The end of June can be the busiest time of the year for a moving company; buyers from the Spring Season are closing on their homes.

But not every home buyer uses a moving company — some use Moving Day to find out just who are their best and most reliable friends.

If you’re forgoing the “professional” move for a series of trips among friends, there are a few steps you should take to minimize the burden on everyone involved.

First, your friends are doing you a favor so be sure to do them a favor — be as ready as possible.

Prior to Moving Day, sort through every room in every closet and every drawer. As you look at each item, ask yourself “Do I really need to take it with me?”

Make an itemized list of all the “leave behinds” and take them all to a charitable center nearby. Save your receipt from the donation center and remember to submit to your accountant at tax time — those donations are tax-deductible! If you come across an item that is broken or beyond repair, toss it out.

For everything that’s left, box it up and move the boxes to a logical pre-move location. You may need an “advance team” of friends to help move the heavy stuff.

Next, think long and hard about what kind of moving truck you will need and reserve it well in advance.

Consider using a truck with a hydraulic lift on the tailgate. Finding a truck with a lift may requires a larger truck than you otherwise need but moving boxes and furniture is much safer with the lift — both for your personal goods and for your friends’ bodies.

And lastly, your friends may be helping you as a favor, but don’t forget to feed them or the next move may be just you and the moving company.

This is just a quick reminder to ignore national news stories about real estate. It may sound like strange advice, but real estate is a highly local phenomenon.

The “national scene” is comprised of data from:

• 50 states, with
• More than 30,000 incorporated cities, and with
• An innumerable number of neighborhoods

It also combines data from:

• Single family residences
• 2-4 units
• Condominiums/Co-ops

In other words, throw a dart at a map of the United States and the street on which the dart lands is in the same data set as the street on which you live.

Like I said, ignore the national statistics — focus on your local statistics.

Unfortunately, getting local real estate statistics is not always easy. The best place to start is by asking a real estate agent, a title company representative, or somebody else that has access to (and knows how to interpret!) raw real estate data for your neighborhood.

By talking to professionals that are “in the market” every day, you’ll get a much more reliable opinion than from national news sources.

If you are an affordable housing candidate, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is on your side.

Listed state-by-state on its Web site, HUD provides links to local communities and the various programs they offer.

Some subsidies are based on maximum income qualifications (i.e. 20% below the area’s median income) or neighborhood characteristics; others are by professions (i.e. teacher, public service).

When using the HUD Web site, choose local organizations wherever possible, since they know your area best. Because each real estate market is different, sometimes having a person “on the ground” is the best way to be effective.

Non-government agencies are helpful, too, and usually require less “formal” procedures.

Whomever you talk to, remember that it’s their job to help you. Don’t be shy about asking all the questions you have. Understanding your options is what’s most important.

Have you ever wondered how much your coffee habit is costing you?

Courtesy of software developer Hugh Chou, use the Coffee Calculator to calculate how much you pay for coffee each year, and how much money you forgo in savings because of it.

Did you know: If you buy a $1.87 grande drip coffee from Starbucks every working day instead of drinking free coffee in your office, you’ll forfeit more than $6,000 over 10 years’ time?

Compounding the problem? Very few of us take our coffee “plain”.

If you prefer the grande, sugar-free vanilla, non-fat latte, well, you’d best check out the savings for yourself.

The next time you wonder where you’ll find money for a downpayment on a new home, or pay for lawn care, or a car repair, begin the planning process by studying the dollars you spend on non-essential items.

Starting with specialty coffee.

Lawns, plants and landscaping can be difficult to maintain but when you are preparing your home for sale, it’s not a smart place to take shortcuts.

You may have an aversion to fertilizers and/or chemicals for environmental or safety reasons, but when creating the “perfect lawn” with maximum appeal is the goal, perhaps it’s time to consider making an exception.

Careful application of fertilizer can do wonders for a lawn’s look-and-feel without causing environmental damage. The same goes for judicious use of chemical application.

When in doubt — as always — get a professional’s help.

Maintenance of yards is important, too. Be honest with yourself — if you can’t keep up with your mowing and lawn care duties, hire somebody else to do it for you. If you are cost-conscious, consider asking a kid in the neighborhood to help out.

Either way, routine care is a must.

And lastly, keep a careful eye on your seasonal plants and replant them when the time is right. Dead plants and flowers can take attention away from other, more cared-for lawn areas.

The NBC Today Show ran a Home Staging series this week that’s worth watching. Hosted by Barbara Corcoran, the trio of 5-minute pieces resemble HGTV Reality Shows but carry much more insight and “everyday tips” that ordinary folks can use.

The video clip above is look at a home on Long Island that, as Barbara called it, is “the worst house on the block”. You can’t help but feel bad for the agent whose name is on the For Sale sign.

Of course, the story has a happy ending — the home is expected to go under contract.

Watch all three home staging clips via YouTube:

• Home staging with a $100 budget
• Home staging with a $500 budget
• Home staging with a $5,000 budget (see clip above)

“People don’t want to put the money in,” Barbara says. “They’re thinking about taking the money out.”

This series of videos shows how that line of thinking can actually reduce your profits.