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An open house is a huge opportunity for anyone hoping to sell -- it's a chance for you to present your home looking its very best to a wide pool of buyers who can walk through and decide whether it's a fit. When you hold a successful open house, it's not uncommon for the offers to come rushing in; buyers will hear and see each other enjoying the space, and their fear of missing out can push them to bid on your place. Read More

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When you're selling your house, it can be tempting to hope that buyers will see past the surface to the beautiful bone structure of your abode and realize what a lovely life they could make in it. But the truth is that most homes could use a little bit of a facelift before you invite people to walk through and hope they'll make an offer on it. Read More

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Selling your house can be an intensely emotional experience in any market, but it's particularly nerve-wracking when it seems like other homes are going under contract in a matter of days while your listing lingers. In that situation, sellers can't help but wonder if there might be something wrong with their place. Read More

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Buying a home is one of those milestone life events that many of us have been dreaming about for ages -- but there's a reason why not everybody tries it as soon as they could. It's time-consuming, it can be messy, and it involves a lot of things that feel uncomfortable or unusual because they aren't part of your everyday experience. Before you get ready to buy a home, it's helpful to understand exactly what it will entail, step by step until you're standing at the front door with keys in hand. If you've never done it before, it's not a bad idea to familiarize yourself with all of the things you'll need to accomplish to get there, which we've compiled here for you. Read More

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Whether you're renting out a single property or you have a rental empire, being a good landlord will get you a higher caliber of tenant. But maybe it's been a long time since you rented yourself, or perhaps you just don't really know what tenants want and need in this day and age. There's a lot you can do to set yourself apart from the average landlord and ensure that your tenants are so happy with their experience that they stay for years and tell everyone they know how great you are. If you're just starting out or are deciding to up your landlord game, here's how to make sure that you're the best landlord on the block. Read More

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First-time homeowners who aren't prepared for the financial realities can find themselves overwhelmed once they actually have those keys in hand -- and as the housing crash and Great Recession showed us in the late 2000's, the collective consequences of unprepared homebuyers can be devastating, both at a national (or even global) economic level and also very personally when homes are foreclosed upon at a large scale. Read More

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Buying a house -- whether it's your first or fifth -- can be a bumpy process. Between the financing, the availability (or scarcity) of homes on the market in your price range that meet your needs, the offer process, the appraisal and the inspection, there's a lot that can go wrong between deciding that you are in the market for a new home and turning the keys for the first time in your new front door. Read More

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Buying your first home is a huge part of the American Dream -- and is also a daunting and potentially overwhelming process that's ripe for second-guessing everything you know. How do you know you're ready? How can you prepare yourself financially? What do you even want to buy, and where -- and what will happen if you make a mistake? Read More