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To Sell or Not to Sell? 5 Signs It’s Time to List Your Home

If you’re like me, thoughts of putting your home on the market and moving up, down or out of dodge all together periodically float through your mind. These days, there’s extra incentive given the inventory shortage in most regions of the country—some areas are even experiencing bidding wars. “After back-to-back years of a robust housing […]
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Living Smart: 4 Tips to Keep Your Dishwasher from Breaking

(TNS)—Dishwashers are prone to breaking down and even conking out if not maintained correctly. Here are four ways appliance technicians say you can prevent premature dishwasher repairs. 1. Don’t Overload Do you ever end up with too many dishes in the sink? Instead of stuffing them all in at the same time, break the dishes […]
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6 Ways to Help Your Child Excel in School

It is important for children to feel successful in school at a young age. When children become frustrated and don’t feel successful, their confidence plummets and so does their motivation to succeed in school. Here are some tips to help your child excel in school, shared by the team of moms and teachers behind Smart […]
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Chew on These Ideas for Successful Gardening with Pets

(TNS)—Safe, friendly gardening with a pet in your household can be a difficult pastime if your yard isn’t set up to handle the wear and tear from a four-footed animal who doesn’t know the difference between your prized petunias and the potty. In Hampton, Va., gardener Wendy Iles preaches the dos and don’ts of gardening […]
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How to Lock in a Great Mortgage Rate

(TNS)—Mortgage rates fluctuate daily, making it hard to pinpoint the perfect moment to lock. To simplify the mortgage rate-lock decision, keep these things in mind: Mortgate rate lock: A guarantee that the lender will deliver a specific combination of interest rate and points if the mortgage closes by a specified date. A point is a […]
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Keep Moving to Keep Enjoying Life

(TNS)—If you lead a sedentary lifestyle and don’t go out much, it can cause you to feel down. Maybe you want to avoid people, so going to the gym isn’t that appealing, or maybe there just isn’t anyone to play kickball with anymore. So what do you do with yourself? You sit in your emotional […]
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Don’t Let a Rental Scam Ruin Your American Dream

When it comes to the World Wide Web, there’s one rule of thumb you can’t afford to ignore: Just because it’s on the Internet, doesn’t mean it’s true. Take your next door neighbors who were duped into renting a cute little two-bedroom apartment, with all the bells and whistles, who learned that the home didn’t […]
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Living Smart: How Much Does a Swimming Pool Really Cost?

(TNS)–If you’re thinking about adding a swimming pool to your backyard, chances are the cost of the project is a top concern. Asking a local pool company how much a project will cost, however, is like asking how much it costs to build a house. There’s no one size-fits-all answer. You have to factor in […]
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Renters Feeling Heat from Heightened Housing Costs

The gap between rental costs and household income is widening to unsustainable levels in many parts of the country, and the situation could worsen unless new home construction meaningfully rises, according to new research by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR reviewed data on income growth, housing costs and changes in the share of renter and […]
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Hot Property: Murdoch Keeps It in the Family

(TNS)—Media magnate Rupert Murdoch sold a house in Beverly Hills for $30 million, public records show. Marketed outside the Multiple Listing Service last year, the property attracted interest from such Hollywood A-listers as Leonardo DiCaprio and drew multiple offers. Murdoch ended up pulling the property off the market and sold it to his youngest son, […]