If you have fallen behind on your mortgage payment or fear that you are about to be in that situation, you aren’t alone. It’s estimated that just over 10 million homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments currently. So, what can you do? Your best bet is to be proactive. Educate yourself about your potential options as early as possible. The longer you wait to seek out a solution, the...
Finding a qualified and experienced contractor can be the deciding factor on whether you are making a sound investment in upgrading your home or throwing your money away. With so much on the line, here are five steps to take in choosing the right person for the job: 1. Begin with a budget. It’s easy for costs to quickly get out of hand if you don’t establish your budget before any...
If you’re like a lot of people, you probably start out the new year with the best of intentions to finally get organized and defeat clutter once and for all. Then, before you know it, February is here. You look around and realize you have as much clutter as you ever had. Mail is piled up on the kitchen counter. Your work mess is spread out all over the dining room table. Your closet is bursting at...
What’s the most important room of the house? Most people would say the kitchen. It seems no matter how incredible your living room is, everyone always wants to congregate in the kitchen. It’s the heart of the home and the place where memories are made. It’s no wonder, then, that the kitchen is often an important factor when buyers are looking for a new home. It only makes sense that if...
For many homeowners planning to list their homes, presenting their property at its very best is often one of their main concerns. Staging can be helpful in getting a home sold for top dollar. Whether done in whole or in part, there are advantages to staging a house before presenting it to buyers. In addition, if a home is sitting empty, staging can help potential buyers to better visualize...
Thinking about buying a fixer-upper? Buying a property in need of renovation and turning it into a suitable personal residence can be extremely satisfying. But tackling a fixer-upper can also be challenging. For starters, when inventories are tight, it can be difficult to purchase a fixer-upper at a significantly lower price than the market value of a comparable move-in ready home. That can mean...
It’s hard not to get glued to the 30-minute drama of some of today’s property-buying-flipping-loving-and-listing lineup of real estate reality TV shows. After all, they are pretty entertaining. And, that’s the point. These shows are simply entertainment. But if you log too many hours watching reality TV versions of real estate, you may start to get a skewed idea of what it’s really like...
They’re members of the family, so it’s not surprising that anxiety over how Fluffy or Fido are going to manage through your upcoming move is high on your worry list. Some pets take to change better than others, but it’s fair to say most pets will go through some level of stress when moving from one home to the next. Here are some tips on how to reduce their stress (and yours!) and help them make...
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the finish line and have sold your home. The boxes are all packed, you’ve done a final cleaning and you’re ready for the move. But before you close and the new owners move in, here’s a checklist for making the transition go smoothly for both you as well as the buyer. 1. Garage door openers. You should provide one opener per garage door and they should...
There’s a lot of attention paid to first-time homebuyers and what they need to know when buying a home. But what about first-time home sellers? No matter how much an agent tries to prepare a homeowner for the listing and selling process, every sale is different and there are some nuances that are difficult to anticipate. At the same time, there are certain things that are to be expected—but for one...
