Your home is a huge investment when you buy it, plus monthly operating costs like utility bills. We help you spend less, get more value & build homeowner equity like a savings account.
You've probably never hung a door or shingled a roof. That’s why problems are scary. We share concepts, terminology so you can make smart decisions about your home ... with confidence!
With Pinterest, Houzz and so many shows about home improvements, it's natural to have a wish list. We share our ideas, your homeowner stories and support you in achieving your dreams.
Today's notice that my homeowner insurance would be cancelled due to lack of payment seemed unreal. With so many other bumps in the road, it feels like nothing is going right with this move. The insurance was paid 12 days ago, as part of the closing on my new home. So now it feels like I need a moving checklist to make sure nothing is falling through the cracks!
With more than a dozen moves over the last 40 years, [Save More…]
Do you know how often you write out your home address? Maybe you're smart and carry those cute little address stickers which save you time? What you probably don't understand is how your home address is being tracked and even sold by businesses across the US. Like many aspects of our lives, we take our home address for granted while understanding it's importance.
Even though I've moved 14 times since graduating from college, I never understood the problems [Save More…]
Completing a mortgage application is never easy, even if you've done it before! You'll have to submit lots of documents and waste hours finding the necessary documentation, scanning pages and pages so ultimately you can upload all these documents to the lender you've picked. You can fight the bureaucracy or recognize that reviewing your financial health has benefits too.
Ready to look at your financial health from the perspective of a lender? [Save More…]
The emphasis on low cost products drives lower quality products. Poor quality means products have to be replaced more often. When you add product and installation labor costs, cheap products cost more. So Walmart, focused on cheap products, is good for clothing but not for building products. You don't want to buy cheap house windows at Walmart!
Fortunately Walmart also knows that cheap house windows are a problem when houses last 40, 60 or 100 years. Walmart does sell window accessories like screens, shutters, window film, window awnings and window insulation kits.
Sadly many production builders, to save a nickel here and there, [Learn More …]
When you move into a brand new house you want to decorate, organize and protect your home so it sparkles forever. Furniture pads will let you move furniture around, knowing your floors are protected from scratches and gouges. The challenge is finding the best furniture pads for your floors and furniture.
More homeowners worry about their hardwood floors but my experience says it pays to protect all flooring. With wall-t0-wall porcelain tile, I expected my floors to be pretty indestructible … [Learn More …]
Electrical outlets are becoming more critical in our connected world. Home fixtures like lights are getting smarter and everyone in the family has a smart phone. So why aren't we getting smarter about where we put our outlets?
Why let plain white outlets break up tile backsplash?
If the kitchen is the heart of a home, then you expect kitchens in new construction houses to be brilliant. Richmond American's model home kitchen is just that. The price tag for that kitchen is ridiculous. Here's how I replaced cheap kitchen cabinets in my new home, with better cabinets that are beautiful and functional.
Home buyers need to understand that model homes are advertisements like the ones you see in magazines. They include lots of upgrades (think “more money”) to encourage buyers to put down a deposit on their new home.
Looks though, can also be deceiving when you're not familiar with what you're looking at [Start Dreaming …]
Building a new house is exciting and challenging. With a production builder like Richmond American, you have little control once the contract is signed. You can monitor progress and leverage the contract to get desired changes but you have virtually no control over the quality of the building materials or workmanship.
After four months, Richmond American has provided almost no response to the punchlist provided before closing. That's why I'm writing this letter to Richmond's CEO, as now there are less than 8 months to resolve all open issues. [Start Dreaming …]
With a new house you're likely to buy some new furniture. Living in a new place means finding new, reliable furniture companies. Here's what I learned working with three different furniture companies in central Florida. Product quality and customer service differ significantly and there's one company you definitely want to avoid.
While I'm very comfortable with almost all aspects of building a home, decorating is a challenge. That's why a few favorite stores are important but none of them are located in Orlando. At first it appeared that my choices were [Start Dreaming …]
