As you get close to closing on a new home thoughts tend to turn from dollar and cents, contracts and contingencies to furniture, paint colors, appliances and other décor. If you work from home, it will be important to get the office set up immediately so we’ve put together this handy guide to get you up and running quickly….

Good for you if you deliberately sat out the summer madness that is inherent in the current housing market. If you’re serious about buying a home, you’re hopefully about to save a huge gob of money. There’s another new housing market study out that confirms some well-known facts (for instance, “home prices peak in June and July”) and some tidbits…

From how we’re expected to file our taxes to a lack of paycheck stubs to sometimes wild swings in income, the self-employed are a different breed. Applying for a mortgage when you lack W-2s, doesn’t disqualify you; you’ll just need to work harder to meet the higher burden of documentation required of the self-employed. According to a study commissioned by…

We don’t blame you for wanting to squeeze every last penny out of the sale of your home. And, aside from just a handful of factors over which you have no control (location, foreclosures or sexual predators nearby, etc), there are some inexpensive cosmetic changes you can make that will appeal to buyers, raising the home’s perceived value. Even if…

It’s hard to consider that in just a short time we’ll be bundling up for another winter but it’s on its way and there’s one fall maintenance chore that should never be neglected: Winterizing outdoor irrigation systems and faucets. The time to do so is upon us, so if this is your first autumn in your new home, we’ll walk…

Consider this: a mortgage program offers certain Americans a home loan with a zero down payment and no private mortgage insurance requirement. In addition, closing costs are limited and if the home is newly constructed, the builder must supply the buyer with a one-year home warranty. Despite the obvious perks of the program, only 10.5 percent of the nation’s nearly…

Imagine you need complicated surgery and you have an amazing insurance plan that allows you to choose your doctor from among every surgeon in your city. Not only that, but you’ll pay the same amount for whomever you choose. Will you decide on the fresh-from-residency or part-time doc or the surgeon who has been slicing people open for decades,…

Like shopping for anything expensive, shopping for a home requires research and a game plan. When you have a list of steps to take, the process will be far less perplexing and far more enjoyable. You’ll also be more successful if you have a strategy, so let’s take a look at some of the initial steps to take to get…

Although experts in the real estate industry continually suggest the importance of seeing a lender before doing anything else with regards to purchasing a home, many buyers don’t. Instead, they merrily attend open houses, mine Internet real estate databases and hound real estate agents to show them homes that they may not even qualify to purchase. We want to help…

The phrase “Homeowners Association” may sound innocuous enough to some but it sends shivers down the spines of many. In books and movies this group of homeowners is typically portrayed as power hungry, meddling and suspicious. Think Big Brother meets Mussolini and you’ll have an idea of this group’s image. Is this reputation deserved? It’s hard not to believe the…