Home Buying Tips

• If your suburb sprawls, your gut is more likely to sprawl, too
  Car-loving suburbanites pack on about six more pounds than those who live in dense cities, where people tend to keep off weight by walking more. Continue article...
• How To Plan Custom Home and Cut The Cost
  Last spring I participated in an "Ask the Experts" panel in Sarasota, Fla. Afterwards, a woman in the audience asked me to review her plans for a new beach house overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Continue article...
• How to protect yourself in a real estate transaction
  It's no wonder that buying or selling a home ranks high on the list of the most stress-provoking events one can experience, up there with the death of a loved one and divorce. There's a lot at stake financially when you buy or sell a home. A good or bad outcome can affect your net worth, as well as your sense well being. Continue article...
• Estimating How Much Home You Can Afford
  It's the question you need to ask yourself before you even BEGIN your new home search. It's the most important factor in determining what kind of home you can secure, and where you can begin to look. It's a crucial consideration for first-timers and veteran home buyers alike. Continue article...
• Manufactured Housing Sheds Stereotype
  Forget the term "mobile home" - it's so 26 years ago. Continue article...
• House Inspectors: Choosing The Right One...
  A qualified house inspector is the surest way to discover a house's not-so-obvious problems. Most professional inspectors are from some type of construction background, such as engineering, architecture or contracting. Their responsibility is to crawl beneath the floors, squeeze through the attic and generally comb the house's structure and mechanical systems for shortcomings. They give the buyer a complete report; with this, the buyer can decide whether or not the house is a good deal, or at least put together a "punch list" of items that must be fixed (it isn't unusual for this report to contain about 50 items). The fee for this service generally runs from about $300 to $500 and up. Continue article...