It may be the season of beach towels and poolside relaxation, but beating the heat indoors is a little more complicated. Summer cooling costs can cut into your spending money for the remainder of the year. Luckily, each degree you raise the thermostat saves 7-10 percent on your cooling costs. So every little bit helps….

Showing a property is essential to the home-selling process. Every market works differently, but buyers and sellers will quickly learn the ropes by working with a competent local agent. The last-minute call to show a property is par for the course. Should the listing agent and seller accommodate? Is it better to hold off a…

While the terms of your mortgage dictate the maximum amount of time that you have to pay off your mortgage – there is nothing in the terms that say you can’t pay it off early. Here are a few tips that you can follow to help speed up the process and own your home sooner…

Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group conducted a survey to gauge consumers’ understanding of mortgage qualification criteria. About 40 percent of consumers responded “don’t know” when asked about requirements for minimum down payments, and 54 percent and 59 percent, respectively, said they didn’t know required minimum credit scores and maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratios. Here are three…

Buying new construction seems simple, right? Just pick out the floor plan you want, choose the perfect lot, and watch it go up. No sellers to deal with, no unexpected repairs that come up during inspection, no drawn-out negotiations. Right? Well, not really. In any real estate transaction, it’s important to have a professional on…

If you are planning to sell your home, having an accurate appraisal can be the most important step in the process. Having someone come into your home and judge its value can be a stressful process. However, if you know how to properly prepare for this step, you can rest easy that the appraisal will…

For most people, the allure of tiny home living is the fact that it means living without having a mortgage. However, not all tiny homes are alike and some come with a hefty price tag. As with any kind of custom home build, tiny homes come with a variety of styles, amenities, and levels of…

Most people are familiar with a credit score – they probably even know what their personal credit score is. It’s a pretty simple concept; a good credit score will get you loans and more credit. A bad credit score will get you … nothing really. But, for some home shoppers, seeing their mortgage application denied…

Many people think that having a home warranty is a great way to cover all the maintenance costs associated with maintaining a rental property for a yearly premium of $400 to $600. However, there are some things to consider when approaching property management with a home warranty. First of all, your home warranty was not…

Technology continues to advance each year, bringing the simple things that we do each day into the future. Not only do we have phones that function as miniature computers but, we have a strong desire to have technology in all facets of our lives. This includes inside of our homes – in fact, some reports…