Tips

Found 198 blog entries about Tips.

If you are facing a financial or health-related problem or simply going through a new phase in life, you may be thinking about sharing a home with close family or extended family members.

Many people have decided that living in a multigenerational home answers their problems. The number of American adults who have lived in a multigenerational home has more than doubled compared to forty years ago.

It’s no surprise that more and more families are choosing this setup for practical reasons. 

The question is, will this work for you and your family? Let’s dig deeper into how this works and look at tips on making a multigenerational home work for you.

How do you define a multigenerational home?

According to the Pew Research Center, a

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Since the start of the millennium, few real estate trends have gained and retained as much popularity as the open floor plan. Though they range from expansive great rooms paired with traditional bedroom configurations to fully open, sun-drenched loft apartments, it’s a fact that no other type of configuration has been in such high demand.

If you’re preparing to look for your first home, or upgrade the home you have, you are no doubt mulling over the pros and cons of open concept living—and you’re correct that such designs aren’t for everyone.

Let’s take a closer look at some important factors to consider before you make such a huge decision.

The Pros

1.) Freedom to Socialize

Open floor plans are perfect for entertaining and spending

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If you plan on buying a new house, you should thoroughly research the property that meets your needs. But you shouldn’t only be diligent about the house-hunting part during your research. You would also like to know more about the neighborhood you’re about to relocate to.

If you’re confused about what you should look for in a community, here are ten things to consider in looking for your ideal neighborhood.

1.) Neighborhood Safety

Safety and security should be your top priorities when moving to a new location. Do your homework to research specific crimes in the area. You can also visit the local police department and ask questions about which part of the neighborhood has a higher crime rate.

2.) Parks & Recreation

If you have kids,

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There are plenty of reasons why you should boost your credit score. But if you’re preparing to purchase a house, know that an exceptional credit score can increase your chances of getting a lower interest rate on your home loan. 

If you want to raise your credit score, there are several quick, simple things that you can do. While it might take some months to see an improvement in your credit score, you can start boosting your credit in just a few hours.

What is a Credit Score?

A credit score is a number from 300 to 850 that predicts your likelihood of repaying your debt. The higher the score, the better a borrower looks to potential lenders.

Your credit score is calculated based on various factors: payment history, debt burden, length of

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Watching a movie in your back yard with your family and friends is a fun, memorable way to make the most of your outdoor space. We’re fortunate to live in Middle Tennessee, where the beautiful weather makes it ideal for cuddling up beneath the stars throughout many months of the year.

Whether you plan to keep it simple with just the essentials or go all-in making the ultimate home theater setup, we’ll walk you through your options and make recommendations to help you achieve success. 

Essentials

While there are projectors that play sound, their onboard speakers offer poor projection and lack any richness of tone. Instead, we recommend that you purchase speakers along with your projector and screen. You can use your existing digital media

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Eco-friendly flooring is a more popular flooring choice now than at any time previously—particularly within this century. Homeowners like you are increasingly motivated to ensure that their renovations and upgrades are as green as possible, with building materials and appliances remaining the most common starting points. Today, we’re sharing our top ten eco-friendly flooring options, so be sure to read through to the end before you spring for your upcoming flooring remodel.

What makes flooring material eco-friendly?

The main factors that determine how green a flooring material is are:

  • Whether or not it is made from recycled, renewable, or sustainably sourced materials
  • The nature of the chemicals required for production, maintenance,
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Being a part of a military family means you may not have a permanent address for some time. It’s common to receive orders to move to another station even if you’ve just settled into a house and neighborhood you love.

To make the experience easier, we share some tips on buying and selling your home as a military family.

Should you buy a house or not?

When you’re an active service member, you’ll receive a BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing), whether renting or buying. The amount depends on your pay grade, where you’re living, and your dependency status.

Buying a home is a good option if you want lower monthly payments than renting, but if you think you’ll get transferred in a short time, you’ll probably want to hold off a bit. The reason is

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Purchasing your own home may be the largest purchase you can make. The median monthly mortgage payment in the U.S. is $1,100, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau — and this doesn’t include other costs related to homeowners insurance and property taxes. 

If you want to save thousands on your home purchase, there are multiple ways to reduce your total cost. Read on and discover four ways to save money on your home purchase.

Expand Your Search Area & Criteria

If you’re searching for a house in the city center or a specific area, but you now realize it’s very much out of your budget, you may want to try broadening your search area. By re-prioritizing, the items on your wish list can give you opportunities you didn’t even think about, which

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Power outages are an unpredictable (thankfully rare) challenge that most of us have experienced at least once. The degree of inconvenience you will experience during a power outage is determined by how prepared you are when it occurs. For this reason, we strongly recommend that every homeowner learn about how to prepare for a power outage, and then stay prepared at all times.

The type of preparations you’ll want to undertake to prepare for a power loss in the peak of summer will be different from one that arrives on the winds of a winter storm. Our suggestions will include helpful tips for each season.

Stock an Emergency Preparedness Kit

An emergency preparedness kit is an essential safety step for all homeowners. While the items your

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As a renter, you weren’t responsible for performing routine home maintenance, let alone dealing with repairs and emergencies. As a homeowner, however, it’s essential that you are financially prepared to handle each of these unavoidable events. While facing repairs and emergency expenses will still be stressful, being prepared for them will ensure that your financial position isn’t threatened by the unexpected.

As you read through our recommendations, keep in mind that they are developed with the average expenses faced by a homeowner in the US. If you have purchased a new home, your repair fund will not need to be as large. If you’ve purchased a home that is over 30 years old, plan for roof, plumbing, window, HVAC, and electrical issues that are

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