Congratulations on your new home! Whether a condominium, cooperative apartment, single-family home, townhouse or mobile home, your home-sweet-home affects your tax status. If this is the first year you’ll be filing your taxes as a homeowner, there are a few things you need to know to take the most advantage of your new status. Before […]
Help for Prospective Homebuyers
While there is no dearth of advice when it comes to saving up to buy a home, some of us just need a little more help. Introducing the Housing Counselor What, you ask, is a housing counselor? Different from a real estate agent or broker, a housing counselor is a neutral party that does not […]
Disappointing Appraisal?
You’ve found the perfect home at the perfect price and made an offer that the sellers accepted. But, the appraisal came back lower than your offer. BUMMER! What do you do now? Any home financed through a bank or mortgage lender requires an appraisal to protect them against originating a loan is upside-down (the loan […]
Pinterest for Home Buyers and Sellers
Pinterest for Home Buyers Some people are great at articulating exactly what they want in their next home. But some of us know what we want yet find it tough to explain that vision to someone else. It usually comes out something like this: “I’ll know it when I see it.” But seeing tons of […]
NAHB Reports Importance of MID on Your Home
There’s been lots of talk of mortgage rates and tax credits and cuts in the news lately and it can be hard to understand how it all applies to you and your home. A recent analysis by economists at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) on the mortgage interest deduction (MID) delves into how […]
Celebrate Thanksgiving Stylishly in Your Home
Thanksgiving traditions in your home can create some of the best memories for years to come. We can all think back to our childhoods and remember certain foods, dishes, games, or ways to give thanks. We grasp onto the wonderful memories and may try to forget the ones involving sketchy green Jell-O with mayonnaise in […]
How Does a Pool Affect My Home Value?
As temperatures begin to rise, the lure of sparkling sunlight reflected off rippling blue water draws many homeowners to invest in an in-ground pool. That a pool adds to quality of life, there is no doubt. When it comes to adding value to your home, however, that question is more difficult to answer. Before you […]
Creating Summer Buyer Attraction
Summer is a great time to invest in outdoor upgrades and indoor options that make your home appealing to buyers. After months indoors, homebuyers respond quickly to outdoor amenities when scoping out homes to buy. Creating outdoor living areas and highlighting outdoor views give potential new owners the impression of both expanded space and bright, […]
Downsize to Upgrade
Whatever your reason for wanting a smaller home—empty nest, tired of cleaning, less mobile, closer to grandkids, moving from the suburbs to be nearer to work, single again—downsizing does not mean downgrading. In fact, when moving into less space, make it an upgrade at the same time. Compact is the new supersized If you’re moving […]
Elections Affect Homeowners
One of the very first discussions the Founding Fathers had was about how to balance the rights of all individuals with the rights of those who owned property. They knew that if only property owners could vote, the rights of individuals and minorities might be suppressed … but, if voting extended to non-property owners, the […]