Yes you should do a final walkthrough right before your closing. Even on a new house. It’s important that you double check everything that is supposed to be there is still there and the house is still in working order. It has nothing to do with whether or not you “trust” the seller – keep [...]

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a professional inspection done on a house on which you have made an offer to buy AND make sure the completion of the sale is contingent upon a reasonable outcome of any inspection. (Meaning that if the house has way more problems then you realized or perhaps one very serious problem [...]

If you decide to buy a home this year it might be a very good idea to hire an accountant to do your taxes, especially if you are confused as to exactly what and how much you can write off. The IRS (shockingly!) has a wide variety of rules and regs regarding how to handle [...]

Demand excellence from your real estate professionals. Whether it’s your Realtor or your mortgage broker or lender. Remember they are working for YOU. You want someone who isn’t bothered if you have a zillion questions, and who promptly returns your phone calls and emails. If you do have questions, don’t hesitate to ask them, it’s [...]

According to this article, the very best day of the year to buy a house is Christmas Day. I imagine this is true although as the author points out you’ll need someone who will agree to let you view the house on Christmas (although maybe you actually viewed the house on the 23rd or 24th [...]