In the United States, floods are the most common natural disaster, but flooding can come from other situations too. For example, if theres new construction on your street, your home can be flooded because of water diversion. Even a clogged storm drain can cause flooding.There are some places where the risk of floods is higher than others, and these places are referred to as flo...
Full Story >When youre a real estate professional, its incredibly competitive. You have to find a way to differentiate yourself, but thats often easier said than done. A good way to set yourself apart is to find a niche that you specialize in.Some agents are afraid of identifying a niche because they feel like it will limit them. The reality is that with a niche, youre going to save time a...
Full Story >Its not uncommon to want to sell a home to a family member, but it can become a tricky situation. You have to be mindful of not only the personal elements that can come with doing this type of transaction with a >Its perfectly legal to sell a home to a family member as long as youre not just doing it to avoid taxes. If youre selling the home at a very discounted rate, you might...
Full Story >Being able to buy a home now or having to hit pause often comes down to how much money you have saved for a down payment and closing costs. If your savings account is a little light, there are several easy ways you can pump it up to get you over the hump.Get a side hustle as a driverWith companies like Lyft and Uber, its never been easier to make a little money on the side.nbsp...
Full Story >Below are the essential renovation tools thatll help you with your next renovation project.Tape MeasureFor any do-it-yourself renovation project, youll need a tape measure or measuring tape. Measuring tapes have a small slot located at the end hook, so you dont need help in holding one end of the measuring tape in place.However, this essential item is easily forgotten. Make tap...
Full Story >As families become more health-conscious and think more about the food they consume, family farms are on the comeback, regardless of the size. Whether driven to grow produce on their own to make sure their vegetables are pesticide-free, out of a passion for gardening or as a cottage industry for extra cash, city-dwellers are using innovative means to produce crops of their own....
Full Story >An excerpt from a recent news story read: "Bridgett Freeman of Sheboygan stole more than 11,000 from the Westridge Homeowners Association in West Bend. Thursday, she was sentenced to six months in jail and three years probation, and was ordered to pay back 11,617.41. She said she was sorry."From time to time, these stories hit the local rag with the really big ones making natio...
Full Story >When the real estate market is booming, which it is in many parts of the country right now, you may find yourself in a bidding war. You have to act quickly if you want to have any hope of scoring the home of your dreams. One way to make your offer more attractive is to pay more for a home, but thats not always an option.There are other ways to make yourself stand out, one of wh...
Full Story >There are two basic types of mortgage loan programs, conventional and government-backed. A conventional loan is one where the issuing lender assumes the risk of making the mortgage. Should the loan ever go into default and the lender is forced to foreclose, the lender is on the hook for the entire loss. There is in fact private mortgage insurance used for low down payment conve...
Full Story >All of a sudden, you hear that a massive new house, renovation, or addition is scheduled to begin construction next door to your home.Only it wasnt sudden. You just werent paying attention. The owners may have been planning and saving for this since the day they moved in.Have you chatted with neighbors on both sides over the years to keep up-to-date on what their plans are for ...
Full Story >To Rent or Sell Your Vacant Home.nbsp;Have you ever thought whether it would be better to rent or sell a vacant home that you own? Maybe you already have someone renting this house, or you have been considering renting it to tenants, but would that really be the better choice?Deciding whether or not to sell or rent your vacant home is an incredibly big decision that requires a ...
Full Story >When beginning to get interest rate quotes from mortgage lenders, it can get pretty confusing pretty quickly. Consumers can sometimes think lenders have just one interest rate for each loan program. After all, rate advertisements show just one rate along with the calculated APR. The fact is, lenders offer an array of interest rate choices for the exact same loan program.nbsp;A ...
Full Story >Question: Our governing documents restrict unit occupancy to three people. There is a unit that has four. What should we do?Answer: If you have a limit of three, I assume your units are quite small. If you have two bedroom units, four would be reasonable but, honestly, this kind of regulation is overly intrusive. Its not the number of people that dictate problems, but the life>...
Full Story >When youre buying a home, theres something called a contingency to be aware of. A contingency clause means that certain requirements must be met for the contract to be binding. If the terms of the contingency arent met, then the contract might end.Sometimes these are described as if-then scenarios. For example, if you sell your home, then youll buy someone elses.When you find a...
Full Story >Selling your home means selling a life>This is the distinction between decorating your home and staging it to sell. It can be hard to understand at first, but if you dont know the difference, you might not sell your house as quickly as you like.Although everyone has different tastes in decor and furnishings, most people want a home that is welcoming, functional, peaceful and or...
Full Story >Freddie Macs results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows that "The drop in mortgage rates is good news for homeowners who are still looking to take advantage of the very low rate environment. Freddie Mac research suggests that lower income and minority homeowners have been less likely to engage in the refinance market. Low and declining mortgage rates provide these home...
Full Story >A bridge-loan is a term you might need to be familiar with if youre considering buying a house. Its something that can be used if youre buying a new house, but you havent yet sold your old one.When youre planning to move to a new home, if youre like most buyers, you might be depending on the money you get from the sale of your current home to buy the new one. The closing dates ...
Full Story >When youre looking for a new home to buy, youll often see on listing sites that theyre marked as either pending or contingent.There are differences between the two, and understanding those differences can help you know if a house is worth trying to pursue.ContingentFirst, theres contingent. Contingent means that a seller has accepted an offer. These listings are still active, s...
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