It’s finally happened. While you were traipsing to all those open houses, negotiating with sellers, and rounding up a mountain of financial documentation, you thought it might never end. But it did end: a seller agreed to your offer,…
If you’re like a lot of renters, the idea that maybe you ought to buy a place has crossed your mind – it might well cross you mind every month, as you sign and mail your rent check to…
The house-hunting shows on television make it look so simple: decide to buy a home. Stroll through a few open houses, fall in love with the perfect place, sign some papers, and pop open the champagne. Congratulations, you’re now…
If you ask older people about today’s crop of younger folks, many would have you believe that young people don’t have the fortitude and financial wherewithal to settle down and buy a home. Buying a home requires planning, discipline,…
Homeownership is a dream-come-true for many Americans. But as home-owning friends and colleagues will readily tell you, navigating the potential pitfalls of mortgages and homeownership can be difficult. Many homeowners and would-be homebuyers have their home-owning dreams dashed because they…
The secret to a less stressful moving day? Planning ahead. Whether you’re moving across town or across the country, check out these tips for keeping your cool as you shuffle your stuff from one home to another. Make a…
Whether you’re buying a home or selling one, having a good real estate agent by your side can be the key to a smooth and pain-free property transaction. Great agents understand the conditions in their local markets. They advocate…
A vacant home might be for sale for any number of reasons. Perhaps the previous occupant decided to take that job on the other side of the country. Maybe the owner passed away recently, or the family moved out…
At an open house, it’s easy to be distracted by carefully staged furniture or cheerful, chatty listing agents. But an open house is your chance to really get a good look at your potential new home. If you aren’t…
In many ways, choosing a community in which to live is really about choosing the kind of life you’d like to lead, and the friends and neighbors with whom you’d like to share that life. When you’re shopping for…
This post is brought to you by our friends at My BankTracker. Home ownership is one of those things that everyone thinks about sometimes. We all assume it will happen one day. We vaguely save money or think about…
In a hot real estate market (Hello, Denver!) there are fewer homes for sale than there are people looking to buy. And that means means you could find yourself in a bidding war for the home of your dreams….
Ready to start looking for a home? Here are five tips for a productive house hunt: Spend some quality time in the neighborhood These days, 90% of homebuyers search for their home online—but don’t stop there: where you live…
Before a bank or lender gives you money to purchase a home, that lender is going to want a good, solid estimate of how much that home is really worth. A bank doesn’t want to give you $500,000 to…