real estate apps – Living Your Lifestyle & Owning It!

Stylish 7 Shed Ideas For A Small Backyard

Whatever size plot you’re the proud owner of, you’ll probably need to invest in some kind of storage to safely stash your garden tools and supplies. If space is tight in your little oasis, this can be a challenge, but don’t dismiss the notion — a small but perfectly formed shed like these might be…

Sliding vs. Swinging Windows

Windows are unique—they are both interior and exterior home elements. The dual role makes selecting windows that much trickier because you want them to look good from both sides, to match your curb appeal as well as your interior design. Luckily, there’s one major design decision that’ll help you narrow your choices at the start:…

Why Credit Union Credit Cards Are Your Better Choice

You may be considering a credit union credit card as an alternative to getting a credit card from one of the major credit card issuers. Before you make the leap, it helps to be informed about the difference between credit union credit cards and credit cards from big credit card issuers How Are Credit Union Credit…

Take a Seat: 8 Perches for Pausing in Your Hallway

After you’ve put your coat hooks, shoe storage and a surface for keys and coins in your hallway, you probably think there isn’t much room for anything else. But one useful item you might well have forgotten is a seat — useful for putting on outerwear or just taking a breather when you get home….

Battle of the Countertops: Granite vs. Quartz

If you’ve recently shopped for new kitchen countertops, you know firsthand how many options there are today. For most people, the choices often boil down to granite or quartz. Two out of five homeowners choose one of these two surfaces, often for durability and easy cleaning. If you, too, have whittled it down to granite…

Should You Have More Than One Savings Account

Most people only have accounts at one bank because it simplifies the banking process. It is easier to have the majority of your accounts in one place so that your transfers and payments go through more quickly. Banks count on customer loyalty, which is why they recruit so heavily on college campuses. They know that once you…

This Laundry Room Works Hard & Has Fun Too

Designers perk up this multipurpose space with a bold and colorful new look and decor from the homeowners’ adventures. Laundry Room at a Glance Who uses this space: A couple with three grown children Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Size: 104 square feet (9.7 square meters) Designers: Rosa Plaza Dest, principal, and Ande Barriola, assistant, at Rosa Dest Interiors The laundry…

Your Home Buying Checklist

Searching for a home buying checklist online can be annoying because so many of those websites are not written by veteran agents with decades of experience. They are often just a compilation of ideas put together by a writer or journalist. Not real world and not always practical. As a full-time Realtor, I help to…

The Top 5 “Hidden” Factors That Influence Home Value

When you’re shopping for (or selling) a home, it’s normal to wonder why one home is priced five or six figures higher or lower than another home on the same block. Some factors that influence a home’s value are obvious, but what about the price influencers that are a little less obvious and more difficult…

7 Beneficial Factors To Consider Upon Choosing Your Home To Retire In

Now more than ever baby boomers are entering retirement age, the question is of whether or not to sell their homes and move will become a hot topic. In today’s housing market climate, with low available inventory in the starter and trade-up home categories, it makes sense to evaluate your home’s ability to adapt to…

Moving Up Is More Affordable Now Than In The Last 40 Years

Are you considering selling your current home?…To either move up to a larger home or into a home in an area that better suits your current family needs, great news was just revealed. Last week, in a post: Not Your Father’s Housing Market, which examined home affordability over the last 40+ years (1975-2016). Their research revealed…

Fun Fact For The Day: Color-Changing Hogfish ‘Sees’ With Its Skin

The hogfish can go from white to reddish in milliseconds as it adjusts to shifting conditions in the ocean. Scientists have long suspected that animals with quick-changing colors don’t just rely on their eyes to tune their appearance to their surroundings — they also sense light with their skin. But exactly how remains a mystery….

You Can Save For A Down Payment Faster Than You Think!

Saving for a down payment is often the biggest hurdle for a first-time homebuyer. Depending on where you live, median income, median rents, and home prices all vary. So, we set out to find out how long it would take to save for a down payment in each state. Using data from the United States Census…