Californians are flocking to Texas, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. Why is this? It isn’t too much of a mystery once you take a look at the facts.  The flock is occurring because of California’s excessively high cost of living. Over the past 3 years, over 30,000 people every year have moved from California to Arizona. Take a look at these statistics and you may decide for yourself that you should be making the move to Arizona as well.

If you love your home and plan to live it in through your retirement years, you’ll want to be sure it’s safe for you as you face some of those little challenges aging presents. Assess your home and see if there are any changes you may need to make. Doing so will not only reduce the risk of injury, but it will also give your loved ones peace-of-mind, especially if you live alone.

The idea of a home warranty can sound great. According to the National Association of Realtors, a home warranty is defined as, “a service contract, normally for one year, which helps protect home owners against the cost of unexpected covered repairs or replacement on their major systems and appliances that break down due to normal wear and tear. Coverage is for systems and appliances in good working order at the start of the contract.”

Does household clutter drive you nuts? Don’t fret, there are ways to declutter and make a small living spaces feel bigger! Here are seven tips to help you make the most out of small spaces:

The disappointment of your offer not being selected on a home in a seller’s market can be frustrating.  Next time you may want to try a strategy that has worked more times than you may realize. Try increasing your odds by writing a “Love Letter” to the sellers about their home.

Odds are you’ve spent a little time online searching for homes. After all, most home searches begin online or on your phone. You may have even used a broker’s website or a site like Trulia or Zillow to help you browse listings.

Here are a few things to consider before you pull the home buying trigger:

Be aware of lead, asbestos, and other things hiding behind the walls: Pipes and paint can be lead culprits while asbestos in basements, attics, and walls may be lurking. Also, it’s not uncommon for there to be abandoned septic tanks, cesspools, wells, or even heating oil reservoirs buried somewhere on the property.

Decorating the Home to Appeal to the Buyer

It’s important to remember with staging that you’re not decorating the home to appeal to you, the seller, but to the prospective buyer. When working with a stager, you have to learn to set aside your own aesthetic preferences and ask yourself how a buyer might see the home. Imagining who those buyers might be can help your stager make decisions about which direction to take the interior design.

You may not have kids right now, but chances are you may be entertaining guests one day who do. You can put your guests at ease and do your best to protect their little ones from harm by investing in some modest pre-visit baby proofing. Here are some sound strategies to make their visit low-stress and safe:

So you’re thinking about hunting for a home. Congratulations! How do you plan on finding the home you want? It’s surprising how few people can answer this question. Most people say: “Well, I guess I’d look online and maybe contact a real estate agent.” Sure, that’s a fine place to start... but if you want to hunt for a home like a pro, here are some simple tactics that will make your experience much more efficient, pleasurable, and likely to land you a home you want to buy.