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Internet Service Providers (ISPs) save money and manage network traffic by “throttling” broadband connections, resulting in “slower loading times, buffering during streaming, and reduced download or upload speeds.” The average internet speed is 214 Mbps in the U.S. Most providers put data caps on the amount of gigabytes (GB) they provide, which favors denser populations. AT&T DSL caps at 1,500 GBs for 120 million customers while satellite provider HughesNet caps between 12-200 GBs for 330 million subscribers worldwide.

If your service is slow, you can pay for more gigabytes per second but that doesn’t guarantee connectivity even for unlimited data plans. Also try situating your router and modem high up off the floor, away from other electronics, and within the center of the home. Check for dust in the device, clean and reboot. Update older devices to get a stronger signal.

For a small subscription fee, add a virtual private network (VPN) which “establishes a digital connection between your computer and a remote server…” to encrypt your personal data, mask your IP address from your ISP, and prevent throttling.

Filed under: Blog by Jane Sullivan Horne
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Your credit scores are numbers that creditors, landlords, employers, insurers, and others use as shorthand or an educated guess to determine your attitude toward borrowing and how you might repay a loan. Credit scores are calculated individually by the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, from the information found in your credit reports:

• Liens, child support obligations, etc. reveal your litigation history.
• Payment history shows which accounts you have and how you pay your debts.
• Outstanding balances show how much credit needs to be repaid. Do you make minimum payments, pay a large part of the balance, or pay in full?
• Length of credit history is composed of the original dates you opened accounts or obtained loans.
• Applications for new credit accounts show you plan to owe more. What are you spending your money on?
• Types of credit accounts differentiate between secured loans (cars, homes) and unsecured loans (credit cards).

High credit scores mean better terms and interest rates, improved access to jobs and housing, and lower insurance costs, among other benefits.

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If your home has had few to no showings or offers, it’s likely overpriced to homebuyers. They’re willing to pay fair market value, but little more. You’ll be successful with a price reduction if you act on the following:

Accept the current market. Ask your Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network professional for an updated comparative market analysis with detailed sales trends over the last three months. Are home sales slowing or accelerating? Are home prices rising or falling? Price your home slightly under the trends.

Upcycle your home. Repainting and deep cleaning aren’t enough to make your home stand out. What’s missing that buyers want? Curb appeal? New appliances? Homebuyers want a move-in-ready home and will make a solid offer to get one.

Review your marketing. Pay for professional staging and photography to showcase your home to better advantage online. Highlight the charms and special features of your home as well as the neighborhood.

A price reduction should send the right message to the marketplace—that your home is well worth its asking price.

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When homebuyers pull up to the curb of a home for sale, one of the first things they look for is the front door. As the focal point of the entrance, the door should segue seamlessly to complement the interior. According to Marvin Replacement, buyers are looking for larger doors that admit more light into the home and have unique features such as off-center styling and carvings.

Home style: Whether your home is Mid-century, Victorian, or Craftsman, the front door should reflect or complement the age and style elements of the home’s inspiration.

Door style: The door can be expanded to include a transom window, panel of window panes on one or both sides (sidelites), or double doors.

Materials: Steel, hardwood, or fiberglass are the most durable choices.

Color: Front door colors are bolder to add more style and personality to the home’s curb appeal.

Take your entryway to the next level by embellishing the door surround with trimming, replacing light fixtures, and adding new hardware, a pot of fresh flowers, and an upscale doormat.

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Before you apply for a mortgage loan, check your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. This site, by law, allows the three major credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Transunion, and Equifax, to provide a free look at your total credit history once a year. You’ll find the following:

• Bill payment history
• Loans
• Current debt
• Bankruptcy history
• Lawsuit records and liens

Compare all three reports carefully. One-third of Americans find at least one error, and mistakes can hurt your mortgage application. Credit bureaus don’t fix errors, report credit scores, or communicate with each other. If you spot an issue—whether it’s a reporting error or a late bill—you’ll need to contact the reporting entity directly, resolve the dispute, and provide proof of payment if necessary. This process can take 30 days or more, so acting early is key.

Finally, double-check your personal details, such as your name, address, and Social Security number, to ensure everything is accurate before applying. A small error can cause unnecessary delays.

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Now’s the perfect time to show off your new home with your favorite vibrant colors, eclectic art, and daring sense of fashion. Maximalism is putting individuality and a sense of fun back into home design. It’s excessive, exuberant, eclectic, and highly personal.

Start with your living room. Place the largest pieces you want to see in the room, including tables, chairs, sofas or loveseats. Remove everything else. Move the pieces around like an interior designer until you like the layout and flow—then you can add accessories. You’ll have multiple focal points, but to give the eye a rest, group similar but mixed and matched elements together—a wall of eclectic paintings, a case of books, or a row of embellished pillows replete with embroidery, tassels, and trims. Unify the look with a bold paint color or wallpaper.

Make coziness and comfort your priority. Upcycle damaged heirlooms and flea market finds with new finishes (gold gilt, black onyx stains, low sheen wax) and plushy fabrics (textured velvet) replete with tufts and trim.

Filed under: Blog by Jane Sullivan Horne
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When interest rates rise, buying a home becomes more expensive, so you may need to tighten your budget. However, there are advantages. For instance, if you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly payment remains unchanged—a strong hedge against inflation even as home prices and other costs climb. Additionally, higher rates help your savings and money market accounts grow faster, making it easier to build cash reserves.

The disadvantages to higher interest rates are that all loans are more expensive, including credit cards, so it’s best hunker down and keep debt to a minimum.

Lower interest rates mean you pay less interest, can buy “more” home, and possibly pay your mortgage off faster. If you have a mortgage at a higher rate than “today’s” rates, you can refinance to a lower monthly payment, eliminate or lower private mortgage insurance, or trade a variable-rate loan for a fixed-rate loan. The disadvantage is that other instruments that pay interest to you will provide lower yields.

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With improved law enforcement tools, residential burglaries are on the decline, but they still occur at homes that look like easy pickings.

Burglars prefer to target homes that offer easy opportunity, low risk, and potential rewards. From the street, they can quickly gather information just by driving the neighborhood, “jogging by” at different times of the day, checking alleys and garbage for empty boxes of new purchases, and by pretending to be utility workers, evangelists, or solicitors to see when someone’s home. They look for:

• Easy access: wood doors, open windows, sliding glass doors
• Places to hide: overgrown bushes, walls, privacy fences
• Security: cameras, motion-sensor lights, barking dogs
• Poor lighting: no porch lights on at night, no landscape lighting
• New purchases: front yard decorations for birthdays, graduations, holidays, etc.
• Convenience: homes near highways/back alleys, secluded homes

Besides installing doorbell cameras and security systems, you can keep your car’s remote control handy as a panic alarm, stop announcing plans on social media, install steel doors and deadbolt locks, and meet and get to know your neighbors.

Filed under: Blog by Jane Sullivan Horne
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As of November 2024, there were 132,000,000 households in the U.S., a net increase of 782,000 from the previous year. Family households grew by 351,000; married couples grew by 122,000; and non-family homes (single-person occupancy) grew by 432,000.

Meanwhile, researchers found average household sizes declined from 2.58 members in 2010 to 2.53 members in 2024. According to the U.S. Census, 64% of households are family homes, down from 79% in 1974. In 2024, there were 38.5 million one-person households, or 29% of all U.S. households—a huge increase from 19% 50 years ago.

The trend of smaller households is yet another factor influencing the appetite and need for smaller homes. Bigger homes used to be more desirable to homebuyers, but between lack of affordability and rising eco-awareness, smaller homes are becoming the new standard. And the icing on the cake? Small homes appreciate faster than larger homes. Realtor.com notes that homes of 1,200 square feet or less appreciated at 7.5% over the last five years, while homes 2,400 feet or larger appreciated at only 3.8%.

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