Blog
New Gadgets for Your Wish List
As you think about gift-giving this season, don’t forget to give your new home a gift of its own. Advancements in technology mean that your home can be smarter, cleaner, cooler or the hottest thing on the market. Here are…
From Hi-Tech Race Car to Hi-Tech Home
Necessity drives innovation. Last week, quadriplegic former Indy 500 driver, Sam Schmidt drove a modified Corvette around the Indianapolis Speedway by moving his head and biting down with his teeth. Arrow Electronics, a medical and consumer electronics company used existing…
Is Painting Cabinets a Good Idea?
Gone are the days of the sticky painted kitchen cabinet that peels, chips and generally looks cheap. Modern paint finishes means you can rejuvenate or renovate your dated kitchen or bath cabinets with just some elbow grease and your own…
How to Prepare for Emergencies in Your New Home (Part 2)
In a new home or neighborhood, preparing for emergencies in advance might just save you or your family member’s life. In Part 2, we cover the basics for inside your house. Know your home: Learn how to turn off gas,…
Attracting Homebuyers in the Winter Months
As temperatures drop, snow piles up and people’s minds turn to holiday celebrations, you may think that your house won’t sell. In fact, many people take their homes off the market during this time and wait for spring to relist…
Expand Your Summer Living Space
As the temperatures heat up and barbeque season is in full swing, the outdoors beckons. Early morning coffee on the back deck as the sunrises and late evening gatherings to watch the stars come out do not require shade, but…
Is this Neighborhood Headed Up? Or Down?
When searching for a home on a budget, you’ll often find great deals on the edge of up-and-coming neighborhoods. But how do you tell if a neighborhood is headed up? Or, if it’s on its way down? Of course, the…
How to Prepare for Emergencies in Your New Home (Part 3)
The last in our series, preparing for emergencies in your new home means taking extra measure to protect your investment. Surviving a disaster is just the first part. Recovering takes longer and requires more advance planning. Start by designing your…
How Oil Prices Affect the Housing Market
Most of us rejoice when the prices at the pump go down. To use that means freed-up cash in our personal economy. When we’re consider buying or selling a home, however, the price at the pump can impact our bottom…
8 Creative Tips on Saving for a Down Payment
You’re finally ready to think about buying a home, but you doubt your ability to save up the necessary down payment. Twenty percent of even a modest home can seem out of reach for first-time homebuyers. Here are some creative…
Tax Considerations for Home Sellers
Now that the wrapping is all of the gifts and the tree is looking a little bedraggled, it’s time to take a look at your end of the year financial picture. Congress recently passed a bill extending a collection of…
2015 Programs for Home Buyers
Although the federal government has offered homebuyer programs in the past, for Tax Year 2015, most of the available home buyer programs will be at the local and state levels. State and local agencies, along with lenders and non-profit organizations…
What Does the Cost of Living Index Mean?
The cost-of-living index measures the relative cost to live in a certain region. There are several theories about how to arrive at the cost-of-living index, but in general it measures the differences in the cost for goods or services required…
Small Changes Look Big in Your Home
Maybe when you bought your home, you dreamed of growing old there. You envisioned future generations coming to visit and saw yourself establishing lifelong neighborhood friends. However, as much as you still love it, over time, your home may have…
Should You Put Your Home on the Market Before or After the Super
As strange as it may seem to football fans, a majority of homeowners do not arrange their schedule around the Super Bowl. That being said, the Super Bowl typically signals the end of the Holiday season and New Year’s slump,…
Getting Organized to Sell Your Home
When you’ve lived in it for a long time, getting a home ready to sell can seem daunting. If you are considering selling your home this year, make it your New Year’s resolution to get started early. That way, whether…
What is Live-Work Space?
Many buildings tout themselves as live-work spaces, but live-work designations are not all equal. For example, a primarily residential building that has no restriction on working from home can be called a live-work space but it is hardly comparable to…
Growing an Indoor Garden
With several more weeks of winter to go, you might be hankering for some fresh greens, herbs or sprouts in your diet. Changes and improvements in lighting, soil and planting techniques mean that you can grow lovely plants in your…