17 Resolutions Only the Most Successful People Make

Easy, rewarding, fulfilling. What's not to love?

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Don’t Miss These Home Tax Deductions

From mortgage interest to property tax deductions, here are the tax tips you need to get a jump on your returns.

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3 Ways to Write a Tempting Offer When Buying a Home -

While these three tips don't guarantee your offer will be chosen, they will help you be competitive so you're one step closer to landing your dream home.

http://ow.ly/Wp7CT

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So Los Angeles is Having a Huge Museum Free-For-All Day On The Last Sunday of January

They call it the Museum Free-For-All Day and it’s been happening for over a decade now. Here’s how it works:

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4 Home ‘Improvement’ Projects That Can Hurt Your Property Value

If you think bigger bedrooms are better than more bedrooms, think again. Before you spend time and money on a home renovation project, make sure it’s worth the expense.

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The Sneaky Science of Selling Your Home Revealed!

Selling a home isn’t just about slapping down a fresh coat of paint—you need to delve into home buyers’ brains and figure out what makes them tick.

http://ow.ly/W9dBf 

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Housing's new crisis: Half your income for rent -

Demand has clearly outstripped supply, despite a recent boom in apartment construction and a 35 percent jump in the number of single-family rental homes since the housing crash.

http://ow.ly/W6iZ6 

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The 5 Real Estate Trends That Will Shape 2016

It’s almost the new year. Get ready to break out the Cristal: We had a great 2015—the best year for housing since 2007. And our forecast here at realtor.com® projects an even better year in 2016.

http://ow.ly/W3BUM 

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The Loophole That Could Help You Buy a Home Even If You Have a Lot of Debt

But before you apply for a loan, be sure to look over those four Cs of lending: credit, collateral, capital and capacity.

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Fixing Credit Report Errors Online Gets Added Heft

DISPUTING mistakes found on your credit report has become a bit easier because of expanding electronic options for challenging errors.

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10 Easy Tax Moves You Should Make Now to Increase Your Tax Refund

With the holidays around the corner, most of us are focused on decking the halls or charting out our New Year's resolutions. But the end of the year is also the ideal time to take actions that could lower your tax bill.

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How to Home In on the Right Neighborhood for You

Location, location, location. As the real estate agents say, it’s the No. 1 attribute in real estate. But it’s not just true when it comes to assessing a home’s value—it’s also a key factor in determining your future happiness.

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10 Home-Buying Costs You Need to Know About

Knowing what you’re paying for—like these 10 common costs—can ease that check-writing pain.

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Homebuying: 4 Critical Steps for the Final Walk-Through

Here are some things buyers should consider before and during their walk-through.

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Why You Should Buy a Christmas Tree ASAP This Year

A smaller supply of natural Christmas trees may leave people scrambling to find the annual holiday staple. Find out why your tree may cost more this year.

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Preapproved for a Loan? Don't Blow It With Holiday Shopping

Here are a few ways you can ensure you make it all the way from preapproval to purchase with no hiccups en route.

http://ow.ly/VihxG 

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With the Clock Ticking on Tax Breaks, Is It Black Friday for Homes?

Well, in case you needed more incentive, check this out: Some pretty sweet tax breaks that have made home buying particularly enticing are set to expire at the end of this year.

http://ow.ly/V2I3C

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5 Common Misconceptions About Real Estate

Popular misconceptions about real estate make many people hesitant to get into the home-buying or -selling game. And that’s a shame. To be honest, you can get a grant for the down-payment, seller can pay cost, ask me how?

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Rising mortgage rates not quelling housing demand

Higher interest rates aren’t holding back demand for mortgages – either to purchase or refinance.

http://ow.ly/UUAWA

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You probably can't afford to live near good schools

It's the holy grail of parenting: Moving to a town or neighborhood with a good public school system.

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5 Green Home Upgrades That Also Buy You a Tax Break

Adding one of these renewable-energy systems to your home could lower heating or cooling costs — along with your tax bill. Here’s everything you need to know.

http://ow.ly/UOvBV

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5 Reasons to Shop for a Home in December

What’s your experience with real estate shopping in different seasons?

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Please Fix These 10 Things That Are Dragging Down Your Home’s Value

Look around and make sure you haven’t ignored any of these 10 repairs that can make a buyer think twice about your asking price.

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10 Ways the Fed’s Looming Rate Hike Touches You

Expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in December have only grown since October’s strong jobs report last week.

http://ow.ly/UCPG8

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Floods, Crimes and Disasters: Is Your Home in a Danger Zone?

Here are the top ways to ensure your new home is out of the danger zone.

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How to Lose the Bidding War But Still Get the House

Here are seven reasons why your initial unaccepted offer may eventually close the deal.

http://ow.ly/UxwEM

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Mortgage Rate Panic: Time to Lock in a Low-Interest Loan?

If the Federal Reserve was waiting for proof of an economic rebound, some experts say the latest jobs number fits the bill.

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3 Reasons to Buy a House and Never Move in

Most people wait to get involved in the housing market and often wait to buy an investment property until after they have bought a house to live in themselves. But you don't have to do it in that order. Instead..

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8 Things NOT Covered By Homeowners' Insurance

If you snooze soundly at night knowing your beloved house is 110 percent covered by homeowners' insurance, better get out the melatonin: There are probably some gaps in that coverage.

http://ow.ly/UmYss 

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Don’t Turn On Your New Home’s Fireplace Until You Read This

Before you light that first fire of the season, you'll want to check that your fireplace and chimney are working properly.

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Money-Saving Tax Benefits for New & Long-Term Homeowners

Buying and owning a home is not only an important step in life, it’s an area rich with benefits when it comes to filing an annual tax return.

http://ow.ly/Uj92i 

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Why You Shouldn't Hate Your Homeowners Association Dues

You might question that. But the fact of the matter is that HOA dues also can benefit you greatly, in ways that you can see and in ways that you might never think about.

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Renters, Break Out Your Hankies: Homeowners Will Build Serious Wealth (and You Won’t)

Homeownership is a form of forced saving. Every time you make a mortgage payment, you’re contributing to your net worth.

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3 Things Homebuyers Need to Know About Mortgage Interest

Mortgage interest is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s a tax-deductible expense, but, by and large, it is the heaviest cost of homeownership.

http://ow.ly/TYeYn 

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Boost Your Credit Score With This Painfully Obvious Trick

Consumers can easily boost their credit scores by avoiding some of the fallacies surrounding the extremely convoluted manner in which credit scores are tabulated.

http://ow.ly/TVBFE 

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Chinese Slowdown Could Help U.S. Real Estate

U.S. real estate remains attractive, particularly to the Chinese, who, he noted, have surpassed Canadians for the first time as the primary foreign buyers of U.S. real estate.

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Ask Stacy: Will Canceling Credit Cards Hurt My Credit Score?

Read the popular press, and it’s easy to believe our credit scores must be constantly tweaked and monitored to keep us alive. It’s a credit score, people, not an ICU patient.

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6 Things to Know Before You Become a Landlord

Renting can be a great way to make some extra income, but it's important to consider the appropriate preparations before you get on board. If you are thinking about renting out your home, here are some tips to consider.

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Cash Out Refinance Mortgages Are Booming -- But This Time Is Different

According to the latest data, the number of people tapping into their home equity with cash out refinance mortgages is growing rapidly.

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3-D Flooring Is Now a Thing

Coming to a kitchen near you.

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Easing lending standards bring back first-time buyers

Lenders have accelerated the easing of mortgage lending standards in recent months.

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Homebuyers pay price for new rules

Lenders and brokers say just about everything is taking longer and the costs to homebuyers are moving up.

http://ow.ly/TsUar

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Making the Choice Between a Good School and a Better House

Every city on our site has a school ranking. How much house would you give up to make sure your children are going to a good school?

http://ow.ly/TpJbH

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11 Dos and Don’ts to Keep Halloween Horrors at Bay

Between crowds of trick-or-treaters and pranksters in the darkness, the chances of accidents and property damage soar. Here’s how to minimize the risk.

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New FICO Score May Have Wider Impact Than First Thought

Fair Isaac, the creator of the most commonly-used credit scores in consumer lending, announced earlier this year a new score intended for millions of Americans who have not been able to get access to financing.

http://ow.ly/TjMJH 

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How to Shave Years Off a 30-Year Mortgage

But here's a way to pay your loan off faster by refinancing your home … using your lender's money.

http://ow.ly/T3qiC

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October Is the Best Month to Buy a Home

Move over location—there’s a new real estate mantra in town.

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What You Need to Know About the New Mortgage Rules

Changes that kick in Saturday are intended to make the process of getting a mortgage more transparent for most of us. Here’s the skinny. (Expect Delays)

 http://ow.ly/SWUjw 

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How to Lose a Bidding War (but Also How to Win One)

So here’s the question for buyers: Do you know how to handle a bidding war, or are you going to let that dream home get away?

Here are all the things you can do wrong—so you know how to do it right.

http://ow.ly/SRiqW

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How to Spot a Bad HOA

Your buyers can avoid their own homeowner association horror story by keeping an eye out for these items during the search. 

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