West Islip Blogs of the Week: May 3

What are your neighbors thinking about? Is a national-news story peeking the interest of the neighborhood or is someone simply sharing their insight on every day life? 

No worries if you missed the past week – we've collected the top blog posts across our local Patch sites in one convenient place.

Do you have ideas to share? You can always join our Local Voices right here.

5 Tips for First-Time Home Buyers

Deer Park-North Babylon Patch blogger and real estate agent Lisa Palermo wrote in this week about buying a home for the first time and things those buyers should keep an eye out for.

"A common mistake among first-time home buyers is purchasing more house than they can afford," she writes. "You should not rely on banks to determine what you can comfortably spend on a new home. They have no way of knowing, however, what you spend each month on groceries, entertainment and utilities."

Pregnancy: Why Do Mothers-To-Be Love Chiropractic?

West Islip blogger and chiropractor Laura Bowen, D.C., notes how stress relieving and potentially helpful a visit to the back doctor could be during pregnancy.

"The massive amounts of hormonal changes that occur impact emotions, behaviors and the physical structures. All of these changes create a lot of stress," she writes. "Getting your nervous system and spinal alignment regularly checked by a Chiropractor can reduce the mental and physical stress placed on you."

How Does a Seller Decide What Offer to Take?

Babylon Village blogger and real estate agent Kristin Schuster gives some tips on what offers home sellers should take and what ones to leave in the dust.

"With multiple offers on homes it has changed the dynamic of how buyers are and should be submitting offers.  Not every home with multiple offers will result in a bidding war, so I want to take the time and explain give you a quick overview on what factors of your offer will be taken into consideration by the seller."

Backflow Testing on Long Island: What You Need to Know

Lindenhurst blogger Pat Dolan writes in about a New York State-required device to prevent back flow into your water system.

"Backflow prevention devices can be installed both inside and outside a building, and according to state regulations, must be tested once a year. A trained technician can visit your location and, using a test kit, determine whether or not your device is working properly."