Millennials Managing your First Big Investment … A New Home

a new homeYou finally saved enough money for the down payment on a house. And you finally qualified for a mortgage.  You researched and home shopped to find the right first home. You made an offer. And finally, you closed on your first big investment …  a new home! Congratulations!

Now you are starting a 3 to 7 year cycle of owning and managing your first home. Where do you start?  How do you maximize the value and minimize the ongoing expenses? What do you need to do to maintain this asset? How do you manage the improvements you make to the house? How do you avoid falling into the “money pit” trap where your house financially consumes you?  Read More

Why Knowing your Personal Home Finances will Change your Life

Do you know what you owe on your mortgage? Do you know if you have the proper coverage for the contents in your home? What about knowing what you home is worth in three years? Questions like these and more are important to help us all make the best financial decisions for our life. Read More

Managing Your Home Finances for More Effective Home Management

Home Finances PieceManaging a household budget can be tricky if you are not able to document all the details about your average monthly spend. Many homeowners keep a list of electric, telephone, mobile phone, care givers, groceries, water, mortgage and car expenses. But many people forget about their home maintenance spend, their insurance fees and home repair costs throughout the year. These activities either pop up unexpectedly or they are not monthly expenses and are forgotten because they happen periodically. These are just a few expenses that are forgotten when it comes to overall home management. Looking at five key areas of finances that directly impact your home will help you have better visibility and understanding of your home that can help you make better decisions that pertain to one of your largest assets. Read More

10 Ways to Decorating Your Fireplace Mantel

Fireplace MantelYour fireplace may have a mantel that can add some character to a room. Your family may use your mantel for different tasks. Let’s take a look at how your fireplace mantel can be used and how to make it stand out. There are so many different ways you can decorate your mantel.  Read More

7 Must Have Furniture Pieces Every Home Needs

furniture piecesHave your ever thought of those furniture pieces you must have versus all the other nice to have pieces that take up space? We have. We thought about all the furniture that we have in our homes and talked about what pieces were definite must haves. Our team challenged all kinds of living scenarios, like who has kids and who doesn’t. Who lives in a large place and a small place. We look into consideration lifestyles like who works from home, who cooks and who doesn’t. We definitely dug deep to find what we think are best pieces to have in every home. Here are the seven must have furniture pieces we though every home needs.  Read More