City ordinances and homeowners associations present many guidelines you must follow. Homeowners can face fines for violating rules and laws, such as not obtaining the proper permit for a remodeling project or not performing regular upkeep on a property. MSN recently highlighted several surprising things that homeowners also can get in trouble for, including:Obstructed address number. You should make sure their landscaping isn’t hiding the addre
Short-term rental properties are popping up in more neighborhoods across the country as homeowners look to cash in on an extra income stream. But is an Airbnb, Vrbo, HomeAway, or other short-term rental good for a thriving neighborhood?The STR industry has posted significant growth over the last five years. Airbnb, as of October 2018, reported more than 5 million hosts and $2.7 billion in profit. But property owners recently surveyed by Porch.com
Mortgage products that haven’t been widely used since before the Great Recession are making a comeback. The volume of loans with alternate documentation has more than doubled in the last two years among loans included in mortgage-backed securities, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.The alt-doc loans have performed well since the housing crisis, but Fitch analysts say they’re still concerned about the uptick. “Although alternative doc
A supportive cohousing community focusing on seniors who identify as LGBT broke ground last November in Durham, N.C., and is scheduled for completion in April 2020.The Village Hearth Cohousing development will include 28 single-story accessible homes on a 15-acre wooded site, 15 minutes from downtown Durham. The homes will range in size from 650 square feet to 1,150 square feet, and they will be attached in quads for energy and con
Mortgage rates barely budged this week, keeping borrowing costs low for summertime home shoppers. Mortgage rates continue to hover near their 2016 averages. “We’re seeing a tug of war happen as the fixed-income market flashes warning signs while the equities market continues to march higher with optimism,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The data suggests the economy is weakening but is still on very solid ground, with
Homeowners who fail to perform certain maintenance tasks in a timely manner may face hefty repair bills in the future. Professional home inspectors shared with Apartment Therapy some of the most important home maintenance chores that owners should be doing.Clean your gutters. Be sure to check and clean gutters throughout the year to remove any debris. “Once debris is carefully removed, any dirt or grime should be thoroughly clean
Commute time is an important factor for buyers when they're deciding on a home to purchase. Eighty-five percent of buyers say they would sacrifice other home features, such as lot size, square footage, and home-style, in order to shorten their commute to work, according to a survey of more than 600 realtor.com® users. Forty percent say they are looking to reduce their commute time by up to 45 minutes.In response, realtor.com® announced a new to
Just how secure is that “smart” security camera or door lock? That is being called into question after reports of a massive data breach hitting the smart-home industry that could extend to smart locks, home security cameras, and full smart-home kits.An database for devices manufactured by Orvibo, which runs an “internet of things” management platform, was left exposed to the internet without any password protection, security researchers w
You want that listing to look great and the carpets in the home to have that ultimate fluff. But did you know there are best practices to vacuuming a room?Start in the far corner of the room. This will help you avoid having to step on the carpet that you already cleaned. “Nobody wants footprints on their fresh vacuum lines,” Jamie Wilcox, brand director at vacuum cleaner company Bissell, told Apartment Therapy in a recent article offerin
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