Homes
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Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: Worst Time to Buy a House? There Are Always Exceptions
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…
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Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: The Best Parts of Homeownership So Far
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…
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Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: The Worst Parts of Homeownership So Far
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…
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Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: Living Outside City Limits
So, apparently I don’t actually live in Springfield. Despite our mailing address including Springfield and part of our backyard likely falling under the city’s jurisdiction, technically, we just live in Greene County, Missouri. This is something we only confirmed yesterday — although I had my suspicions before that. When we first came to tour this…
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Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: The Problem with Appraisal Gaps
Amazingly, when my wife and I recently purchased our very first home, the process couldn’t have gone smoother. Alas, that was not the case for our sister and brother-in-law. A day after they told us that their offer had been accepted on a house, they hit us back to say that the acceptance had since…
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Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: How We Saved on Our First “Major” Purchase as Homeowners
Being a new homeowner after years of renting means that there are several items we are now in the market for that I wouldn’t have even thought of before. What’s more, these items are often on the pricey side, pushing them into the category of “major purchases.” For example, this past week, we bought ourselves…
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Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: Surviving Our First Winter
One major difference between Springfield, Missouri and my previous city of residence (Glendale, California) is that, here, we have these things called “seasons.” Furthermore, unlike a California winter where you might have to put on a sweater when it dips into the 40s, we do see snow, ice, and occasional sub-zero temperatures here in the…
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Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: Prioritizing New Projects
So far in this series, I’ve gone through some of the expenses that come with buying and owning a home. However, in addition to some required costs, homeowners may also face self-imposed spending in the form of projects. Obviously, these can range in size and price based on the condition of your home when you…
