Blog
Ideas For Creating a Friendlier Neighborhood
One of the best things about becoming a homeowner is the opportunity to build community. When you move into a new home you’re also becoming part of a neighborhood. But what if that neighborhood is on the quiet side or…
When Your Neighbor is an Arm’s Length Away
When you’re house hunting, you may come across a home that is literally only a few feet from the neighbor. In fact, more and more homes are being built on smaller lots so you may encounter this frequently. It may…
Is This Another Housing Market Bubble?
The U.S. housing market continues to make the news on a daily basis. If you’ve been following the news, then you may have concerns about a potential housing market bubble – or even a crash. Nobody wants to revisit what…
5 Ways To Use Your Home Equity
For homeowners, one of the silver livings of skyrocketing home values is a sudden increase in your home equity. According to a recent report by CoreLogic, homeowners who have mortgages saw their equity grow by more than 32 percent since…
Choosing a Tree for Your Yard
As homeowners, we tend to spend most of our attention on the interiors of our homes. We labor over design decisions such as what color to paint the walls or what style of furniture to have in the living room.…
Selling to Family or Friends
Selling your home is a major undertaking, even in a seller’s market. Sifting through offers and deciding on the best buyer can be more stressful than you realize. If you have a family member or a friend who’s in the…
How “Days on Market” Affects Your Home Sale
When homebuyers are looking at homes for sale, they’re often checking things like the number of bedrooms or even the school district where the home is located. But some homebuyers (and their agents) are looking at less obvious things, too,…
Avoid These First-Time Buyer Mistakes
Buying your first home is a major accomplishment. It can be so exciting to daydream about owning a home and getting started with your search. But as a first-time buyer, there are many pitfalls that you may experience if you…
What Homebuilders Want You To Know
Building your own home is a dream come true for many homebuyers. When you start from scratch you can create a home that specifically suits your needs. Watching it all come together can be very exciting. But the process can…
Getting Ready For Your Big Move
Summer is moving season! In fact, did you know that July 31 is often the busiest moving day of the year? The real estate market is hotter than ever, and millions of Americans are packing up and moving on to…
Benefits of Owning a Home
Owning a home is the quintessential American Dream. Being a homeowner is a mark of success and offers so much more than simply providing you a place to live. In fact, there are many benefits of owning a home, some…
Pricing Your Home for Sale
There are many things to do when you’re preparing to sell your home. From cleaning and decluttering to painting and making repairs, your to-do list might seem a mile long. But one of the most important decisions to make when…
Decluttering Tricks Revealed
Is your clutter getting you down? Are you preparing to move and trying to figure out what to do with all your stuff? For some, decluttering is an easy task that is swiftly accomplished in a single day. For others,…
Let Go of These Things When Moving
Moving is a big job. You may think you don’t have that much stuff, but once you start packing it up you may realize you have much more than you thought. But why cart around a bunch of stuff that…
Allergy-Proof Your Home
Opening the windows to let in some fresh air can be such a delight this time of year. Except, of course, if you have seasonal allergies. Allergy season generally begins in March with tree pollen and ends in August with…
Ace Your Yard Sale
Yard sale season is here! If you’re ready to unload some of your unwanted stuff, then a yard sale is one of the best and easiest ways to do it. Not only will you declutter your home, but you’ll also…
Understanding Debt-to-Income Ratio
When you’re buying a home, your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) will be an important part of the equation. This critical piece of information will affect whether or not you will qualify for a mortgage and can also affect the terms and…
How To Buy a Home Faster
Yes, the home-buying process can take time. But there are strategies you can use to make the process go a little more quickly. Whether you’re a member of the military who has been reassigned or you need to move to…