Planning to remodel your kitchen, add a master suite, or undertake some other pricey home renovation in 2018? Watch out—not all of these home improvements pay off like they did in the past, according to Remodeling magazine’s latest Cost vs. Value Report. For this much-referenced annual report, now in its 31st year, researchers pinpointed the average return on investment of 20 popular home renovations by…
When first considering buying or selling a home, many people will take to the internet for answers to their questions. The information available is vast and trying to decide who to believe can be difficult. There are some great sources of real estate information available like Realtor.com Trulia and Zillow. However, nothing beats the personal…
Figuring out when to plunge into the real estate market can be quite intimidating—especially when prices are high, choices are limited, and history urges restraint. “We’ve seen two or three years of what could be considered unsustainable levels of price appreciation, as well as an inventory shortage that resulted in a record-low number of homes for sale across…
The procuring cause helps real estate agents and buyers figure out who will receive the commission on a house sale. It typically comes into play when a buyer purchases a house he saw with two different real estate agents. Maybe one agent found the house and the other agent helped you put together your offer—so who gets the fee for their service?…
If you’re looking to buy a home, your ears might have perked up when you heard about the new tax bill. Even though the details of the bill are not finalized, the news is filled with talk of how this tax overhaul might affect homeowners. Though nothing is finalized or signed into law yet, there are…
There was a time in my life when I thought I’d never own a home. As someone who had preferred life in big cities and prioritized travel above homeownership, the idea of settling somewhere permanently never really appealed to me. Then I got married, then I got pregnant, and suddenly the idea of living in an…
After all the data breaches in the last couple years, consumers have been feeling vulnerable to identity theft. Many have utilized a Credit Freeze to prevent would be thieves from opening new accounts in their name. However, what happens when you need to open a new account? Here’s what you need to know. Don’t Get…
How to Keep Your House From Getting Creamed on Halloween By Audrey Ference | Oct 27, 2017 damedeeso/iStock Come Halloween, homeowners arm themselves with bagfuls of Snickers and Skittles to give the masses that come a-knocking. Homeowners alsobrace themselves for an onslaught of eggs, toilet paper, burning garbage bags of poop, and other pranks that, for some reason, are deemed…
When making an offer on a home, it’s hard to plan for every contigency. What do you do if the home inspection finds flaws? You don’t have a crystal ball to know in advance every issue that might be found. What is your recourse? Here are some tips for dealing with these issues. How to…
Most home sellers have read articles about staging (or at least should have), your Realtors are working hard to get your home marketed but what else can you do to get more visibility during the holidays? Here are 3 avant garde ideas that are highly likely to add to your list of prospective buyers. Read “Can…