If you're a rental property owner with a nice place in a desirable area, it's not all that difficult to attract quality tenants. With solid systems for marketing the place and screening tenants, most landlords or property managers can do it. Keeping quality tenants around, however, is sometimes a different story. If you're a rental property owner, here's how to retain good tenants. | Read More →

Lending guidelines dictate that homebuyers must spend no more than 28 percent of their gross monthly income on housing costs in order to qualify for a mortgage. Yet, data shows that the average household spends about 33 percent of its income on housing costs each month, by far the largest average monthly expense. If you're thinking of buying a home, here are four paths to a lower house payment. | Read More →

Owning a home can come with certain feelings of pride and freedom, but it also comes with costs. Sometimes, unsuspecting or unprepared homeowners spend so much of their income on their homes that they have little money left over for anything else. It's not an enviable situation. If you're thinking of buying a home, here are three ways to avoid becoming house poor. | Read More →

Traditionally, real estate has been a somewhat seasonal business, the bulk of each year's home sales occurring in the spring and summer. When inventories of homes for sale and mortgage interest ratesl are both low, however, buyer demand tends to be year-round. If the seasonal rule of thumb is out the window, then when is the best time to sell? If you're thinking of selling a home, here's how to know when to put it on the market. | Read More →

First-time homebuyers make up about a third of all home sales each year in the United States, which means many people continue to pursue homeownership for the first time. But buying a home for the first time can be daunting, and knowing your facts might help you determine whether it's right for you. There's a lot of information out there, and some of it just isn't true. Here are four first-time home-buying myths debunked. | Read More →

Anybody buying a home knows the primary expense, which is the monthly house payment. Sometimes, insurance and property taxes are included, which makes it easy to budget for those items, too. But that isn't where your new home's costs will end. If you're buying a home, here are five hidden costs nobody tells you about. | Read More →