It’s not easy to decide whether you should remodel your home or it makes more sense to move. But if you’re asking the question, chances are you’ll be better off making some kind of change. Maybe your home no longer fits your family’s needs, or perhaps it’s showing signs of age. A home renovation might fix…
Many young entrepreneurs are looking at 2016 as the year to launch the businesses they’ve been dreaming about. With success stories like Slack and Snapchat as inspiration, the entrepreneurial path has seldom been more appealing to those just starting out. Such optimism is understandable. It’s easier than ever to start a business, to get backers to…
A New Year brings new opportunities, and that’s certainly true if you’re looking to sell or buy a home in 2016. What exactly does the year ahead have in store for housing? Industry experts point to a lot of promising signs — moderate increases in prices and sales, the creation of more households, and an improving job…
Dirt and Odor and Clutter, Oh My! This one is simple: Your home needs to be as clean as physically possible if you want to get the highest price for it. More often than not, this will require carpets to be shampooed, kitchens and bathrooms ‘deep cleaned,’ and in many cases, sellers will need to…
If you’ve ever dreamed of moving to Denver, Seattle or Dallas-Fort Worth, you’ll have plenty of competition to buy a house this year. According to Zillow, those three cities rank among the top 10 hottest real estate markets of 2016. Zillow used three variables to determine the “hotness score” of the nation’s leading housing markets:…
The new year brings some good news to borrowers as mortgage rates dipped just below 4% in the latest survey of lenders. Freddie Mac’s just-released report shows the following average rates for the most popular home loan terms: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.97% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending Jan. 7, 2016….
There is basically no such thing as a completely stress-free homebuying experience, but following these steps can significantly reduce your stress to some small doses of natural anxiety. Get Educated About Your True Price Range You can easily reduce future stress by not spending more than you can truly afford. There are some standard rules…
Attending an open house can be a bit overwhelming at first, especially if it’s crowded and hectic. But if you can take the following advice, you’ll be ahead of the pack and gain some great insights. The Surroundings Clearly, the focus on at an open house is, well, the house, as it should be. But…
For a musician, there’s nothing better than playing “in the pocket.” That’s when the rhythm, the tone, the feel — everything is just right; you’re in the zone. You can also be “in the pocket” financially, with minimal debt, plenty of retirement savings and ample cash flow. If that’s the case, you might be considering…
When buying a home, there are seemingly hundreds of details to attend to, especially as a first-time homebuyer. Those details can range from the critical to the merely inconvenient, from property lines to pets. One important matter you’ll encounter is that of the contingency. “Contingencies are your ‘out’ clause,” says Tim Freund, a real estate…
