A water meter key is like insurance; buy it before you need it. Imagine a pipe has burst and there is water flowing like a river through your home. There may a cut-off valve to each sink if it works and if that’s where the leak is coming from. Your home may have a master… Read more »

Coffee should be hot. Beer should be cold. Mexican food should be spicy. However, if these things are less than the standard that you expect, there are not any lasting consequences. As the value of the object in question rises, either in price or gravity, the expectations usually increase and decisions become progressively more important…. Read more »

A ½% increase in interest rate may not sound like much but it is roughly equivalent to a 5% increase in price. It becomes obvious when you compare the payments. If you financed 100% of the cost of a $250,000 home at 4.5% interest for 30 years, the payment would be $1,266.71 per month. If… Read more »

The more things you have, the more you have to take care of. And in this case, the more that you have to store that gets in the way of finding the things that you actually use. Periodically, you need to go through every closet, drawer, cabinet and storage area to get rid of the… Read more »

Whether you continue to rent or decide to buy a home, according to recent Zillow 2014 housing projections, the cost is going up. Zillow projects home prices to increase nationally by 3%, mortgages to rise to 5% interest rate by the end of the year and rents to go up by 2.5% on average. If… Read more »

A certificate of deposit will generate a cash flow based on the interest rate that it pays which is the only way it generates a return for the investor. An investment in a stock that doesn’t pay dividends, would need to be worth more than you paid for it to earn a profit. On the… Read more »

You’ll need to earn $2.00 for every $1.00 you want to spend assuming you pay 50% of your earnings on income tax, social security and Medicare. On the other hand, you get to keep 100% of every dollar you save on your personal expenses because the taxes have already been paid. Periodically, review your expenditures… Read more »

“I’d wish I’d know that before I made a decision.” If you’ve ever regrettably said this to yourself, having a checklist might have prevented the issue in the first place. This list of questions can provide you with things to discuss when interviewing a moving company. Fees What is the charge for packing? Does it… Read more »

The two most frequently quoted constants in life are death and taxes. Two more things would-be homeowners can expect in the near future are increases in mortgage rates and housing prices. Interest rates have been kept artificially low for several years by the Federal Reserve in an effort to strengthen the economy. Policy is shifting… Read more »

One of the most frequent calls from homeowners to their agents is about the listing’s inactivity due to the lack of showings. The homeowner commonly believes that the home is shown only when a buyer walks through the house with an agent. Today’s buyers are more sophisticated than in the past due to the abundance… Read more »

If you’ve considered changing your light bulbs to energy-saving LED bulbs but decided not to make the investment because the prices were too high, you might want to investigate again. The prices have come down considerably. An initial investment now will generate immediate returns through energy costs and because they last longer, you won’t need… Read more »

It’s part of holiday tradition to celebrate with family and friends and to share gifts with our loved ones. There’s no measuring how much is spent on the combined effort and money to find the perfect gift. The challenge is to identify the right gift in the right color and size; something they really want… Read more »

The energy-efficient home upgrades tax credit is scheduled to expire on December 31st this year. If you need to make improvements to your home, this could be an incentive to do it before the end of the year. If you have already made qualifying improvements without realizing the tax credit is available, it may seem… Read more »

With a 2,000+ mile long winter storm affecting much of the country, there are plenty of home owners who wish they were better prepared. Even when you live in warm climates, some of these things are important to check periodically. Preparing for the change of seasons can make your home more comfortable and protect your… Read more »

The Winter Home Buyer Report conducted in the second week of November by REALTOR.com® revealed the sentiments of current home buyers expecting to buy a house during the winter months. It appears that there is pent-up demand with buyers who were unable to purchase a home recently. Most cited as an impediment to purchase was… Read more »