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Living Smart: Flat, Satin or Semi-Gloss? Brush up on Paint Types

(TNS)—Ready to refresh your home’s interior walls with a new coat of paint, but aren’t sure what type to use for each room? Or do you have other items around the house that need to be spruced up? If painting is on your to-do list, whether it’s by hiring a highly rated professional to tackle […]
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Great Spaces: Villa Jasmine Heats Up the Market in Miami Beach

This fully furnished $25 million property in Miami Beach is like no other. The property, owned by the former CEO of 1-800-PetMeds Marc Puleo, is located on the tip of prestigious Sunset Island. It is 8,300 square feet set on a half-acre point lot on Sunset Island. The five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bathroom mansion includes a separate one-bedroom […]
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10 Tricky Ways to Save for a Down Payment

Saving up enough money for a down payment on your first home can seem like a daunting task—and it can be. But, say consumer advocates at nerdwallet.com, you might try using a few of these odd little shortcuts to trick yourself into saving more—and faster: • Automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings […]
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Smart Upgrades That Will Make the Joneses Want to Keep Up With You

There is an insurance that can help keep appliances working like new. With this kind of insurance, if an appliance breaks down, there is a certain amount of coverage given. Even with the insurance, however, keeping appliances up-to-date will make any neighbor jealous. Waiting until the insurance can cover those upgrades helps with a small […]
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Your Place: What Your Shower May Be Trying to Tell You

(TNS)—Each morning about 7 o’clock, my shower and I share a relationship lasting no more than a couple minutes—an effort to keep the water bill to a reasonable monthly payment. It’s the shower I’ve used for the 15 years I’ve lived in this house, but do I really know anything about it? The folks at […]
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Is It Smart to Buy A Fixer-Upper as Your First Home?

Buying your first home can be very exciting. Among all the decisions you’ll have to make when you seek that home is whether you want to buy one that’s ready to move into and live in as is, or one that needs a little work. Many people buy fixer-uppers because of the lower cost, but […]
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Ask the Expert: How Can Property Managers Find the Perfect Tenant?

Today’s “Ask the Expert” column features Silvia Englert, General Manager with Houserie.com Tenant Screening. Q: What steps should property managers take to find the perfect tenant for their rental property? A: One of the hardest jobs associated with being a landlord or property manager is finding that perfect tenant who will pay the rent on […]
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For 69 Percent of Renters, Location Is a Decision-Maker

It may surprise some housing professionals to know that when it comes to renting, location—not price or size—seems to be the major decision-maker. This news comes from For Rent Media Solutions’ recently released white paper, Engaging Today’s Consumer: The Modern Apartment Search. After surveying more than 13,500 consumers, FRMS has gained key insights into the search […]
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Millennials and the New American Dream

A survey conducted exclusively among millennials as part of the Responsive Home project—a venture between BUILDER magazine and Pardee Homes to design, build and sell the ideal home for 21st century buyers – identifies the driving factors behind new age home buying habits and de-bunks millennial home buying myths. The results found that a modified, but familiar dream […]
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U.S. Housing Starts Fall 3 Percent in August

Housing starts in August fell 3 percent to an annual rate of 1.13 million units (SAAR), according to a recent Census Bureau report. “The small dip in August housing starts is minor considering the sustained momentum we’ve seen in housing overall in 2015,” says Quicken Loans Vice President Bill Banfield. “When you couple the slow […]