Category: Home Buying Tips

Home Buying Tips

Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: The Problem with Appliance Repair "Quotes"

by Kyle BurbankOct 2, 2024

When we were buying our house, one piece of advice we were given was, "Get three quotes before hiring someone for repairs." While this sounds like a lot of work, I can absolutely appreciate this tip. After all, even when you're potentially spending thousands of dollars, saving any money you can is still important. As I shared, a few months ago, our water heater broke, ultimately leading us to replace...

Home Buying Tips

Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: What Fed Rate Cuts Could Mean for Home Buyers and Owners

by Kyle BurbankSep 19, 2024

Yesterday, for the first time since 2020, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. In fact, to the surprise of some observers, the rate was cut by half a point (as opposed to the quarter point that was widely anticipated). For many people, this update might not mean much — but, for those who have been looking to buy a home or who purchased during recent rate highs, this could be...

Home Buying Tips

Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: 5 Safety and Security Items We've Purchased for Our House

by Kyle BurbankJun 26, 2024

When you're a renter, there's a certain level of safety and security that your landlord is required to provide. So, when you become a homeowner, suddenly you're solely responsible for these important aspects of your life. And, of course, this also likely means spending more money to protect yourself. In our case, since moving in last year, we've made at least a few purchases related to keeping ourselves and our...

Home Buying Tips

Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: Our First Major Repair as Homeowners

by Kyle BurbankJun 12, 2024

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. This week, my wife and I placed a maintenance call, with the hope that it might be a small fix — but, of course, it turned out to be a worst-case scenario. The culprit causing harm to our wallets this time? Our water heater. The good news is that, through this process, we learned a few things that I think will help...

Home Buying Tips

Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: Should You Break Your Lease to Buy?

by Kyle BurbankMay 29, 2024

In a perfect world, the transition from renting to buying would be seamless — you'd find a great house to buy, close the deal, and move right into your new place. Alas, it's rarely this easy. That's because many renters are on a lease, which may heavily impact their timing when buying a home and limit their options overall. This was definitely the case for us as we still had...

Home Buying Tips

Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: Worst Time to Buy a House? There Are Always Exceptions

by Kyle BurbankMay 15, 2024

If you've been thinking about buying a house, looking at the news lately has likely disheartened you. As CNN reports, a recent Gallup poll found that 76% of Americans believe it's a bad time to buy — with only 21% saying it's a good time. There are several reasons for that sentiment, with the top two being the combination of high interest rates and high home prices. So, are you...

Home Buying Tips

Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: The Best Parts of Homeownership So Far

by Kyle BurbankMay 1, 2024

Being a homeowner certainly has some pros and cons. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I explored some of the downsides I've discovered since becoming a homeowner. With that, it's only fair that I also highlight some of the best aspects as well. Top 5 Things I'm Loving as a New Homeowner Being able to decorate Having lived in apartments for the past 20 years or so of my...

Home Buying Tips

Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: The Worst Parts of Homeownership So Far

by Kyle BurbankApr 17, 2024

As you can probably imagine, making the jump from being a long-time apartment dweller to a first-time homeowner has been drastic. On the whole, the changes have been positive (which is why we chose to buy in the first place). But, of course, there are some downsides too — including some that I didn't really think about ahead of time. With that in mind, I wanted to share some of...