Buying and Selling Your Home

How Much House Can You Afford? To buy a house, one of the first things you must do is determine just how much house you can afford. You need to know how large a loan, or mortgage, you'll be able to get. Before you apply for a mortgage, you need ...

Preparing for a Move Moving is a tiring and stressful time. Any advance planning you can do may make the event a little easier. As soon as you find out when you'll be moving, make a list of everything you need to do. Prioritize the jobs on your...

Selling Your Home: Timing Is Everything If all is right with the world, you'll sell your house (quickly, of course) to a perfect family who ­promises to love and take care of the property just like you did. Meanwhile, a house that you've had yo...

Do You Need a Realtor to Sell Your House? Many people are tempted to try to sell their own home, bypassing the services—and fees—of a realtor. Realtors usually charge between 6 and 7 percent commission on the sale of your home, which can add...

Tax Advantages of Owning a Second Home You've probably heard that owning a second home provides some tax relief—and, it can. There are some special tax rules and regulations that apply to second properties, however, and they can be a little co...

Considering a Brand-New Home You may reach a point where you, or you and your spouse or partner, will think about buying a brand-new home. If so, you'll no doubt be in for some exciting days—and perhaps sleepless nights—ahead. There are, of ...

When Your Housing Needs Change Maybe you have the perfect home—one that you've worked on for years to make exactly the way you want it. And perhaps you fully intend to stay in that house for as long as you live. You just can't imagine living a...

Adjusting After a Move You've unpacked all of the cardboard boxes and put them out to recycle. Your favorite wedding photo is sitting on the mantle above the fireplace. You've stocked the kitchen with your favorite spices. Your dishes are neatl...

Deciding Whether to Move Think Twice Don't decide to move without thinking it through carefully. Being in a new place will affect many aspects of both of your lives. If you're like most couples, the decision of whether or not to move is a tough...

How to Get What You Want from the RealtorAlways on the Sunny Side In most cities, the Sunday paper, local magazines, bus benches, and even theater programs are full of ads placed by Realtors looking for new business. The ads have an eerie samenes...

Find out what to do when children experience culture shock after moving to a new country. ...

Make no mistake: moving is a loss to a child, just as losing a family member would be. ...

Find advice on helping a child adjust to a move to a new community. ...