Homebuyer's Blog

Finding a new home is an exciting experience! You’ve spent hours online, window shopping for homes, and daydreaming about how amazing it will be to live in your new space. However, before you can live the dream, another big decision needs to be made.

It’s time to select a real estate agent.

Traditionally, spring is the season to clean and freshen your home, inside and out. Why not plan a fall “refresh” too? With the hectic holidays just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of crisp fall afternoons and improve your home's exterior. Here's how!

Can your credit score actually COST you money when buying a house? Absolutely! Lower credit scores can cost thousands of dollars over the life of a mortgage loan. Here’s why.

Saving money is always easier than making more money, right? Why let expensive energy literally pour out of your home if you can prevent it? The average home leaks a lot of air—similar to leaving a medium-sized window open year round, 24 hours a day! You may be able to close that “window”-sized hole in your wallet by identifying areas where your heating and cooling dollars are escaping. Here's how.

Moving is one of the most stressful life changes you can experience. It’s up there with the death of a loved one and divorce. It is also often accompanied by other major life stressors, like moving away from family and friends, starting a new job, or helping children acclimate to a new school. Here are seven ways to help reduce the stress of your next move:

Congratulations! After a great deal of bargaining, a couple of arguments, and some heartfelt hugs, you and your significant other have agreed that it’s time to make “the big move.” Finally, domestic harmony has returned to your household. But how do you maintain that harmony, while picking a home? 

Getting ready to move to a new house? That’s AWESOME! Congratulations! An impending move is more than just a change of address. It can be the beginning of a new life; an opportunity to enjoy surroundings that are better suited to who you are now, not who you were when you moved into your current home.

It’s summer! For many people in the northern hemisphere, it’s time to get out of the house and host outdoor gatherings, whether it’s enjoying an outdoor living room or kitchen-like features, perfect for entertaining.

After all, who wants to cook inside and haul everything outdoors? Likewise, who wants a constant parade of people flowing in and out of the house?

There are many ways to create great outdoor entertaining spaces and simplify the process of serving food and drinks, including some economical options. Claim some space in your own great outdoors and make it happen!

PMI is private mortgage insurance. It’s often required by conventional mortgage lenders to finance loans for individuals who do not have the traditional down payment of (at least) 20 percent. It’s a helpful way to purchase a home with a smaller down payment, but it’s also an expensive option. Learn more, before deciding if PMI is right for you.

Interested in creating a little outdoor living space on a shoestring budget? Instead of hiring someone to pour concrete or pour a concrete patio, consider one of these DIY options. Either one makes a great weekend project!

If you are planning to buy a house, your credit score can make a huge difference in the overall cost of your home. Before applying for a mortgage, make sure you’ve done everything you can to get your credit score as high as possible!

Your credit score is a three-digit measurement of your creditworthiness. By summarizing your prior history of paying off your debts, your credit score tells potential lenders how much risk they will assume if they grant you a loan.

Selling your home while buying another one introduces unique challenges. In addition to preparing for a move, you also need to get your current house ready to show to potential buyers. If you’re trying to accomplish these two big goals at the same time, a storage unit may sound like a helpful way to work through the transition. But is it?

It's summertime! Now is the time to enjoy the great outdoors, leave the indoors behind, and start living and entertaining outside. Creating an outdoor “living room” is one of the best ways to extend your living and entertaining space. Here are a few tips to get started!

Swimming, boating, and other water sports are among the great joys of summer. However, on the home front, summer is a time when water bills can spike! It’s a good time to think about ways to reduce your usage.

Buying your first home is a big step! It’s wonderful to dream dreams, and it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of searching property sites like realtor.com. Before going too far, however, it’s a good idea to hit the “pause” button and consider these more serious points.   

Papering walls is a trend that comes and goes. That’s not a problem. Paint is currently more popular than wallpaper, and that’s not a problem either. The problem occurs when the two trends intersect, in the wrong order. It’s okay to place wallpaper over paint, but not paint over paper.

If you have a green thumb, you want to let it show. After all, it’s not only your personal passion, but it’s also a skill most people envy because so few of us have one! Having a beautiful yard full of landscaping and color is a good thing, right? It improves the value of your home as well as the beauty of the neighborhood, right?

Smart home technology keeps getting smarter and increasingly popular. Devices like smart thermostats, security cameras, and programmable locks are now found in many homes. But what about other devices, largely flying under the radar? Here are five new, but less familiar options: 

So you want to carve out space in your home to work, think, and create, but try as you might, there doesn’t seem to be any room for an office or a workspace? Creating some personal space doesn’t have to require a home addition or a change of address. Sometimes you just need to reimagine the space you already have.

Pages