Owning a home can be a very rewarding experience, but it can also come with headaches involving taxes, permits, upkeep and repair, fees, insurance and more. Look for more information here in our articles, blog posts, videos and radio shows about what it means to be a homeowner.
What To Do When Your Home is Overvalued by Your Homeowner’s Insurance Company
What to do when your home is overvalued by your homeowner’s insurance company. Hint: You may want to consider changing companies. Q: Every year, I get a renewal notice from my homeowner's insurance company and it indicates the value of my home. The insurance company lists my residence value at over $700,000. I understand that [...]
Why Are Millennials Less Likely to be Homeowners?
Millennials are nearly 10 percent less likely to be homeowners than baby boomers or Gen Xers. What’s different about this generation of homeowners? Urban Institute’s comprehensive study on Millennial Homeownership found that Millennials are 8 percent less likely to be homeowners than baby boomers and 8.4 percent lower than Gen Xers in the same age [...]
Money, Millennials, and Buying Homes
Is 2017 the year Millennials finally become homebuyers? Perhaps, but they’ll likely need a little help to close the deal. Many parents want to help their Millennial generation children become homeowners - especially those still living at home. The question to answer? What is the best thing to do to help Millennials become homebuyers? A [...]
Will Trump Affect The Housing Market in 2017?
Will Donald Trump affect the housing market in 2017? That's the question on the mind of every Realtor, mortgage lender, home inspector, contractor and housing industry observer. The answer probably won't be known until well after the inauguration - mostly because Trump hasn't been clear about where his priorities or loyalties lie when it comes [...]
4 Ways You Can Prep Your Home For Winter
A mild fall is one thing, but if you don't prep your home for winter, you could be putting your home value at risk. Prepping your home for winter means more than just digging out the shovels and filling a bucket with salt. A cold winter season can cause damage to your home and property, which translates [...]
Starting a Home-Based Business? 4 Things You Must Know
If you’ve ever thought about starting a home-based business, you know what an attractive idea it is. Plenty of profitable companies start out this way, but it’s not as simple as just having a great product or service. Even if you’re only using your home (or maybe even the garage) to launch the company, you’ll [...]
Paid off the mortgage? Don’t celebrate yet.
If you’ve paid off the mortgage, you might be ready to celebrate. Except don’t get too excited: While you’re done with the mortgage, and hopefully your home equity line of credit, you won’t be living in the house for free. Here are four post-mortgage expenses every homeowner has to handle and a few things [...]
Home Sharing: Is it right for you?
Home sharing is a great way to leverage your extra space into additional income, but it’s not as simple as you might think. And even with large companies making it easier for you to share your home, there are still some risks to consider first. Here are four things to think about before becoming a [...]
Selling soon? Here’s what to expect in the fall home sale season
Selling your home is an exciting time, but it can also be a bit scary. The end result - a sale - depends a great deal on correctly timing your sale. So, if you’re planning to sell this fall, during the middle of a presidential election, here’s what you need to know: 1. Your local [...]
Could Your Dog Keep You From Getting Homeowner’s Insurance?
When it comes to homeowner’s insurance, some pet owners are finding theirs goes to the dogs these days. Some insurance carriers are refusing to insure homeowners who own certain breeds of dogs that have been deemed dangerous, such as the Pit bull dog, Rottweilers, and Chow Chows. Others may take the dogs on a case-by-case [...]