Author Archives: Sabrina Mapes

Cooler weather is coming — prep your home for its arrival while it’s still nice outside. The days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting cooler. Fall has arrived, and it’s time to think about getting your home and yard ready for the seasonal changes ahead. Take care of these 12 tasks to get your […]

Who has time for decorating when your weekends are packed with apple-picking and tailgating? You do. It’s time to put down your pumpkin-scented beverage of choice, and gather some actual pumpkins. That’s how easy it can be to find fall decorations that set a festive tone for the season. Focus on adding simple decor to […]

Deciding whether you should buy or sell your house first should be based on your finances, moving timeline and the market conditions of your current and future homes. Generally, selling first benefits sellers of homes in buyers markets and buying first benefits sellers of homes in sellers markets. Buying and selling at the same time is […]

Over the next few weeks and months, the long-overheated U.S. housing market is expected to continue to cool off in the bracing chill of autumn. After a wild year of unprecedented price increases, a worsening shortage of homes for sale, and cutthroat bidding wars where offers six figures over the ask price weren’t uncommon, conditions […]

When buying a home, you’ll probably hear your lender or real estate agent use the word escrow. The term escrow can describe a few different functions, from the time your offer is accepted to the day you close on your home — and even after you become a homeowner with a mortgage. There are essentially two types of escrow […]

At the height of the pandemic, more than 7.2 million homeowners were in the mortgage forbearance program, which allows some borrowers to pause their payments. The economy has since posted one of the fastest recoveries in history. Now, just 1.7 million borrowers are enrolled in the forbearance program. But soon it’ll be zero. The Biden-Harris administration has […]

About 46 percent of home buyers are purchasing a home for the first time, and with that first home can come particular financial hurdles around saving for a down payment, and paying for closing costs. About two-thirds (64 percent) of first-time buyers put less than 20 percent down on their first home, and a quarter put down 5 percent […]

Experts dismissed housing-bubble concerns earlier this year, but they’re not anymore. Key data points are on track to reach bubble levels soon, though most sit below their 2006 peaks. Here are three signs the US is hurtling toward another housing bubble — if it’s not there already. The US housing market doesn’t seem to be […]

Like most major milestones in life, becoming a first-time homeowner comes with quite a few learning curves. Even after you close on the house and it becomes officially yours, there’s still a lot to learn when it comes to taking care of the place—and setting yourself up for long-term success. Having recently purchased my first […]

It’s never too late to begin fine-tuning your credit habits if buying or refinancing is in your future. Let’s just cut to the chase — your credit score is super important. This three-digit number will be examined by banks, mortgage companies, and other lenders to see if they consider you to be a credit risk. […]