Home Building

ITTIGallery/Shutterstock Understanding home equity When you take the current market value of your home that you receive after an appraisal and subtract it from the amount you currently owe on your mortgage, that’s your home’s equity. Your home equity is how much of the property that you truly own. This is the formula you will use to answer […]

ITTIGallery/Shutterstock What is equity? You’ll often hear the term equity when it comes to homeownership, but you may not even know what that means even if you already own a home. The amount of money you receive when you sell your house, minus any debt associated with it, is equity. When looking at it from an investment point […]

When searching for a new home, buyers often look for houses or land in the best neighborhoods — or, at least, the best neighborhoods that they can afford. And that’s certainly understandable. However, homeowners may be missing out on several advantages by not considering less prestigious or less desirable neighborhoods. Below are six reasons to […]

In a perfect world, every neighborhood would resemble Mayberry. Everyone would know each other by name and your next-door neighbor’s yard would always look as manicured as your own. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a perfect neighborhood and every zip code has its own pros and cons. Still, there’s nothing worse than having home […]

It was writer Howard E. Koch who mused, “You can be a good neighbor only if you have good neighbors.” Of course, you don’t get to choose the people who live around you. Still, a new type of development can help limit the chances of living next to a dud. Pocket neighborhoods are small developments […]

If you asked architects about the biggest change to design trends over the last decade, chances are they’d tell you “open floorplans.” While architecture used to lean towards “the more the merrier” when it came to the number of rooms, today’s families live differently. Instead of lots of small spaces, home design now revolves around […]

Let’s face it: building a home comes with a lot of paper. Whether it’s rough plans drawn on a napkin, pictures torn from magazines or a receipt for that perfect neutral gray, it’s easy to find yourself buried in important documents. Then, when it’s time to find the info you need, you’re left paging through […]

Your plans are complete and you’ve purchased your lot. You’re probably chomping at the bit to get construction underway on your new home. After all, breaking ground is the first step to the process and your excitement is understandable. But before you grab your trusty shovel (or schedule your excavation), there are a few things […]

Building your own home is an exercise in careful budgeting. Each and every dollar needs to be accounted for, or your build could get away from you. Still, even if you’re careful with your budget, you might be making mistakes that cost you in the end. Maxing out your money might be less about choosing […]

What started as a lazy Saturday afternoon looking at model homes soon turned into a full-scale commitment to building a house. That’s how my husband and I went from a pair of looky-loos to building a home over the course of a year. Now, it’s a funny anecdote we bring up when talking with friends […]

Making the decision to build instead of buying a home is the easy part. After that, the real work starts. Working with your builder to choose plans, finishes and overall budget can test your limits, but it’ll ultimately get you exactly what you want. Of course, what makes sense on paper doesn’t always work when […]

Whether you’re addicted to house flipping shows on TV or you’ve flipped a home for profit in the past, you know it can be tricky. Flipping existing homes can come with unexpected twists, turns and structural issues. Renovations eat into your profit and can turn a sure thing into a total dud. One way to […]

With half of 2018 in the books, it’s becoming clear which trends are making a comeback. And, when it comes to building, you might be surprised at what’s hot. Years of white-on-white design and maximialist furnishings are giving way to a more organic style. Whether you’re building a new home or just doing renovations, looking at […]

Your home is one of your biggest investments, and you want it to remain in prime condition for as long as possible in order to get a high return on that investment. However, foundation issues can threaten this. It’s best to fix foundation issues as soon as possible; the longer they persist, the more expensive […]

We all love seeing those home renovation shows on TV, but unfortunately, the process is a little more complicated when you’re planning on buying a fixer-upper in real life. That said, as always, we have you covered. Below is a list of the top considerations to keep in mind if you’re set on buying a […]

You’re going to build your dream home and you’ve thought it all through – or so you’ve thought. You know exactly what you need and want to have in your home, but have you thought about what you don’t want and what you don’t need? Have you really thought the whole thing through? You have […]