Blog » Page 9 of 17 » Live in the Hollywood Riviera
Five Ways to Make Your Home Look Larger
When selling a home, décor choices can impact how large or small a residence appears to potential buyers. Here, the National Association of Realtors offers some simple tips from professional home stag...
Four Questions to Ask Your Partner Before Buying a Home Together
Buying your first home is exciting, but there’s also some stress that comes with it. A house is a big purchase, and it brings a host of new hurdles beyond the initial price tag. If you’ll be purchasin...
Building Castles in the Sand A Labor of Love for this Riviera Resident
Todd Vander Pluym was born to play in the sand. The creator of Sand Sculptors International, Todd recalls how his parents would put his crib on the beach when he was just a few months old, only to fin...
Are You Paying Too Much for a House in Your Neighborhood?
Sometimes determining how much you should pay for a home can be as simple as looking at the recently sold homes in the neighborhood and considering how your specific lot compares. But if the home you ...
Why Are You Selling? Ten Answers You Should Never Give
“Why are you selling your house?” might seem like a perfectly innocent question for home buyers to ask, but watch out: If you’re the home seller they’re asking, this is one of the most complicated que...
Five Ways to Prepare for an Appraisal and Showcase Your Home at its Best
Determining a price for your home can be stressful, especially if you don’t know how to prepare for an appraisal. If the home’s appraised value is too far from the listing price, it can make or break ...
Eight Outdoor Trends That Attract Buyers
Thinking about putting your home on the market? Don’t neglect your outdoor space while making improvements indoors as well. Your home’s exterior and the backyard are important in drawing the eyes of p...
Reaching for the Stars: An Interview with the Riviera’s NASA Man, Jim Montgomery
Of the more than 7 billion people on this earth, Hollywood Riviera resident Jim Montgomery is one of the fortunate few who gets to explore the wider universe, and get paid for it! A senior engineer at...
The Facts (and Myths) on Down Payments and PMI
Thinking about buying a home and worried about your down payment? You’ve likely heard the rule of thumb about not purchasing a home unless you can put 20 percent down. Before accepting this myth, Fred...
Cut Back on These Seven Outdoor Trends to Help Sell Your Home
If you’re planning to place your home on the market, you’ll want to make sure prospective buyers can picture themselves enjoying the great outdoors. From the wrong trees and shrubs to poor patio light...
Three Tips for Selling an Eco-Friendly Home
Eco-friendly features can help a home stand out in a competitive real estate market, especially to environmentally conscious homebuyers. In addition to the promise of lower electric bills, green upgra...
Seven Inexpensive Landscaping Ideas That Will Pay Off Later
A home with a gorgeous yard isn’t just easy on the eyes. According to research conducted by Virginia Tech, well-landscaped homes also sell for 5.5 percent to 12.7 percent. The only problem is, profess...
Six Ways to Win a Bidding War
A hot spring market fueled by high demand and low inventory has emerged in 2017. Buyers are doing their best to stay ahead of rising interest rates, but often are confronted with short time frames to ...
Riviera Resident Turns Adversity to Strength
Sometimes, horrible situations actually become a blessing in disguise. Such was the case for Riviera resident Peggy Maddox, who was given only two months to live when she was diagnosed with metastatic...
Home Staging Decreases Time on the Market
Sixty-two percent of sellers’ agents say that staging a home decreases the amount of time a home spends on the market, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2017 Profile of Home Staging. ...
Best Home-Improvement Investments
Renovating your home is a numbers game. How much do you have to spend to fix up your home and what will it get you in return? When is it worth it to spend more on high-end finishes to get a better ret...
Seven Steps to Help Choose a School That Fits Your Family
When searching for a new home and neighborhood, school often is one of the most important deciding factors for a family. And there’s more to choosing the right school than test scores. Other considera...
Four Ways Every Homebuyer Can Save on Title Insurance
You’ve found your dream home, made an offer and applied for a mortgage. But have you given any thought to the cost of title insurance? This all-important policy usually is purchased as part of closing...
Four Types of Loans That Affect How Much Mortgage You Can Afford
Different types of debt can boost your credit score. However, over-borrowing can hurt your chances of securing a mortgage. When you’re shopping for a mortgage, your credit score is a really big deal; ...
Seven Signs You’ll Make a Huge Profit When Flipping a House
Flipping a house successfully depends largely on picking the right place at the right time—which is why veteran flippers keep a mental checklist to help steer them toward homes that are primed to reap...