We don’t need a crystal ball to tell us when to take the first step in determining if this is a good time to sell a home and buy another. While market conditions should play a role in your decision, the first step starts with you, and the state of your finances. Your Personal Finances How’s your credit? Lenders have…

If you leased a property with gas appliances in London, the landlord would be required, by law, to maintain the pipes, appliances and flues. Additionally, he or she would be required to have a gas safety check every year and supply you with a record of such within 28 days of it being performed. Those Londoners are pretty smart cookies…

When I bought my first home my priorities included a big backyard and the home had to be single-story. Yes, I was young, and obviously not too bright. I ended up with the backyard of my dreams in a single-story home that otherwise didn’t fit my lifestyle or tastes. What’s your hot button? Yes, it seems to be a simple…

Would it surprise you to learn that 1.2 million American children have elevated levels of lead in their blood? Lead poisoning sounds like something from out of the past, like polio or leprosy. But, apparently, it’s still very much in the present, and very, very dangerous. If your home was built before 1978 the paint on your walls may contain…

Unless you have a big stash of cash, you’ll need to borrow money to buy a home. Oh, you’ll still need some cash (for the down payment and closing costs), so don’t stop socking it away just yet. In fact, one of the things that confuses our clients most is the down payment they’ll pay when they get a home…

It’s hurricane season and even the most prepared among us may have let something fall through the cracks. Typically, it’s the pet’s needs during a natural disaster that are left unconsidered. We’ve seen the videos of dogs left chained in a yard, the flood waters quickly surrounding it. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is urging pet owners…

A few years ago, RealtorMag put out a list of the “Top 10 Most Common Home Inspection Problems.” They range from faulty wiring to roof problems to foundation flaws. Whether caused by deferred maintenance or just the aging of the home, the older a home is, the more likely it is to have issues. Most buyers of newly-built homes breathe…

It’s 2 a.m. and the phone is ringing.  You know before picking it up that within ten minutes you’ll be fully dressed and in your car, on the way to take care of an emergency repair at your property. It’s the nature of the beast, right? No matter how well you maintain your rental property, water heaters leak, air conditioning…

“In my experience, there is no correlation between houses we hold open a lot and houses we do not hold open at all and how fast or at what prices they ultimately sell for,” claims an unnamed real estate broker at zillow.com. Then, there is real estate “scientist” Tim Ellis’ analysis of a study performed by a large real estate…

This year we usher in the autumn season beginning on September 22. And, as we all know, autumn typically brings more than falling leaves. Many of us get lots of company as well. Instead of digging out the same old décor that you’ve used for the past decade (or more), let’s take a look at some of what the pros…