There are a number of features that buyers want in a contemporary home. Aside from lifestyle and the desire for a greater room, what homebuyers look for also includes the ability to grow their equity while being able to start a family. Below are lists of lesser-known features that are just as pertinent.

The things you do immediately after buying a house are often just as important as the things you did before it. Below is a list of essential tasks that you’ll need to carry out as soon as you get the keys to your new residence. Luckily, these are easy, but take a little time to ensure they are done properly and reduce future headaches.

The real estate market in Boise (and the country at large) has been absolutely bonkers in the last 18 months. Home values are rising quicker than ever, mortgage rates are the lowest in history, and buyer interest is through the roof. As a result, there are many prospective buyers who have been caught out as prices rise—especially first-time homebuyers. So how do the buyers with historically the fewest funds compete? We compiled a strategy to put first-time homebuyers in the best position to compete in this market.

Buying a home can be an exciting milestone in your life, particularly if it’s your first one. However, there are some things you need to watch out for during the process to ensure you get the best deal and most suitable property out there for you.

One of the central questions in real estate is: “How much house can I afford?”. Since what you can afford sets the standard for the homes you can search for and reasonably buy, we have a short list of 4 questions to ask yourself to be realistic about your home buying goals.

Renting versus buying: the eternal question of how to pay for where you live. After watching the real estate market take off with few signs of slowing down, it has left a lot of people wondering if it is worth it to stop renting and buy a house. We have some recent facts and figures to potentially help you make your decision.

In today’s real estate market, it seems like everybody is paying in cash. Buying a house with an all-cash offer is very appealing to buyers and sellers because it has less complexity, However, this is not a viable option for nearly all buyers and investors. The purpose of this article is to break down some of the pros and cons of baying cash for a house in this market.

When you make an investment, you want to make sure that that investment will give you payoffs for years to come, whether it is stocks, a new car, or buying a house. Buying a house is often the biggest purchase a person will make, and the buyer wants to make sure that such a large investment in their future will pay off in the form of sturdy, consistent shelter. To learn about the state of the house, buyers will usually get a home inspection.

June is National Homeownership Month, which focuses on the benefits of owning a home. Let's kick off this month and the beginning of summer by looking at the benefits to you and your family when you own a home instead of renting. 

It’s not new news that the real estate market in the United States has been insane in the last 12 months with unparalleled buyer interest causing price increases and making the housing shortage more dire. Idaho is no exception and has been a national leader in all of these criteria. So how do buyers succeed in such a tight seller’s market? Patience.

So you ordered a home appraisal on the home you are buying and the appraisal came in low. While this is a rare occurrence, it does happen. The good news is, there are steps you can take to attempt to raise the value of the appraisal and keep the transaction moving forward.

As you browse the MLS, you may see homes that seem like a screaming deal thanks to a lower price than you expected. You click on the listing and you see two notes: “sold as-is” and “BTVAI”. What do these two notes mean for you, the buyer, and what is there to watch out for? This article aims to break it all down.

As a follow-up to our article about the steps in the underwriting process we posted earlier this week, we decided to write about some mistakes to avoid during the underwriting process so you don’t mess up the financing just weeks before closing on the house. You’ve come so close to buying a new home, so avoid these roadblocks.

Loan underwriting is one of the final steps before closing a real estate transaction. If you were pre-approved for a loan beforehand (hopefully you were), you have already seen a simplified version of loan underwriting. Here is how loan underwriting works.

When it comes to anything involving a loan, one of the most important facets is the down payment. This is especially true when it comes to real estate. Being able to put money forward is one of the best ways to show the seller that your offer is genuine. However, there are some pervasive myths about real estate down payments that are false or only half-truths. This article aims to show these myths and bust them.

When you are buying a home, the most common area of negotiation is the listing price. In a hot, competitive market like Boise where homes receive multiple offers (many over asking price), negotiating is done beyond the sticker price. Here are 5 places to negotiate aside from the listing price.

A home inspection is a vital part of the real estate process. It provides you with necessary information about the current state of the house, as well as any recommended actions to take in order to fix or improve the house. Buyers use them to help learn as much as they can about the property when they aim to purchase it. It is also common for sellers to use inspections to learn what needs to be fixed before they put it on the market.

It’s common knowledge that a home is one of the most expensive purchases a person will lake in their life. Because homes are more expensive than most anything else, a mortgage is the main way that people are able to buy one. Since the real estate market in the Boise area is incredibly hot, do all you can to improve your chances of getting approved for a loan with these 6 proven tips.

We wrote a blog earlier about the basics of VA loans and how they work. This addition is about tips for veterans using VA loans to have better success and make the home buying process a little smoother. These are VA loan-specific tips to pay attention to in addition to the regular home search and home buying tips.

Buying a home is simultaneously daunting and exciting, especially for first-time buyers. A home is a lot of money, and it is hard to come up with those funds to pay for a home in cash. That’s why most homeowners in the country get a mortgage loan. Whether you’ve bought a home in the past or are a first-time buyer, we created this 8-step checklist for getting a home loan.