During preparations for her nightly baths, Laura Starrett noticed the water pressure wasn’t as strong as it once was. She had also received an alert from her utility company that she had used more water that month than she had before. “Then I realized I’d left my sprinklers on and they were running every day, … Read More “Ignoring These 8 Home Repairs Could End Up Costing You a Lot More” »
Category: Blog
If you are serious about selling your home now, don’t get greedy with the asking price. This is still a seller’s home market as there simply aren’t enough affordable homes for sale in many parts of the country. But with average 30-year mortgage rates above 6%, buyers are much more price-sensitive than they were a year ago. Agents … Read More “Is Now a Good Time to Sell Your Home?” »
Hooray! You’ve found a buyer for your home. You’re done, right? Not quite. All you have to do now is get yourself—and your house—ready to close, and we’re here to help. Let’s dive in! Earnest money When the buyer makes an offer on your house and you accept, the buyer will write you a check for a … Read More “You’ve Got a Buyer! What Next?” »
Don’t be tempted to skip steps—it could cost you! A real estate deal is generally a long and stressful exercise that involves many steps and procedural formalities. Closing on a house occurs when you sign the papers that make the house yours, but before that fateful day arrives, a long list of things has to happen. This … Read More “12 Steps of a Real Estate Closing” »
The better the deal you get on your mortgage, the less money you’ll spend in the course of repaying that loan. Here, we’ll talk about how to shop for a mortgage so you can walk away with the best deal possible. How do you shop around for a mortgage? Shopping for a mortgage may seem complex, but … Read More “How to Shop for a Mortgage” »
Don’t overprice or you’ll scare away prospective buyers. To set the right price on a home, you should combine an objective evaluation of your property with a realistic assessment of market conditions. In good markets and bad, you are more likely to benefit by determining a fair value and sticking close to it than you … Read More “Selling Your Home? Set the Right Price” »
Applying for preapproval for a mortgage is a straightforward process that requires some paperwork and, in many cases, just a few days for the lender to verify your personal and financial information. Each lender’s process is different, but they’ll generally review your credit history, income, assets and debts before deciding to grant a preapproval and, … Read More “How to get preapproved for a mortgage” »
Space it Out Across 23 Little Steps… Preparing for an open house is like throwing a party for a bunch of guests you won’t get to meet. It’s stressful…and a little weird. But if you decide to host one, be aware that buyers will come into your home with steep expectations.“30 years ago when I … Read More “How to Get Ready for Your Open House” »
Did you know that you can get a tax break for buying a house, as well as for many of the ongoing expenses of homeownership? You could stand to save thousands of dollars at tax time, but first you have to know which of your expenses qualify and whether you want to itemize your deductions … Read More “Can I Get a Tax Break for Buying a House?” »
Some garden trends—like manicured lawns, rows of evergreens, and enchanting cottage gardens—will never go out of style. But sometimes we want to branch outside of traditional landscaping ideas, try something different, and create a beautiful space in our yard to better suit our lifestyles. Turns out, we’re not the only ones who feel this way: Katie … Read More “6 Garden Trends That Will Be Huge in 2023, According to Experts” »