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The house is almost yours! It can be tempting to spend the time set aside for the walk-through mentally planning where you'll place your furniture — but there are some things you should make time to check.

Who doesn't love the idea of collecting rent on a home in a beautiful vacation-friendly location -- and visiting for free when there aren't any guests? It's a lovely concept, but there are several "hidden" costs to owning a vacation home that your daydreams don't encompass.

Need help finding the right neighborhood for your home search? Here are five factors that should figure prominently in your thinking.

Looking for a new home? Concerned about maintaining a healthy lifestyle for you and your loved ones? Here are a few factors that will help you choose the right neighborhood for your search.

Implementing some "green" upgrades in a home you own is almost always a great investment — it can both save you money and make your home more attractive to buyers. Consider some of these suggestions and choose the ones that work best with your budget and lifestyle.

Daydreaming about owning your own home is one of the most intoxicating practices known to modern man, especially now that HGTV is a thing. But when the time comes to actually put your money where your daydream is, it can be challenging for first-time buyers especially to…

How do you know if a home’s price is competitive as either a buyer or a seller? The only way to know for sure is to talk to a professional — either an appraiser or a real estate agent — but if you want to do some research on your own, here’s where to…

Upgrading your house isn’t exactly a dollar-for-dollar investment. You probably aren’t going to make all of the money back that you sink into an improvement. So think about how long you’re likely to stay in the house and which upgrades you’ll enjoy the…

If you've never bought a home before, the sheer number of mortgage loan options can be overwhelming. What's the difference between a conventional loan and a government loan, and should you go with an adjustable-rate or fixed-rate mortgage? Even if you have bought a home…

Finding and choosing a reliable plumber is one of those things that most homeowners know they should do at some point ... and they usually wait until there's an emergency to find someone, prioritizing availability over quality. That's an understandable situation to find…

In real estate, escrow refers to the window of time in between a buyer's offer being accepted and meeting the seller at the closing table to sign the finance and title transfer documents and receive the keys to their new house. It's managed by a third party (often a title…

Taking a vacation somewhere you love can make you wonder what it would be like to own a vacation home there. It's only natural to dream about having an easily accessible dwelling that you can tap whenever you want to come back to your favorite vacation spot, and owning a…