There’s a frustrating dilemma that occurs when your home is for sale. It happens when the need to keep the home clean, tidy and staged collides with daily living. Trying to keep the home in showing-condition when you’re living in it, complete with kids and/or pets, is a delicate balancing act. Then, there are all those little annoyances that you should be prepared to tolerate. It’s always...

What if you make an offer on a home for sale, the seller accepts it and then you change your mind about the purchase? Are you locked into the contract? Whether you’re suffering from buyer’s remorse, you found another home you like more or any other reason, it’s a common fear. The answer is, “it depends.” Finding another house you like more isn’t going to fly, nor will a bad case of...

If the home inspection leaves you less-than confident that the home you really, really want to buy won’t need repairs in the near future, you may want to ask the seller for a home warranty. You’re not alone, by the way. The home warranty industry rakes in more than $2.5 billion each year from people just like you — new homeowners seeking peace of mind. Home warranties provide just that when it...

There’s talk in real estate circles that homebuyers who get into the market after we’re released from “self-isolation” will have an entirely different wish list than those who bought homes before the pandemic. This makes sense when you consider that we’ve never spent so much time in our homes as we have over the past few months. Look for home offices to be on many homebuyer wish lists....

We’ve been admonished to do our part to “flatten the curve” by socially distancing ourselves from others, by washing our hands frequently and other forms of collective action. If you happen to share a home with a coronavirus patient, it’s even more important to remain vigilant against the coronavirus. While a daily cleaning and disinfecting of the home is important, there are additional tasks...

Aside from autumn, early spring—before bud-break—is the ideal time to plant trees. And, if you’re thinking of selling your home, trees, placed strategically around the home, can help increase the home’s value. Not all trees are alike, however, and some should be avoided. Let’s take a look at some of these trees that you should think twice about planting. Trees with weak wood Because of its...