Often, home buyers and sellers, hoping to eliminate the middle man, reject the idea of hiring a real estate broker. After all, why incur commission fees when you can go it alone and avoid any charges? We understand the temptation. But going it alone comes with some risk: It can cost you more in the long run and leave you unprotected when difficult situations arise. We were reminded of this recently when we read an article by Marni Jameson in...

Once you’ve purchased a home, it’s easy to think that the big money decisions are behind you. But running a home incurs expenses on a daily basis, and maintenance decisions can impact your finances more than you might realize. Here are 6 of the most expensive mistakes you can make running your home, offered by RisMedia’s Housecall: Using incandescent light bulbs: Over its lifespan, an incandescent bulb uses about $180 worth of electricity,...

Last year on the home front we saw white kitchens, subway tiles, quartz countertops and a host of gadgets that made our homes “smarter” than ever. But that was then, this is now. So what’s ahead for 2018? According to Realtor Magazine, we can expect everything from robots and “smart” windows to old-fashioned gardens that offer a respite from all the high-tech innovation. Here are several trends Realtor sees coming our way: Smart glass: Just...

By Jennifer Geddes | Nov 22, 2017 A long-haul move is an adventure that requires advance planning, meticulous labeling, and—let us not forget—a sense of humor about the fact that whatever can go wrong probably will. Like with any move, your crystal wine glasses might get crushed or your kid’s favorite toy could end up vanishing somewhere between Point A and Point B. But when you’re making the trek across state lines, there’s...

By Clare Trapasso | Nov 27, 2017 After several years of a frenzied housing market characterized by many more home buyers than sellers, builders may finally be taking note. The number of newly constructed homes for sale and sold shot up 6.2% from September to October, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers in a joint report by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They jumped 18.7% annually....