If you’ve never bought a home before, the sheer number of mortgage loan options can be overwhelming. What’s the difference between a conventional loan and a government loan, and should you go with an adjustable-rate or fixed-rate mortgage? Even if you have bought a home before, if it’s been several years, then you might not remember everything you’ll want to know before making a decision about which loan type is going to be best for your situation. There’s good news, though: It won’t take long to get a handle on the different types of loans available to you and figure out which one best fits ..read more

Finding and choosing a reliable plumber is one of those things that most homeowners know they should do at some point … and they usually wait until there’s an emergency to find someone, prioritizing availability over quality. That’s an understandable situation to find yourself in, but it’s definitely not ideal, and you might or might not be happy with the work the plumber does or the price tag attached to that work. Whether your current plumber just retired or you moved to a new neighborhood recently, there’s no time like the present to find a plumber who’s a good fit for you, your household ..read more

In real estate, escrow refers to the window of time in between a buyer’s offer being accepted and meeting the seller at the closing table to sign the finance and title transfer documents and receive the keys to their new house. It’s managed by a third party (often a title company) that’s not connected to the buyer or the seller, and the third party will hold onto any money that changes hands and help ensure that everything is in order for the final transfer of ownership. Although escrow is a critical component of the home sale that typically takes between 30 and 45 days, for many buyers it se ..read more

Taking a vacation somewhere you love can make you wonder what it would be like to own a vacation home there. It’s only natural to dream about having an easily accessible dwelling that you can tap whenever you want to come back to your favorite vacation spot, and owning a vacation home can in fact be a very rewarding and even lucrative experience — if you plan it well in advance and know what you’re doing. Of course, it’s difficult to know exactly what you’re doing if you’ve never bought a vacation home before. What do you need to consider before you take the plunge and decide to invest in a h ..read more

Even though humans are a species that builds and maintains our own shelter (also known as “homes”), we can all appreciate the beauty that the natural outdoors has to offer — and indeed, there are entire industries dedicated to beautifying our own outdoor spaces so that we can reap maximum enjoyment out of them.  If you’re a new homeowner or you’ve just run out of ideas for how to make the outdoors feel like a part of your home, then use this list of ideas and implement a couple at a time. You definitely don’t need to tackle all of them, but every little effort you can make toward buildin ..read more

Trying to sell a house, even in a fast market, can feel like a never-ending (and incredibly daunting) activity. And if you need to sell fast for some reason, then you’re probably curious: How fast is fast, exactly, and what will you need to do in order to get the fastest deal possible? First, you’ll need to ask yourself some questions about why and how you want to sell. If speed trumps every other consideration (such as price, for example), then you might not want to list your house on the open market at all, and you definitely want to avoid options like FSBO (for sale by owner), which can tak ..read more

Pets are a joy and a delight that help make our lives feel more meaningful — but let’s face it: The folks who have a problem with pets because of the mess and wear and tear on an average home kind of have a point. Pets shed their fur everywhere. They don’t always smell pristine. If they’re not well-trained, you might have to clean up their refuse, which is never an enjoyable task. Having a pet is absolutely worth the hassle they can cause, but there are also steps you can take to maintain your home so that it’s perfectly habitable for you and your family while you enjoy your fur babies. By ta ..read more

Mortgage rates are one of those numbers that most people don’t pay any attention to unless they happen to be trying to get a mortgage—a loan to buy a house. Then, mortgage rates become pretty critical! In April 2022, the mortgage interest rate for a fixed-rate, 30-year loan rose to above 5%. It’s the first time mortgage rates have climbed so high in more than a decade, since 2011.  So what does that mean if you’re trying to buy a house? It depends on where you are in the process. To determine how mortgage rate shifts could affect your buying power, answer the following questions.   A ..read more

Paying less than the listing price for a house might seem like a pipe dream in some markets, but for savvy buyers who know what they’re doing, it’s a very real possibility. That said, making an offer that’s lower than the listing price can also be a dangerous game to play if you don’t know the rules: You could offend a seller, permanently blacklisting you from a home you love, among other potential penalties that plague low-bidding buyers. How low can you really go when making an offer? Of course, the answer to that question is “it depends” — on the market, the listing price, the home in ques ..read more