Is renovating your kitchen before a home sale worth it?
When it comes time to selling a home, homeowners often consider remodeling to try to increase the market value. Remodeling may be smart in some circumstances, but it can also be a double-edged sword: While most home sellers would be unwise to do absolutely nothing to improve their homes before they sell, they’d be equally […]
Ways to Brighten Up Your Living Room this Winter
Winter days are short. Many of them can be dark, gloomy, and full of dramatic weather. Since you’ll probably be spending most of your time indoors to avoid the cold, you might want to make your home as bright and cheery as possible. A few easy and inexpensive changes can make a big difference. Screens […]
Growing Food Through the Cold Season
Sure, you can extend summer’s harvest into fall, but the really impressive gardening happens in the dead of winter. With a few low-tech tools, you can protect plants from hard freezes and harvest fresh food for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and beyond. Season-Extending Techniques Hardy varieties: Some varieties of garden plants simply grow better in […]
All About Credit Scores
Is it ever too late to build credit? No. Your credit score can affect you for your entire lifetime, so it’s always worth trying to improve.
The Basics of the USDA Loan
Do you seem more comfortable surrounded by pastures than pavement? If so, buying a home in a rural setting might be well within reach, thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture mortgage program. In fact, the USDA has one of the government’s least-known mortgage assistance programs. Issued through the USDA loan program, also known as […]
Best Holiday Gifts for New Homeowners
If someone you know is celebrating the holidays for the first time in a new home, it can make the season feel extra special. Why not consider a gift that celebrates their new homeowner status? We put together a list of ideas to help you choose the perfect gift. Casual Gifting Smarter Smart Bulbs Called […]
How to Keep Your Home Warm This Winter
The key to understanding how to keep warm is the fact that you lose more heat by radiation to your surroundings than you do by convection to the air. This is why your house feels so cold when you get back from a winter break, even after you’ve turned on the central heating—though the air […]
Holiday Traditions in Texas
No matter which ones you celebrate, the holidays are a time to join family and honor history and heritage. In our state, we have a diverse range of cultures, and each of these groups celebrates individual holiday traditions that make Texas unique during the holidays. Tamales Many Texas holiday traditions can be traced back to […]
How to Prepare Your Home and Yard for Winter
Now that we’re past the middle of autumn, it’s time to prepare your home for the December—February cold weather. These steps, most of which you can do yourself, will help lower your utility bills and protect your investment. Why not try to be a smarter homeowner this year and take some time now to get […]
Insurance You Need as a Homebuyer
Reviewing the numerous types of insurance available during the home buying process can be overwhelming. You already have so much to do to close on your home—do you really have to jump through more hoops? Well, yes. No sensible car owner would drive without insurance, so it figures that no new homeowner should be without […]
