5 Tips to ease the trip when House Hunting with children When we were house hunting (which took over a year), we brought the kids on every trip (except one). We quickly learned that holding young children’s attention and keeping them out of trouble can be manageable with a few easy steps. Tip #1: Set…
Continue ReadingApply for a mortgage while filing your taxes Nobody enjoys filing (or paying) taxes, but it’s something we all have to do. The good news is if you are thinking of buying a new home and need a mortgage, this is the perfect time of year to do both. Many of the documents you need…
Continue ReadingImprove your credit rating before you buy If you want a mortgage, you will get a much sweeter deal if you have a really good credit rating. How can you improve it? Don’t make any big purchases now. Pay off your past due accounts and try to get rid of any late payment records by…
Continue ReadingStarting the Mortgage Process Thinking of buying a house in the near future? It’s never too early to start the mortgage process. But where do you begin? Let’s look into two terms that seem similar, but have some major differences. Pre-Qualifying: For a Mortgage in theory only To pre-qualify for a mortgage, you contact a…
Continue ReadingDone with the city? Tired of the suburbs? Why not try the Exurbs! According to the Urban Dictionary:Exurb – A sparsely populated area, that is currently making the transition from rural to suburban, located usually on the fringes of a metropolitan area. Often times, it may be populated by wealthy estates, hobby farms, as well as existing rural towns,…
Continue ReadingBuying a house with your pets in mind Imagine this: You find a house online that looks adorable from the outside…you want to see more! All new appliances, new A/C and furnace and a roof that’s just a year old. Sounds great. The price…lower than your budget. Then the pictures inside show an immaculate house…
Continue ReadingWinter House Hunting We closed on our home in November and moved in during December. The only thing I felt I missed was being able to see what the yard would look like in Spring…but it made for a great surprise. There are many benefits to House Hunting and Buying in the late…
Continue ReadingFind out what you can truly afford There is so much more to buying a home than just being able to pay your mortgage. There are closing costs, lawyer fees, moving costs, possibly Home Owner Association dues and utilities…just to name a few. You also must ensure you have savings for all the little things…
Continue ReadingThe Importance of Home Inspections When buying a new house, it is very important to have a Home Inspection done on the property. Home Inspectors are trained to look for things the average home buyer does not know how to look for….the condition of the roof, the mechanicals, potential seepage problems, and so on. According…
Continue ReadingAcreage, Homestead, Hobby Farm? What does it all mean? You have made the decision to live in a more rural area, but what comes next? There are so many choices and finding the right fit can be difficult because there are no set definitions for what you are looking for. One person’s garden may…
Continue Reading
