New homeowner
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. The seller paid for a one-year home warranty as part of the closing. Or you’re being offered one and it sounds appealing for peace of
Safety & security
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. A security system sends an alert when doors or windows open. A monitored system sends those alerts to a 24/7 monitoring center that dispatches police
Smart home
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. Security cameras and smart doorbells give you visibility into your home from anywhere. They’re also recording everything that happens, which raises legitimate privacy questions worth
Safety & security
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. Your home is a target. Not because you’re special, but because opportunistic burglars look for easy targets and avoid difficult ones. Most break-ins are crimes
Room by room
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. A functional home office requires three things: reliable power, adequate lighting, and solid internet. These aren’t luxuries—they’re the infrastructure that makes a home
Room by room
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. Lighting for screen work is different than lighting for a typical room. Staring at a bright screen for hours while surrounded by dim space creates eye
Working with pros
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. A home inspection and a building inspection sound like they should be the same thing. They’re not. This confusion costs homebuyers and homeowners money. Understanding
New homeowner
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. Your home inspection report is sitting on your kitchen counter and you’ve read through it once, confused. It’s full of items you don’t
Paying for it
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. You renovate your kitchen for $30,000. Your neighbor does a similar job down the street. You both expect your homes to be worth more. It’
Paying for it
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. Both home equity loans and HELOCs let you borrow against your home’s equity. Both show up on your credit report. Both can affect your taxes.
Paying for it
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. Your home is probably your biggest asset. Most homeowners know they’re building equity with each mortgage payment, but the actual mechanics of how it works
Energy efficiency
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Local codes, regulations, and best practices vary by region. Your heating bill is higher than you expected. You know there’s air leaking somewhere or insulation missing somewhere, but you don’t know where. A