Finding your dream home is an exciting adventure that, at times, can also feel all-consuming. On a good day, it's fun to swipe through listings and whiz through every open house in your area, but after umpteen hours of it—and perhaps a lost bidding war or two—it can almost drive you mad. If you sometimes feel like you're spinning your wheels and wandering aimlessly from property to property, we get it. House hunt burnout is real. Yet there are also plenty of smart ways to kee

It happens: You’re buying a home, but something just doesn’t feel right. Are you just getting cold feet—after all, this is likely the biggest purchase of your life—or is that lingering worry telling you those yellow (or, dare we say, red) flags should be a deal breaker? Here are eight signs that you would probably be smart to walk away from a house. (You can thank us later.) Sign No. 1: The inspection turns up something majorly wrong Sure, you might cringe at some of the curr

So you're ready to ditch your landlord and the noisy neighbors who live above you. But instead of seeking out another place to rent, have you considered (like, seriously considered) buying? For many people, purchasing a home is one of those bucket-list items—something you'll accomplish down the road—so the idea of starting the process here and now may seem out of the question. But there's a chance you're actually in a better position than you think. Of course, every local rea

Thinking about buying a fixer-upper? Join the club. Blame it on the popularity of renovation reality TV or just the fact that people are searching for deals, but many home buyers are willing to purchase a property in need of major repairs. One survey by Clever Real Estate found that 67% of millennial home shoppers in the United States said they would put in an offer on a home with serious flaws that need to be fixed. Purchasing a home that needs serious remodeling, though, is

During a home search, you'll probably hear the phrase “move-in ready” used to describe a property. But what does move-in ready really mean? At the minimum, a home marked move-in ready should be livable without any anticipated repairs. “A move-in ready home should not require anything that would prevent a buyer from occupying the home immediately without a to-do list,” says Jennifer Okhovat, a real estate agent at Compass in Los Angeles. However, some home buyers might incorre

Here's what every first-time home buyer needs to know to dive into house hunting with confidence—and with as few curveballs as possible. Whether it's getting a mortgage, choosing a real estate agent, shopping for a home, or making a down payment, we lay out the must-knows of buying for the first time below. 1. How much home you can afford as a first-time home buyer Homes cost a bundle, so odds are you'll need a home loan, aka mortgage, to foot the bill, along with a hefty dow

As soon as my husband and I pulled up to see the house we’d eventually buy, it already had a good vibe to it. A blue house with a red door—just like the one I grew up in. It struck a sentimental note with me immediately. After living in one-bedroom apartments for the past seven years, we were looking to finally make the move from renters to homeowners. It wasn’t a quick process—buying a house (and getting a mortgage) aren’t things that move quickly, generally. But once we mov