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As we enter into this Labor Day weekend, I just want to celebrate the hard work and dedication of workers everywhere!   Thank you for all you do!  Jane At The Lake

Back in the day, you could make moving simple by saving old newspapers and retrieving boxes left behind your local grocery store. Today, you’ll likely have to order packing supplies for your move from somewhere online. Which is better—packing paper or bubble wrap? Actually, the answer is both. Packing paper can take less space than […]

Luxury homes are all about high-end finishes, spacious layouts, and top amenities. As well as providing the utmost comfort and luxury, they are often a symbol that the owner has reached a certain level of success. However, not all luxury homes are made equal, and the one thing that really makes a difference in their […]

Many aspiring homeowners cannot afford to buy a home where they want, especially in expensive inner cities. So, they’re turning to a new concept: rentvesting. It’s a clever way to enter the property market and start building personal wealth, giving you the freedom of renting coupled with the financial benefits of homeownership. Rentvesting means renting […]

o make it easy to compare homes, the real estate industry supplies lots of data for each listing, including number of stories, type of home (condo, single-family, etc.), building materials (brick or siding), size of lot, number of bedrooms and baths, and so on. Nearly all homes listed for sale provide square footage to indicate overall size, […]

You may think you don’t need a first-time homebuyer’s certificate, but it’s a good idea to take a few hours to obtain one. A certificate shows you’ve completed educational requirements to prepare you mentally and financially to buy a home. Plus, completion of a course may make you eligible for some first-time homebuyer assistance or income qualified […]

Refinancing your mortgage is expensive, especially if you just want to lower your monthly payments. Closing costs can be in the thousands of dollars because you’re essentially applying for a new loan. Is there another way to lower your monthly payment? Yes: You can recast your mortgage. In simple terms, a mortgage recast involves making a lump-sum payment toward […]

Fabrics in your home are important to both your comfort and budget, so knowing the grams per square meter(GSM) is helpful when choosing textiles for bedding, furniture, and fabric accessories. GSM only measures the weight of any fabric. The higher the GSM, the denser and more durable the fabric. A fabric’s GSM rating helps you better evaluate the performance […]

A rain garden isn’t as complex an idea as it sounds. You can just use a small depression in your yard—the one where a puddle always forms when it rains. According to LifeHacker.com, the goal of a rain garden is to “temporarily hold and absorb rain water runoff coming from roofs, driveways, patios or lawns.” Instead […]

When you take out a conventional mortgage loan (not insured by the U.S. government), with a down payment of less than 20%, your lender will require that you pay monthly private mortgage insurance (PMI) which protects the lender in case you default. PMI costs can vary between 0.58% and 1.86% of the mortgage amount. According […]