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Renting to Own Happiness and Avoid Clutter

I realize it’s ironic for a blog about real estate to advocate renting. The thing is, for many people, renting makes a lot of sense. The American Dream tradition of everyone owning a home served our country well…until it didn’t. And now, people are increasingly questioning the value of home ownership. Some say it stifles (more&hellip)

How Much Money Should I Put Into My House?

I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’ll never know the definitive answer to this question. It is the ultimate unanswerable question, and it’ll haunt you throughout your life as a homeowner. Tough breaks, but that’s just how it is. See, when you first find your dream home, the question is: how much should (more&hellip)

‘Townhouse or Condo’ Guessing Game

We throw around the terms “townhouse” and “condo” pretty regularly, but when it comes down to it, do we really know the technical definition of each? To save us all future cocktail party embarrassment, I’ll clear this up once and for all. A Townhouse (or Townhome) is a style of architecture, usually defined as having (more&hellip)

Ask a Realtor: Do you ever get the jealousies?

When it comes to East Los Angeles real estate, Rob Kallick is your man. With an affinity for mid-century and craftsman architecture, Rob seeks out the most stunning homes in East Los Angeles (including hip ‘hoods like Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Los Feliz) for his blog, Take Sunset. And because he’s a realtor, they (more&hellip)

Nicolas Cage: A Real Estate Disaster Story

Sorry Nic, the story must be told. I never really got the appeal of Mr. Cage. In fact, other than his work in Adaptation, I just don’t like watching him. But other people feel differently. A friend of mine is so intrigued by him she writes a blog where she re-watches each of his movies (more&hellip)

Are Zestimates Really Accurate?

Zillow.com has made a splash with their Zestimate feature, which tells homebuyers and owners what a property is worth, based on data from the local area. Anyone can search for an address and, if it’s their own home, they can “claim” it and refine the data Zillow uses. (I wonder if the Obamas were at (more&hellip)

Don’t Go to An Open House Until….

I command you: do not go to an open house until you’ve got an ironclad handle on your finances. In other words, don’t let yourself fall in love with the home of your dreams until you’ve figured out the financial nitty gritty of what exactly you can afford. What the heck am I talking about? (more&hellip)

Why Finding a Good Realtor Matters (but Still Doesn’t Solve Everything)

You’ve completed the prerequisites of home buying: the 4 P’s of buyer preparation. Now it’s time to find a realtor. Maybe. There are three basic kinds of realtors: var addthis_language = ‘en’; Share|