also has a neat Match tool where you can search for neighborhoods that are similar to ones that you already know and love.

You Are Where You Live

Another site that can give you a feel for the type of people that live in a certain zip code is You Are Where You Live. Based on a “lifestyle segmentation” system called PRIZM from the Nielsen Company, it classifies consumers into 66 categories — like Shotguns & Pickups, Bohemian Mix and Newlyweds — based on census data, consumer surveys, and other sources of demographic and consumer information.

Because PRIZM operates on the principle that “birds of a feather flock together,” it can be a curious exercise to type in your own neighborhood and see if they’ve got your number.

WalkScore.com

If you’re like me and you enjoy being able to walk to shops, restaurants, banks, and schools, WalkScore is an excellent site to know about. WalkScore ranks the most walkable nabes in the 40 largest cities, or if you want to know about a particular neighborhood or house, you can type in an address or a zip code and get a walkability score from 1 to 100 and a classification like “car-dependent”, “somewhat walkable,” or “walker’s paradise.”

GreatSchools.org

While I believe GreatSchools is the best of the school ranking sites out there, I recommend using it as just one of the many ways you judge a school. Test scores — upon which most of their ratings are based –are only one aspect of a school’s overall success.

It’s tempting to whittle down your list based on this concrete, easily-obtained information. But if you are very interested in a neighborhood for other reasons, I would not write the area off simply because its elementary school gets a 2 out of 10.

I have personally known schools to have low ratings on GreatSchools, but to be well-loved places where kids are engaged, challenged and thriving. Oftentimes scores are outdated, don’t reflect the dynamism of the teaching, a new principal, or how your child would do in that school.

Finally, standardized test scores and demographic information cannot replace a personal visit to a school, where you will immediately get a feeling about a place (see below). Don’t underestimate the mother’s gut!

Also talking to parents who have children currently at the school is another great way to get a reading on whether you would be happy there or not. (GreatSchools may have a few parent reviews about your school, but I would not count on them as an indicator of how most parents feel about a school. And really, the most important thing is how you feel about a school.)

Tip: If you are not only looking for a neighborhood, but a city to live in, you might want to check out GreatSchool’s Best Cities to Live and Learn. The series includes sub-articles on small, midsize and large cities with outperforming public schools, as well as articles which rate towns with great public schools based on median home prices that range from under $100,000 to $800,000 or more.

Researching on the Web

Mamapedia.com

Sarah from Buttoned Up recommends asking the moms at Mamapedia for advice about your new destination. While this national networking resource probably won’t replace locally based groups (see below), it’s a good place to start asking questions about your city.

Use parent networks like this to find out more than just places to live. In a search for Syracuse, I found moms exchanging advice about OBs, pediatricians and babysitters. If you don’t find what you are looking for searching with key words, sign up and post a query yourself.

Tip: If you introduce yourself first — telling a little bit about you and your family and what brings you to the area — you might just sow the seeds of some future friendships.

Neighborhood Reviews in City Newspapers and Magazines
Many cities have a column dedicated to reviewing area neighborhoods each week. In the Washington Post, for example, the column is called “Where We Live.” The New York Times has “Living In,” and New York magazine as well as Time Out Kids both run regular neighborhood write-ups and ratings.

See if you can get an online or paper copy of the local newspaper and magazine and check out the real estate or living section.

I love these articles because they mean an intelligent person has already done a lot of the legwork: touring the hood, investigating its history, talking to residents, evaluating housing prices and commute times, and identifying some of the pros and cons of living in the area.

Good ol’ Google

Type in your city or county name with some characteristics you desire, such as “walkable,” “historic district” or “charming downtown.” I found a few fantastic New York suburbs this way, and while we didn’t end up moving there, it gave me hope that there are places that are really right for us if we are just willing to unearth them.

Person-to-Person

Mine Your Personal Networks for Local Contacts

When we told people we were moving to Syracuse, we were surprised at the amount of friends, acquaintances and colleagues who actually knew people who lived there.

To speed the process, try writing an email to everyone you know asking if they know someone with experience in your city. Once you make the connection, ask each person what neighborhoods they like best and which ones would they recommend for you.

While I had these personal contacts on the phone, I also asked their tips for finding rental houses, parent groups, and schools.

Join Local Parent Groups and Ask Questions

These online networks are invaluable sources of information. Most membership mom groups will have an email loop that you can join before you move there and some are strictly online networks. You can search the archives or just fire away. I’m sure you’ll get lots of input from local moms who have been in the same situation you’re in.

How to find one in your area? Ask your new-found contacts (or Mamapedia moms). Search the online version of the local newspaper for articles about parenting or mom groups. Another way to find people with similar interests is to search Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, and MeetUp.

Once you’ve found some, join the ones that you can for free and from a distance. Introduce yourself in an email and ask members to recommend neighborhoods with the characteristics you seek.

Use Your Alumni Network

Most colleges have an alumni organization. I can search mine for fellow graduates by city and other things like field of work and date of graduation.

When internet searching was leaving me thirsty for more information about our future city, I found a few people who lived there and who graduated around the same time I did.

Even though I didn’t know them from Adam, I just called and said we’d gone to school together and that I was moving to the area. Did they have a minute to give me a lay of the land?

Nothing Beats Your Own Eyes, Ears and Sixth Sense

As mentioned before, neighborhoods will appeal to different people in different ways. A place one person raves about may throw another over the edge. Just remember that you are on a fact-finding mission and you might end up with a conclusion that will surprise you.

No one source is going to provide you with your answer. It will be a process of gathering and selecting, like sifting sand at the beach. Eventually you’ll end up with a few pretty shells to examine further.

That’s when it’s time to pack your bags and go see for yourselves.

Reconnaissance Trip

With no car, three kids and a tight budget, we didn’t visit our new city until we actually had some houses lined up to look at. But if we had, we would have saved ourselves a lot of time and effort.

Neighborhoods will usually affect you in a visceral way. You’ll know pretty quickly if it’s a place you’d feel comfortable or not. This will help you eliminate houses that look great on their own, but whose surroundings would not fit your bill.

Check out the Neighborhood from All Angles

In How to Find a Good Neighborhood, the Life Hacker blog recommends visiting a neighborhood at different times of day and night.

Check out the area at rush hour and on the weekends. You might find the place comes to life on the weekends (or the opposite), that traffic on the single thoroughfare is unbearable, or that university students hog all the street parking on weekdays.

Lifehacker also advises, “If you depend on public transportation, find out how accessible it is in this area. Drive to and from the house from several different directions, so you see both the scenic and not-so-scenic routes.”

Visit Schools, Libraries and Playgrounds

Make appointments with schools in neighborhoods you think you’ll like. Ask to tour the school and meet the principal. Peek in classrooms. Do the children seem engaged and happy? Do the staff seem cheerful and friendly?

If you and your children like to frequent the public library, it’s easy to walk in and check out what the local branch has to offer, who uses it, and what is posted on their bulletin board. Same goes for the town playground.

Go to Open Houses

Even if you’re not serious about buying or renting a house in the area, it doesn’t waste anyone’s time to show up at a scheduled open house. Touring a local house will give you a more intimate view of a neighborhood, almost from the inside out. Plus you might get a chance to talk to the real estate agent or other house-seekers about the area.

Eat at Local Hang-Outs

Ask your new mom networks their favorite cafe’s, or go to the town center and arrive at a restaurant at prime time: say 6 pm on a Saturday night. You’ll get a sense of the kind of residents the place has and how friendly people are.

You might also visit the YMCA, community center, hardware store or even post office. Check out the bulletin boards and observe people interacting in everyday ways.

Every place you visit will help you flesh out your picture of a place. And once you’ve figured out some neighborhoods that will make you happy, it’s time to find that perfect house.

Stay tuned to Frugal Mama for the next three installments: How to Find a Quality House to Rent, Finding a Low-Cost Mover Without Getting Scammed, and Frugal Mama’s Moving Checklist.

1. Appreciation. Real estate has long-term, stable growth in value. While year-to-year fluctuations are normal, median existing-home sale prices have increased on average 6.5 percent each year from 1972 through 2005, and increased 88.5 percent over the last 10 years, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. In addition, the number of U.S. households is expected to rise 15 percent over the next decade, creating continued high demand for housing.

1. Equity. Money paid for rent is money that you’ll never see again, but mortgage payments let you build equity ownership interest in your home.

1. Savings. Building equity in your home is a ready-made savings plan. And when you sell, you can generally take up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) as gain without owing any federal income tax.

1. Predictability. Unlike rent, your fixed-mortgage payments don’t rise over the years so your housing costs may actually decline as you own the home longer. However, keep in mind that property taxes and insurance costs will increase.

1. Freedom. The home is yours. You can decorate any way you want and benefit from your investment for as long as you own the home.

• Stability. Remaining in one neighborhood for several years gives you a chance to participate in community activities, lets you and your family establish lasting friendships, and offers your children the benefit of educational continuity.

Getting approved for a mortgage, finding the right agent, searching for the perfect home and staying within a budget are some of the challenges buyers must face before they become homeowners.

Here are ten common mistakes first-time homebuyers should avoid.

1. There’s more to it than mortgage payments

Many first-time homebuyers decide to buy when they feel ready for a mortgage. But just because they can afford the mortgage payments doesn’t mean they can afford to own a home, says New York attorney Rafael Castellanos, a managing director at Expert Title Insurance.

“They have an idea of what their mortgage payment is going to be, but they don’t realize there’s much more to it,” he says.

Property insurance, taxes, homeowners association dues, maintenance, and higher electric and water bills are some of the costs first-time homebuyers tend to overlook when shopping for a place.

“Keep in mind property taxes and insurance have a tendency of going up every year,” Castellanos says. “Even if you can afford it now, ask yourself if you’ll be able to afford the increased costs later.”

Even though it’s your first home, you must think of it as a long-term commitment, says Ed Conarchy, a mortgage planner and investment adviser at Cherry Creek Mortgage in Gurnee, Ill.

“If you have to switch jobs in a year or two and may have to move for the job, you should think twice,” says Conarchy. “Ideally, you should picture yourself living in that house for five to seven years.“

2.  They don’t ask enough questions of their lender and end up missing out on the best deal.

3.  They don’t act quickly enough to make a decision and someone else buys the house.

4.  Looking for a home first and a loan later

Homebuying doesn’t begin with home searching. It begins with a mortgage prequalification — unless you’re lucky to have enough money to pay cash for your first house.

Often, first homebuyers “are afraid to get prequalified,” says Steve Anderson, a broker and owner at Re/Max Benchmark Realty in Las Vegas. They fear the lender may tell them they don’t qualify for a mortgage or they qualify for a loan smaller than expected. “So they pick a price range out of sky and say, ‘Let’s go look for a house,'” Anderson says.

And that’s not how it should be done. Yes, it’s more fun to go look at houses than to sit in a lender’s office where you have to expose your financial situation. But that’s a backward approach, Conarchy says.

“You get preapproved, and then you find a home,” he says. “That way you’ll make a financial decision versus an emotional decision.”

5.  They don’t find the right agent who’s willing to help them through the homebuying process.

6.  Not getting professional help

New to the homebuying game? You’ll need a reputable real estate agent, a good loan officer or broker, and perhaps a lawyer.

Venturing into this process alone, without professional help, is not a good idea, says Anderson. While every rule has its exception, generally, first-time buyers should not try to deal directly with the listing agent, he says.

“If you are getting divorced, are you going to go to your husband’s attorney for help? Of course not,” he says. “Same here. If you go to a listing agent, they are only going to show you their listings. You must find a buyers’ agent to help you.”

If you hire an agent without a referral from friends or family, ask the agent to provide references from previous buyers. The same goes for loan officers or mortgage brokers.

“It’s very hard for first-time homebuyers because they don’t know who they are dealing with,” Anderson says.

It’s crucial to find a professional who will give you “truly independent advice,” Conarchy says.

Sometimes that means hiring a lawyer, says Castellanos.

“You are about to make what is possibly the largest single investment of your lifetime,” Castellanos says. “You want to make sure it’s done right.”

7.  Exhausting entire savings on the down payment

Spending all or most of their savings on down payment and closing costs is one of the biggest mistakes first-time homebuyers make, Conarchy says.

“Some people scrape all their money together to make the 20 percent down payment so they don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance, but they are picking the wrong poison because they are left with no savings at all,” he says.

Homebuyers who put 20 percent or more down don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance when getting a conventional mortgage. That’s usually translated into substantial savings on the monthly mortgage payment. But it’s not worth the risk of living on the edge, says Conarchy.

“I’d take paying for mortgage insurance any day over not having money for rainy days,” he says. “Everyone — especially homeowners — needs to have a rainy-day fund.”

8.  They don’t do enough to make their offer look appealing to a seller.

9.  They don’t think about resale before they buy. The average first-time buyer only stays in a home for four years.

10.   No Furniture shopping until the deal is closed

You have prequalified for a loan. You found the house you wanted. The contract is signed and the closing is in 30 days. Don’t celebrate by buying furniture or a car, if you plan to finance those purchases.

In this tight lending environment, lenders pull credit reports before the closing to make sure the borrower’s financial situation has not changed since the loan was approved. Any new loans on your credit report can jeopardize the closing.

Buyers, especially first-timers, often learn this lesson the hard way.

“They sign the contract and they want to go buy new furniture for the house or a new car,” Anderson says. “I remember one case where just before closing, the buyer drove to the office and said, ‘Look at my brand-new car.’ I told them, ‘You better go back to that dealership.'”

Luckily, the dealership agreed to wait a couple of days to report the loan to the credit bureaus, he says. Otherwise, it could have killed the deal.

By Mary Boone

Leading a nation is tough work. When the president of the United States goes to his private residence at the end of the day, he undoubtedly yearns for the comforts of “home.” But what does that home look like?

The second floor of the White House is the first family’s residence, where their bedrooms and private sitting rooms are located. This level has 16 rooms — including the Lincoln bedroom — one main corridor and 6 bathrooms. Every first family conducts minor redecorating and restoration work when they move into the White House.

Privacy Preferences

Some presidents have been less private than others when it comes to the private residence. The Clintons, for example, hosted official events there, and first lady Laura Bush allowed documentary crews to film her White House home.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, on the other hand, have worked to ensure the family space is for family only. Journalist Jodi Kantor, whose book, The Obamas, was released in August, has been in the White House dozens of times but has never been to the family’s private quarters.

“I can’t even name a journalist who has ever been up there under the Obama watch,” she told Chicago magazine. “The Obama attitude with the private quarters is, ‘This is Sasha and Malia’s home.’ ”

What is known about the Obamas’ D.C. home is that they entrusted its decor to California-based interior designer Michael S. Smith, whose celebrity clients include Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman and Rupert Murdoch. Smith has remained tight-lipped about the Obamas’ specific style, noting only that “the couple’s interest in bringing 20th-century American artists to the forefront and utilizing affordable brands and products” would serve as his work’s guiding principles.

While no formal pictures of the rooms in the private quarters have been released in the past four years, much is known about changes the Obamas have made on the White House grounds. Michelle Obama’s kitchen garden has been widely publicized, and first daughters Malia and Sasha are enjoying a wooden swing set — complete with treehouse, tire swing and climbing wall — installed for them on the South Lawn.

Presidential administrations have all left their marks on the White House. Some of the most notable updates thorough the years:

Presidential Pool

In 1933, citizens raised money to build a White House swimming pool for President Franklin Roosevelt, who suffered from the crippling disease, poliomyelitis.

Roosevelt used the pool, located inside the West Gallery between the White House and the West Wing, multiple times each day. In later years, President Harry Truman swam in it frequently. President John F. Kennedy liked the pool so much that he made a habit of stopping by at lunch, stripping down for a swim and sneaking back to his private quarters for a nap wearing nothing but a robe.

In 1970, the increasing demand for TV news coverage created the need for a media workspace within the White House. President Richard Nixon had the pool filled in and called for the construction of a press room in its place.

With no indoor pool available, President Gerald Ford decided to have an in-ground pool constructed on the White House grounds in 1975; he swam daily when in town, and his son, Jack, took scuba lessons in the pool. President Jimmy Carter’s young daughter, Amy Carter, and first lady Barbara Bush both used the pool on a regular basis.

Pitch Perfect

President Truman created a horseshoe pitch just off the Oval Office, but it was removed later. President George H.W. Bush had a new one constructed near the White House swimming pool. He introduced several world leaders to the sport, including Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Bowling and Golf

Bowling lanes were first built in the ground floor of the West Wing as a birthday gift for President Truman in 1947. Truman didn’t care for bowling himself but allowed his staff to start a league. These were moved to the Old Executive Office Building in 1955 to make way for a mimeograph room.

In 1969, President and Mrs. Nixon, both avid bowlers, had a new one-lane alley built in an underground workspace area below the driveway leading to the North Portico.

President Dwight Eisenhower had a putting green installed at the White House in 1954. President Bill Clinton had the putting green moved to its current location, just outside the Oval Office door, in 1995. The two greens have been well-used over the years, helping to perfect the putts of Presidents Ford, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Obama.

Getting the run around

President Clinton had a running track installed on the South Lawn of the White House. Much to the dismay of the Secret Service, Clinton preferred jogging around the streets of Washington, DC — often disrupting traffic — rather than running the secure White House path. The track has since been removed.

Child’s Play

The Obamas aren’t the first presidential parents who’ve added White House play structures for the benefit of their children. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy had a trampoline built into the ground so that Caroline and John Jr. were not visible to pedestrians as the pair bounced into the air. President Carter helped design and build a treehouse for daughter Amy on the White House grounds.