Your Humble Abode

06/10/2025

This one checks off all the boxes! 🏡✅💚

27/05/2025

What is your home worth?

Curious to know what your home is worth? Check out our new valuation tool and find out immediately, on-line, the approximate value of your home.

25/05/2025

Buying a home is a process that is naturally confusing for the first-timer. A common bewilderment is about how much home can be purchased for the amount of money being loaned. If you've ever watched Home & Garden Television's 'Property Virgins' you've seen this on display. The show's real...

24/05/2025

We've all heard it, whether it pertains to investing in the stock market, buying a car or a house: 'Caveat emptor,' or 'Let the buyer beware.' Houses have problems, even newly built houses. The problem is that many of these problems can't be seen and are therefore not obvious to even the...

23/05/2025

Imagine your first weekend in a new home; a home without nasty smells leftover from the previous occupants, no smudged baseboards and a sparkling clean refrigerator that has never held leftovers. The only thing you need to do this weekend is relax and enjoy your new home. Sure, there are other reaso...

22/05/2025

If you plan on spending a weekend touring open houses, it's a good idea to go into the process with as much information as possible. Let's take a look at 3 tips you might want to keep in mind when planning your day of open house tours. 1. What to Bring with You If you'll be touring new home...

21/05/2025

Houses are like the clothes in your children's wardrobe – before you know it, they're too small. Now outgrowing a house doesn't happen as quickly or as often as Junior goes through shoes, but if you're planning a family, that house you live in now will feel awfully tight down the road. This is whe...

20/05/2025

Buying real estate means also buying insurance ― several different types, in fact. Private mortgage insurance (PMI) is sometimes demanded by the lender to ensure the loan is repaid if the borrower defaults. Homeowner's insurance is a necessity to protect the lender's financial interests. Then ther...

19/05/2025

Between applying for a home loan and the close of escrow comes a most crucial step: the home appraisal. Since the transaction that got you to this point is one in which a buyer and seller agreed on a price, the appraisal is more likely than not to match the purchase price. In fluctuating markets how...

17/05/2025

It may not seem like it, but there is a process to buying a home and taking certain steps in the proper order just about guarantees success. Taken out of order – putting the cart before the horse – the steps are inefficient and counterproductive, and the process becomes chaotic. Remember when yo...

16/05/2025

Last time we looked how lenders determine your rate and your credit worthiness based on your credit score. We suggested that you order your credit reports from the 'big 3' credit reporting agencies. When you receive your credit reports look for mistakes or anything else you can challenge. According....

15/05/2025

Unless you'll be paying cash for a home or you are applying for a loan backed by the government (such as a USDA or VA loan) or a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan, you'll need at least 20 percent of the loan amount in cash. This is the down payment, required by the lender. The larger the down payment,....