Blog

12 Ways You Can Make Your Community Safer

Establishing yourself as a community and working together with your neighbors is one of the best ways to increase feelings of safety while actually reducing crime in your area. Here's how to get started.

5 Financial Steps to Take Before Investing in Real Estate

If you’ve been thinking about investing in real estate, here’s what you need to do before heading out to shop for properties.

19 Home Renovation Mistakes To Avoid

Home renovations are more popular than ever before, but this isn't a journey for the faint of heart. To streamline the process and set yourself up for success, avoid these mistakes:

12 Deep-Cleaning Tips for New Homeowners

If you’ve never owned a home before, cleaning it from top to bottom for the first time can feel like a daunting task. Here’s a guide to deep-cleaning your house.

Can you buy a house before you turn 21?

There's a general worldview that the younger generations will never be able to achieve homeownership because housing values have outpaced wage growth for decades. This is absolutely true, and we're not...

Should You Manage Your Own Vacation Rental?

People have been buying vacation rental properties to generate extra income for decades, but the emergence of Airbnb and other websites that let you book private rooms or entire private homes directly online...

The Hidden Costs of Owning a Vacation Home

Who doesn't love the idea of collecting rent on a home in a beautiful vacation-friendly location -- and visiting for free when there aren't any guests? It's a lovely concept, but there are several "hidden"...

The First-Timer’s Guide to Choosing the Perfect Investment Property

The nice thing about buying a home that you plan to make your primary residence -- even though the search and transaction processes aren't always a cakewalk -- is that you know what you like. When you buy a...

Be Informed: What is Escrow?

The first time you heard the term, "escrow" you may have been thrown for a loop. While the word may have had you confused the first time, here are some essential things to know about escrow--what it is, what...

How To Manage Stress When Dealing With Home Financing

One excellent way to improve your financial profile is to buy a home of your own. But we won't lie: It's a long and potentially incredibly stressful process, especially when it comes to the dollars and cents...