You’re excited because you just found the perfect home. The neighborhood is great, the house is charming, and the price is right. But if you’re a first-time home buyer, you might find out that the price is pretty far from perfect. If you’re shopping for your first home, additional – and often unexpected – home-buying costs should
Boosting your home’s value doesn’t have to mean a complete remodel. In fact, quite a few home improvement projects aren’t worth the effort if you’re hoping to quickly increase your home’s value. However, there are plenty of do-it-yourself projects you can accomplish with a few weekends of hard work. And don’t let the letters D-I-Y scare
With record high temperatures all over the country this summer, people are trying everything to keep cool. Whether your water activities are focused on backyard pool barbecues, picnics on the beach, or time spent on a boat, chances are that the family dog will be included in many of these activities. Needless to say, it’s
Buying a home can be confusing and emotional, especially for first-timers. It’s a huge expenditure – the largest many folks will make in their lifetime. There’s a lot of information to review and plenty of documents to sign. And, at times, it’s can become hard to tell who’s working for whom. It’s not surprising that
There are so many things to consider when searching for your dream home: location, size, school district, number of bedrooms – the list goes on. One question you may forget to ask yourself is “What kind of bugs and pests will I have to deal with?” Pests are everywhere, and having a few in your
Subway tiles – the white 3-by-6-inch ceramic rectangles we’ve grown so fond of over the years – are now a staple in bathroom design. Classic and simple, subway tile is an affordable choice that continues its legacy of making well-loved spaces easy to clean and even easier on the eyes. (They may even help boost your home’s
Good economic news isn’t always good for mortgage rates. A stark reminder of this came Friday, August 5 when new data showed that the U.S. economy added 255,000 non-farm jobs in July, blowing out consensus forecasts of just 180,000, and immediately sending rates higher. Does this mean your 2016 refi window has closed? Let’s take
The share of older renters has risen substantially over the past decade, with households aged 55 and over contributing 42 percent of renter household growth, according to a 2015 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. That rate is expected to increase as more Baby Boomers retire. However, there are factors
In today’s market, many buyers forego fixer-uppers for move-in ready homes. As a result, significant opportunities abound in prime locations as homes that need work linger on the market. In competitive markets, savvy consumers gravitate toward these homes that nobody else wants. Why? They can customize the home to their requirements, and build some equity along
Renting a home can often get a bad rap. It’s true that some aspects of being a renter are less than glamorous. The quirks of renting can range from 1980s burgundy carpet to a neighbor who loves to practice the trombone every evening for three hours or a landlord who refuses to take down the Holly Hobbie wallpaper in