Spring Cleaning Checklist: Don’t Forget To Clean These 6 Things

Most homeowners dread spring cleaning, but it’s a necessity when you think about how many things typically get overlooked as part of everyday cleaning. You might vacuum, wash dishes, and do laundry regularly, but there are plenty of other chores …

Budget Projects With Big Value

Not all home improvement projects are created equal. Some renovations may cost a lot but not add significant value to your home. Here are some inexpensive home improvement projects that will not only increase your enjoyment of your home, but …

Taking Interior Design Online

The internet is forever evolving how we access goods and services, so why should home décor be any different? Homeowners have a plethora of resources they can look too when searching for décor inspiration online, including blogs, online magazines, and …

5 Features Millennial Homebuyers Are Looking For

Millennials continue to be the largest segment of homebuyers according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Here are five features that tend to entice millennials who are looking to buy.

1. An Up-to-date Kitchen And Bath
Younger buyers often have …

5 Amazing Smart Kitchen Products

As technology continues to evolve year after year, new products hit the market that help make our lives easier. Check out these five amazing innovations that can assist you in the kitchen!

1. Instant Pot Smart Wi-Fi 8-in-1 Multicooker

This …

Five Tips For Funding Your Next Vacation

There’s nothing quite like some well-earned time off in a cool new place, but vacations certainly don’t pay for themselves. Here are a few ideas for funding your next getaway.

1. The change jar: It’s not groundbreaking, but it works. …

Choose The Right Paint Finish

It can be intimidating to stand in front of the paint swatches at the paint or hardware store and try to make a decision. Picking a color can be difficult enough—and then you have to choose the finish. Choosing the …

Five Home Repairs To Budget For

You’re going to have to do some regular repairs and maintenance on your home—it’s just a fact of home ownership. So that you’re not caught unprepared, it’s a good idea to keep a budget and set aside some funds for …

The Ins And Outs Of Home Inspection

Home inspection is a crucial step in the homebuying process. After finding the perfect house, you will want to ensure that there are no hidden faults that may require lengthy and expensive repairs or renovations down the line.

To prepare …

How Do HOAs Work?

When you purchase a home, there’s a good chance you’ll have to pay a homeowners association fee, especially in gated communities, townhouses, condominiums, and other similar planned neighborhoods. The idea is to keep common areas clean and maintained, and there’s …

Five Ways You Can Get Earnest Money Back

Earnest money is a deposit you pay when you make an offer on a home—it’s a way to show the seller that you mean business. Usually you can’t get it back, but there are several circumstances that allow you to …

What You Need To Know About Refinancing Your Mortgage

Refinancing your mortgage can have many financial benefits when done at the right time in the right way. Here’s what you need to know about this type of transaction.

What is refinancing your mortgage?

When you refinance your loan, you …

The Best Smart Home Features

Home technology has greatly improved over the last few years, helping to increase convenience and energy efficiency. But some smart home features carry more value than others. Here are some that will not only help you enjoy your home more, …

Five Things That Factor Into Comps

You may think that sale price is the only factor when you’re looking at comps and trying to set a price for your listing. But it’s actually a bit more complicated. Here are five things that affect comps that you …

How An Agent Can Help Alleviate Stress

Purchasing a home can be a stressful experience, whether you’re a first-time buyer or you’ve been through the process before. But that’s one of the reasons that working with a real estate professional is so worthwhile. With your agent’s guidance, …

Types Of Mortgages You Need To Know About

Before you purchase a home, it’s important to educate yourself of the various types of mortgages you can get so you can make the right decision when the time comes to choose yours.

Fixed Rate. The most popular on the …

Investment Properties: How You Can Make Money In The Short And Long Term

You’re probably well aware that there’s more to real estate than just owning your home. There are countless success stories of people who made a fortune, or even just a comfortable extra income, by investing in real estate. Here’s an …

Easy Upgrades: Tackle These Projects In A Single Day

It’s easy to get stressed out just hearing the word “renovation.” You’re instantly thinking of having your home life disrupted by construction debris, cluttered rooms, and loud noises.

But you don’t have to spend a ton of money and brace …

Calling In A Professional

Renovating your home can be a stressful and expensive endeavor. How much should you spend? Who should you trust? Who’s the best contractor/architect/designer/etc. in town? If you find yourself asking these questions as you consider a renovation, you may want …

Five Tips For Reducing Clutter

It doesn’t take much time to go from a perfectly organized room to a cluttered, chaotic mess. Papers pile up on surfaces, coats and bags end up on furniture, shoe boxes and shopping bags get stuffed in the first place …

How To Keep Your Utility Bills Low

As a homeowner, costs can really start to add up, so it never hurts to take measures to help you reduce your monthly utility bills. Here are a few ways to do just that!

Electricity Bill

Saving money on your …

How To Make Small Spaces Seem Bigger

It may seem inconvenient or difficult to decorate a small space in your home, but there are a variety of strategies to make that smaller area seem much bigger. Here are some ideas to help you maximize the space in …

Renovate Vs. Relocate

Is it worthwhile to improve your property, or is moving a better choice?

Unless you built a custom home, you probably have a long list of things you’d like to improve in your current home. Browsing online listings might get …

Tips From Interior Design Experts

Interior design is no walk in the park. In fact, many people build their entire careers on their keen eye for making each room in a home flow beautifully. This is not to say that only professionals are capable of …

Three Ways To Ease Your Fears About Making A Move

With low inventory in many markets throughout the country, many homeowners are afraid to sell their homes because they’re concerned that they may not be able to find a new one.

This can be a real problem, but if you …

Top Tips For Staging Your Home

A recent survey from the National Association of Realtors® revealed that 77 percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home makes it easier for potential buyers to visual it as their own. That’s why staging is not to be overlooked! …

Fixing Common Gas Grill Problems

Summer may be officially winding down, however there are still many BBQs ahead, so you need your grill in tip top shape. Here are some of the most common gas grill problems and how to fix them!

Excess Smoke: If …

How To Plant A Tree In Your Yard

Have you ever wanted to change the landscape of your yard by adding a tree or shrub? Whether you have a green thumb or are a green dud, with proper preparation and some good tips, you can successfully do it …

Ideas For Closet Organization

A chaotic closet is a recipe for disaster when you’re trying to get ready. But a nice, organized one can help ensure you’re on time for any occasion with an outfit that’s sure to impress. These organization tips and ideas …

Tips For Hanging A Large Painting

Found a stunning, large painting to perfectly complement your home? It’s important to follow a few rules of thumb while hanging it to maintain the integrity of your wall and your painting.

The weight of your painting is the key …

What To Repair Before You List

When you’re getting ready to list your home, it’s of the upmost importance to ensure you are showing it in the best light. Taking time to highlight its strengths and fix up some of its possible weaknesses can make a …

Find & Clean The Dirtiest Places In Your Home

We all strive to keep our homes clean, but dirt and grime always seems to build up in certain places. It may be impossible to keep every area completely polished, but it helps to know which places accumulate the most …

The Best Things About Home Ownership

If you own a home, there was certainly a lot that went into your decision to buy rather than continue to rent. Now you’re enjoying all the advantages of homeownership. Here are the top five.

Building wealth: When you own …

Stay Healthy This Summer

A few simple tips for improving your personal health

Summer is the time for family vacations and road trips, backyard barbecues, and days at the beach. But as the pace of life slows down after the hustle and bustle of …

Before You Take The Plunge With A Fixer-upper, Think About Resale Value

We’ve all watched the HGTV programs that show a run-down old house transforming into a dream home. Tackling a big renovation project on an outdated property can indeed pay off big—both with the home of your dreams, and with a …

5 Simple Ways To Keep Your Home Cool This Summer

Summertime is here and it’s bringing the heat! It’s always an option to blast the air conditioner all summer long, but there are ways to keep your home cool that are better for the environment and won’t double your energy …

Top Tips For First-time Homeowners

Owning your first home is one of the biggest milestones in an individual’s life. Once it’s finally all yours, you want to make sure you avoid common rookie mistakes like the ones below.

Starting major renovations right away. With all …

Avoid These Two Big Mortgage Mistakes

We all know that searching for and viewing potential homes is the fun part of the home-buying process. The not-so-fun part? The mortgage.

But if you don’t pay attention to the details, your mortgage can end up dragging down the …

What Affects Property Values?

Some the features that increase property values are obvious—like a remodeled bathroom, a modern kitchen, or a sought-after neighborhood. But here are a few features and circumstances you have not have realized can affect property values.

The neighbors: Not every …

Quick Tips To Sell Home Items Online

Whether you are looking to make more room in your home or planning to redecorate, selling some of your lightly used home items is a great way to make a few bucks. Below are some tips to sell your items …

How You Can Finance Your Home Renovation

Outdated kitchen. Overrun backyard. Unusable basement space. If you have a home renovation project on the mind, the first thing you have to consider is how you are going to finance it. Here are the most common options to make …

Tips For Making Your Home More Peaceful

Many things in our world are out of our control, but one thing you can control is your home environment. There are many simple changes you can make to instill some much needed peace into your living space. In order …

Backyard DIY Projects

Summer is just around the corner so it’s the perfect time to start planning some fun projects for your backyard. Whether you are looking for new ways to entertain and host friends or you want to surprise your spouse or …

How To Curate Art For Your Home

The right artwork can transform any room in a home, plus it has the unique ability to display the homeowner’s personality, character, and energy. Because of that, choosing the right pieces can feel a little overwhelming sometimes. Use the below …

Benefits Of Houseplants

Houseplants are great natural decoration pieces to occupy a corner, window sill, table, or shelf, but they also offer many health benefits that can enhance your physical well-being.

Air quality. In the late 1970s, many buildings were constructed with limited …

Minimalism Ideas For Your Home

Minimalism has been a dominating theme in design and architecture over the past few years. What started as an art movement in the 1960s has become a mainstay for interior designers that creates peaceful, eye-catching spaces with limited furnishings and …

If You’re Selling, Improving Your Curb Appeal Can Make A Huge Difference

Curb appeal is a big factor for home buyers. The exterior of your home is the first thing buyers will see when they come to a showing or open house, and you want to make a great first impression. And …

What Do First-time Homeowners Want?

As a first-time homebuyer, it’s understandable that you would be very selective about the home you purchase. This is likely the largest financial investment you’ve made in your life so far so you want to ensure you’re going to get …

Your Guide To The Home Appraisal

You’ve found your dream home and now it’s time to cross all your T’s and dot all your I’s before it’s all your own. And one of the first items on your closing checklist is the home appraisal. So, what …

Entertaining At Home

One of the joys of homeownership is getting to host your friends and family on various occasions. Here are a few hosting tips for your next party!

Pick a theme. Once you select a theme, planning the rest of the …

Save Or Pay? Which Route Should You Choose

The balancing act between paying more than the minimum payment to rid yourself of debts and building solid savings can be a difficult one for some. Here are some things to consider when making this decision.

What’s the interest rate

Mortgage Interest Deductions 101

Purchasing a home comes with many tangible and intangible benefits. One that is commonly overlooked until the start of the year rolls around is the deductions you get on your taxes. As a homeowner, you’re likely able to deduct most, …

Put More Money In Your Pocket Each Month

Reviewing your monthly expenses once a year is a great practice to get into. As you look at your monthly budget, you will find some expenses that are fixed, like your rent or mortgage, car payments, and child care expenses. …

Tips To Light Your Home

Lighting is such a crucial aspect of your home and can affect the ambiance, energy, and vibe in each room. However, sifting through the various styles, bulbs, and placement options can feel overwhelming. Here are a few tips to get …

Common Home Issues Inspectors Uncover

Before finalizing your home purchase, one crucial step in the process is the home inspection, during which a licensed inspector looks at the structure, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and more. Here are 5 common home issues inspectors keep an eye out …

Grocery Shopping On A Budget

As a homeowner, it’s never a bad idea to look at different ways to cut costs and one of the easiest areas to tweak is your grocery budget. Take a look at the tips below to help you tighten it …

State Of The National Real Estate Market

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the real estate market continues to trend upward. According to analytics firm CoreLogic, in November, home prices were up 8.2% year over year. Interestingly, Idaho (15.7%), Maine (15.4%), and Indiana (13.6%) were the states with the …

Your Guide To Recycling

Recycling has a positive impact on the environment for many reasons. It helps conserve natural resources, prevent waste from piling up in landfills, and protect nature. However, if not done correctly, your recycling efforts can be in vain. Here are …

Credit Scores & Buying A Home

Before you jump head first into searching for your dream home, you need to ensure your finances are in order. This includes reviewing and strengthening your credit. Here’s what you need to know!

Why Your Credit Score and Report Matters

Tips For Hiring A Moving Company

The process of moving can seem daunting, but with a little help from a reliable moving company, a lot of stress can be relieved. Here are some tips to make sure your belongings are in safe hands.

Get references from …

Organic Food 101

You’ve seen the label ‘organic’ for years now, but what does this really mean and what are the benefits to you and your family?

According to the Mayo Clinic, the word ‘organic’ references the way farmers grow and process agricultural …

Bring Some R&R Into Your Home

Your home is your oasis. A place to kick back and relax from your day. So, why not invest in some items that can boost the zen in your home? Check out the tips below to help you achieve ultimate …

Tips For Maximizing A Small Kitchen

Does your dream home come with a small kitchen? Not to fear! There are plenty of ways to get the most out of the tight space. You just have to get creative. Check out these tips!

Lighten up the area.

Closing Costs 101

What are closing costs?

Closing costs are the fees for services required to finalize your mortgage. Typically, the buyer is responsible for paying these costs unless otherwise negotiated to have the seller contribute. Fees include (but certainly are not limited …

Moving On A Budget

Purchasing a new home is likely one of the largest financial investments you will make in your lifetime. And on top of the home cost itself, there are additional expenses that come along with this life milestone, like moving costs. …

How To Save Water (and Money!) At Home

As a homeowner, if you don’t maintain good water-saving habits, you could be sending more money than necessary straight down the drain every year. Start saving by trying out the tips below!

Replace the shower head. Daily showers account for …

Build Your Ideal Home Office On A Budget

If you work from home full-time or even part-time, having a dedicated space in your home to sit down and focus is crucial. It should be a comfortable, organized space and everything you need should be easily accessible. And, luckily, …

Must-haves For Your First Home

You’ve just purchased your first home and it’s time to start filling it up. But, where to start? Below is a list of must-haves for each room in your home!

Living room. Aside from standard furniture, like a couch, chairs, …

How To Use Mirrors To Feng Shui Your Home

Feng shui is the practice of using spatial arrangement and orientation to create synergistic, harmonious surroundings in a room or home. Mirrors of many shapes and sizes are often used to achieve this because they help bring light and movement …

5 Harmful Homeowner Habits To Break

Being a homeowner is one of the biggest milestones in your life. You feel excited and proud to take care of your new house and truly turn it into a home for you and your family. To keep your house …

Why You Should Invest In A Rental Property

Investing in real estate can be a great alternative to traditional investments and many owners choose to rent out their property. Here are some of the top benefits for getting into this line of business!

Increase over time. Money being …

Dealing With Scratched Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are highly desirable for most homeowners, but they come with their share of challenges when it comes to cleaning, maintenance, and repairs. After a few months or years of heavy use from kids playing with toys and chairs …

Reconsider These Choices When You’re Designing Your Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the areas of a home that sees the most wear and tear. All the water, heat, and food spills add up quickly, so it’s important to focus on quality and lasting appeal if you’re choosing …

From Decorating To Staging

There is a difference between the two and here’s how to get your home ready to sell. Once you’ve decided to put your home on the market you’re looking to sell quickly for the best possible price. One tactic that …

How To Vet An Offer

Many sellers may be tempted to select the highest offer they receive, but there are several other factors to consider. Here are five areas important to evaluate.

Down payment. The size of the down payment should be heavily considered when …

Going Green Starts In The Kitchen

Living an environmentally-friendly lifestyle and helping to keep our planet clean isn’t as difficult as you may think. All it takes is a few small tweaks. To start, here are five great tips for going green in your kitchen!

Filter

Organize Your Closet Like A Champ

Do you desire a closet that looks like it’s straight out of a magazine? Then we have you covered! Follow the tips below to masterfully organize your closet and give yourself peace of mind.

Group like clothing items together. Group …

How Big Of A Home Do You Need?

When buying a new house, it’s easy to get distracted by size and think that bigger is better. However, depending on your situation, the opposite may be true.

So how can you determine if your new home is too small, …

Ready To Go Rustic?

Rustic and farmhouse interior design are still in, and it isn’t going anywhere any time soon! If you’re ready to hop on board this trend, try introducing some of these favorite ideas into a room in your home. Take a …

How To Save Money While Landscaping

Revamping your landscaping can be a huge undertaking. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money. So how can you give the exterior of your home a facelift without breaking the bank or taking out a second mortgage. There …

Prepping To Buy Your First Home

One of the biggest milestones you will reach in your life will be deciding to become a homeowner. But before you take the leap, make sure you set yourself up for easy transaction and a good homebuying experience. Check out …

How To Get Ready For Retirement

For most people, retirement feels like a long way off. But, if you don’t start preparing as early as possible, you may find yourself in a place of financial insecurity when the time does come. To avoid this, consider implementing …

Prep Your Pets For The Big Move

Your moving day is set and it’s time to start preparing. As you’re making your lists and checking them twice, don’t forget to factor in your furry friends. Here are some tips for making sure the process goes smoothly.

Medical

Top Tips For Disinfecting Your Home

In the current world we live in, it’s incredibly important to put a focus on finding strategies to keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy. Although our homes should be our safe place, germs and bacteria can be carried …

Boost Your Internet Speeds

Nothing is more irritating than carefully selecting the perfect amount of bandwidth for you and your family just to experience spotty and oftentimes slow internet speeds while at home. And now more than ever, it is crucial that you have …

Is Downsizing Right For You?

Downsizing your home is not just for empty-nesters. There are numerous reasons and situations where this path could be the right one for you and your family!

Minimizing

Owning a large home and property comes with a large responsibility like …

Reasons To Maintain A Phone-free Bedroom

In this day and age, our smartphones have become just another limb, permanently fixed to our bodies. So, the idea of keeping phones out of the bedroom seems like such a foreign concept. However, here are 5 reasons you should …

Reasons To Maintain A Phone-free Bedroom

In this day and age, our smartphones have become just another limb, permanently fixed to our bodies. So, the idea of keeping phones out of the bedroom seems like such a foreign concept. However, here are 5 reasons you should …

Value-boosting Renovations For Your Home

Buying a home is likely one of the largest purchases you will make in your lifetime. So why not maintain and grow that investment so if or when you decide to sell, you can reap maximum return? Below are a …

Why You Need To Work With A Buyer’s Agent

The home buying process can be exciting and fun, but also complicated, stressful, and overwhelming. Maximize your chance of success and minimize the amount of time spent trying to keep track of all the details by working with a buyer’s …

Why You Need To Work With A Buyer’s Agent

The home buying process can be exciting and fun, but also complicated, stressful, and overwhelming. Maximize your chance of success and minimize the amount of time spent trying to keep track of all the details by working with a buyer’s …

THE PRICE IS RIGHT: What You Should Know About Pricing Your Home

One of the most daunting parts of selling your home is deciding what to price it at. You don’t want to price too high and get little to no traction but you don’t want to price too low and undervalue …

Eye-catching Ways To Decorate With Plants

Using plants as décor is a great way to add a little color and a natural, bright feel to any room. There are endless types of plants to choose from and various ways to display each one, but here are …

Happier Hardwood Floors

Tips for cleaning your beautiful hardwood floors and keeping them looking great.

Hardwood floors make for a beautiful, stunning addition to your home. However, they can bring new cleaning and maintenance challenges that aren’t present with carpet. Here are some …

Five Tips For Selling Your Home In A Hurry

There are a lot of factors that will determine how quickly your house is sold, and it’s important to tackle the factors you can control. If you’re still living in your home while trying to sell it, these are a …

Revamp Your At-home Workspace

Nothing ruins a workday like not having a designated, comfortable place to work from. And when you are working from home, whether it be temporarily or indefinitely, setting up a great workspace gets even tougher. However, your productivity and body …

Give Your Deck A Facelift

Hanging out with your family or hosting friends on your old, dingy deck is not very appealing. Lucky for you, refreshing it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Try your hand at the makeover ideas below!

Restore your decking.

Give Your Deck A Facelift

Hanging out with your family or hosting friends on your old, dingy deck is not very appealing. Lucky for you, refreshing it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Try your hand at the makeover ideas below!

Restore your decking.

Homebuyer Incentives: A Few Do’s And Don’ts

When you’re selling your home, adding some extra perks can help you find a buyer quickly. An incentive is essentially a marketing spend for your home sale. But you want to make sure your marketing dollars are being used effectively, …

Upsizing Your Home

Unfortunately our homes don’t always grow with us. What may have initially worked fine for a single person, a young couple’s starter home, or a family with a newborn can quickly become too small as families expand and multiple generations …

New Home, Better Living

When you’re house hunting, focus on the things that will improve your quality of life.

There are so many factors that go into a home buying decision that it can make your head spin—especially if you’re in a competitive market …

Need-to-knows For Smart-home Technology

Homeowners have the ability to automate anything from locks to lights to air conditioning and more. With new technology popping up every day, it’s hard to stay up to date on the smart-home trend.

If you are considering installing smart-home …

Five Steps For Organizing Your Garage

For many people the garage is the place you mindlessly store stuff just to get it out of the way, and before you know it, you’ve got a cluttered mess on your hands. Here are five steps toward organizing your …

The Difference Between Home Warranty & Home Insurance

When purchasing a new home, it’s important to do in-depth research on all facets of the homebuying process. One thing you’ll need to understand is how to best protect yourself and your investment if anything were to go wrong. Check …

Ideas For Accent Walls

An accent wall can totally transform a room, taking it from boring and drab to bold and exciting. Accent walls create a new focal point for your space, add liveliness and contrast, and are typically a very inexpensive DIY project.…

Maximizing Your Outdoor Space

You’ve found the perfect home and it has everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Spacious, modern kitchen. Gloriously open floor plan. Giant bedrooms. Great location and neighborhood. The only downside is the backyard is slightly smaller than you’d hoped. But no …

Feng Shui With The Best Of Them

Feng shui is the Chinese tradition of balancing your home to achieve benefits and advantages associated with your health, finances, career, relationships, and more.

There are many ways to create good feng shui in your home, starting with your bedroom. …