- Questions Every Condominium Buyer Should Ask
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| | With the price of SFRs becoming more and more out of reach for many first-time buyers, condos offer a less expensive opportunity to enter the housing market and enjoy the appreciation and tax advantages of homeownership. |
- Budgeting for Curb Appeal
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| | Everybody likes to point out homes in the neighborhood that look good from the street. The good news is that enhancing the curb appeal of your home doesn't have to cost a lot of money. |
- Budgeting for Inevitable Homeownership Costs
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| | Homes inevitably require maintenance, with costs both large and small. Adding to a reserve fund each month to cover these future costs is good planning. |
- Find Out about the Insurance History of a Home
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| | A home buyer's ability to obtain hazard insurance as a required part of the funding process used to be a foregone conclusion. Not any more. |
- Four Ways to Reduce the Cost of Hazard Insurance
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| | The cost of ensuring homes has been on the rise in the past few years. There are some definitive steps that a homeowner can take to stem the tide. |
- Home Seller Exclusion Further Defined
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| | Most people now know the basic rules behind the tax-free profits of a home sale. But what happens when circumstances don't exactly fit the mold? |
- Home Warranty: A Purchase with Protection
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| | Home buyers can get more than a little upset when unexpected repairs are needed in their home soon after they move in. With the right planning, everyone wins. |
- How to Avoid Losing Your Interest Rate Lock
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| | Locking in an interest rate home loan can be a very good feeling if interest rates go up later. Know what you can do to make sure your lock doesn't expire before you can use it. |
- How to Tackle Rising Mortgage Interest Rates
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| | Interest rates are still very low by historical standards, but they are rising. With an open mind and a clear picture of your future plans, a borrower can do better with creative financing. |
- How to Maximize the Sales Appeal of Your Home
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| | Most of us collect lots of things as life goes on and, while it?s often tough to decide to get rid of some of it, reducing clutter in a home makes for more enjoyable living and greater sales appeal when a home goes on the market. |
- Planning Home Improvement Projects with Rate of Return in Mind
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| | A nicely remodeled kitchen and bathroom make a house more of a pleasure to live in, but it may also be wise to consider, in addition to aesthetics, how much you can get back on your investment whenever your home sells. |
- Power of Attorney Can Smooth Transactions
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| | A power of attorney - special gives whomever you designate the legal right to sign on your behalf during the purchase or sale of a home and the subsequent escrow period. This is especially convenient when all parties cannot be available. |
- Home Improvement Projects Can Increase Property Taxes
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| | Many cities require permits for improvements both great and small. Not only do you pay the city to get the permit, you may also pay the city more in property taxes when the work is completed. |
- Should You Change Your Locks?
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| | While personal security is a concern for most people, a common and surprising oversight that lots of folks make is forgetting to change the locks on a home they are moving into. |
- Homeowners without Spouses Are Gaining Ground
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| | It used to be that unmarried folks were particularly slow to take on the commitment of homeownership, but the trend has shifted. And it is projected to shift even further as the years wear on. |
- Homeowner's Title Insurance Protects Your Assets
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| | Every buyer who gets into escrow receives a preliminary title report and knows that the provider of his home loan requires title insurance. But few buyers know what protection that policy actually provides for them, and what they should do about it. |
- Your Agent or Mine?
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| | There's a selling agent and a seller's agent in a single transaction. These same people are also referred to as a listing agent and a buyer's agent. Wait a minute ... who represents who here? |
- Second Homes: Fun with Tax Deductions
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| | The home you're thinking of buying for vacations, or for even more extended periods of time, may not be your principal place of residence, but Uncle Sam still gives you a way to use them in the reduction of your tax bill. |
- Will Banks Ever Run Out of Money to Lend Home Buyers?
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| | With so many people taking so much money out of financial institutions in the form of home loans, one might think that the pool of money would eventually dry up. Not so. The money just gets recycled back through the economy. |