I never encourage anyone to waive their rights to a home inspection. Only on very rare occasions may it make sense to waive this because this is your one opportunity to do due diligence on a property before being contractually committed to purchasing it. Buyers have two decisions to make on the home inspection... which inspections to get and who to hire as the inspector. I have composed this article from a bunch of other articles published to help guide you through those decisions. 

In some parts of the US, home warranties are very common as a part of a home purchase. In fact, in some of those areas they are offered by sellers as a common part of the sale of a home. In SWFL, they are not as common and are almost never offered by the seller. However, there may be times when it is worth the buyer purchasing a home warranty as part of the transaction. 

COVID-19 has caused people to have to adapt to circumstances caused by this pandemic. For some, additional financial pressures may have arose causing them to think about their obligations and how to best manage them. This is a resource to explain some mortgage relief options. 

Composing an offer for a home you are interested in purchasing has many components to be considered. Understanding the purpose of an earnest deposit helps you weight out how you want to utilize the earnest deposit as one spoke in the offer wheel. 

Build is exciting... you have the opportunity to build your home just as you want it. It is also an important investment with many decisions to make and considerations to weigh. Here are 23 questions that will come in handy when evaluating different new build options. Of course, having a real estate professional by your side who is familiar with the build process can help tremendously and costs you nothing as a buyer.

If you’re lucky enough to get down-payment help under the tree this year (or generous enough to give it), be sure you know the rules around gift funds. It’s not as simple as handing over a wad of cash with a note that says “Happy Holidays! Here’s a little something for your new house.”
Down payment gift funds must meet certain requirements or the gift giver and recipient face trouble down the road. From writing a gift letter to rules around repaying gift money, here are basic facts homebuyers and donors should know.

We all know the drill... We are approaching the new year and everyone is busy making their list of what they will commit to in the new year. Will you get in shape? Try something new? Look for a new job? Renovate your house? The list goes on. But, what about considering some new year's resolutions for largest investment, your home? This article provides some food for thought in this area.

The journey of life is an exciting one that is part intention and planning and part accident. When you reach that chapter of your life that is most often planned where you are considering retirement, there are a number of things to account for... income/savings, family distribution, assets, etc. Jim Vogel has provided this guest blog to help you when thinking through one of your biggest assets, your home.