Author: Marlowe Clark

How To Make The Most Of Limited Backyard Space

A small backyard doesn’t necessarily mean you’re limited with what to do with the space. You may not have the luxury that a larger garden has in terms of creating multiple zones, but there are still many ways to make the most of your yard, turning it into another inviting part of your home.

Some excellent yard features don’t take up much space. Flower gardens can simply border fences or sit in raised beds. You can also use climbing plants or wall-mounted planters. L-shaped seating is a natural fit for corner spaces, maximizing the space efficiency of your seating. Water features also don’t need to take up much space — even a small container pond will attract wildlife, making your backyard feel closer to nature.

Rather than make your yard feel larger than life, an alternative is to lean into the small size of your space to create a more intimate feel. You can dedicate a small yard to comfort with the right arrangement of items. A compact chair, a small table and some soft planting can create a retreat that feels intentional, regardless of whether or not you actually use it. Low walls, trellises or hedging can help define your backyard without closing it in. By framing the space, you can create structure, making a small garden feel purposeful.

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Your Deal’s Closing Date Matters

The day of the month that you close on the purchase of your home is important and should be part of your contract negotiations. Whether you want to close early or late in the month depends whether you want to save money or ensure the process goes smoothly.

Mortgage interest is paid in arrears. The amount of prorated interest that you will pay at closing will be determined by the day of the month you close. A later date in the month means less interest paid as part of your closing costs. For example, if you were to close on May 30, then you would only pay two days of interest plus the interest due for June. Your first payment wouldn’t be due until July 1.

Because of these savings, 95% of closings occur at the end of the month. What this also means is that title and escrow companies are not as busy near the beginning of the month, and the closing process tends to go a bit more smoothly.

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How To Avoid The Things That Push Buyers Away

Selling your home isn’t just about highlighting its best features. It’s also about removing the things that turn buyers off. Even small details can make a big difference in whether your property feels move-in ready or neglected.

The biggest thing to avoid is out of date, worn, or unmaintained home features. Maintaining your yard is a big boost to curb appeal, and ignoring it is a big downgrade. Worn out carpets signal a lack of maintenance, so your floors should be recarpeted or replaced with wood or tile. Buyers may even notice out of fashion styles for doorknobs, faucets, or cabinets.

You should also avoid making your home look too personalized. You want your buyer to be able to imagine themselves living in the space, not glimpse how you are living there. Keep personal effects out of view and remove clutter. Some staging is useful, but it should be neutral, not overly personal or polarizing. The same goes for paint colors — many buyers will repaint anyway, but you want them to be able to focus on the home itself, not your design choices.

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Could You Live In An Earthship Home?

An Earthship home is a home built around sustainability. These types of homes are built to work with nature rather than against it. The concept dates back to the 1970s, born during the early environmental movement. They’re often made using recycled and natural materials, be it old tires, glass bottles or reclaimed wood, combined in clever ways to create a strong insulating house.

Anyone can pile up tires and wood in a vague house shape, but what sets Earthships apart is how they function day to day. They’re designed to collect their own energy using solar or wind power, harvest rainwater and naturally regulate indoor temperatures through smart design rather than relying on heating or air conditioning. Many even include indoor growing spaces, allowing homeowners to grow herbs, fruit or vegetables year-round.

Sustainability sounds great, but Earthship homes aren’t for everyone. You can’t build an Earthship home just anywhere — they work best in moderate climates. Tropical or arctic conditions can just be too much of a strain on the house. Also, they can take a lot of work to keep them functioning, so you’d need to be able to expend the time and energy to keep them running.

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Buying Your First Home Is Easier If You Remain Calm

Buying your first home can feel overwhelming without the right preparation. It doesn’t need to be, though. If you do your research and manage your expectations, you’ll be able to make better choices. All you need is a good plan.

Start by figuring out what you need and what you can afford. Consider what you really need not just in a home, but in a neighborhood, and plan ahead for the future. For example, good schools might be more important if you’re planning to have kids soon, even if you don’t have any right now. Look at your income, savings and ongoing expenses to determine a comfortable budget. This includes not just the purchase but also life after moving in. Homeownership comes with regular costs such as utilities, maintenance and repairs, so it’s wise to leave room for the unexpected.

A professional support network can help you every step of the way. They’re not just here to sign the legal documents and be done with it. Your real estate agent can guide you through viewings, offers and negotiations, while professionals such as inspectors and appraisers can help uncover potential issues before you commit. Ask about local housing markets, typical prices and how competitive things are. You can also visit neighborhoods yourself to reveal details you won’t see in listings alone.

It’s also important to stay grounded. Yes, you should be excited about the home you’re about to buy, but you need to temper your expectations as well. Your first home doesn’t need to be perfect; it needs to work for your life right now while setting you up well for the future.

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Staging Your Home Is Worth The Investment

Many sellers skip staging their home, either because they think it’s not worth the time or money, or because they want their home to feel lived in. This might be sound logic if the staging is bad, but if you get your staging done well, it’s definitely worth it.

A competitively priced home that has also been staged to appear move-in ready will help justify its listing price. A positive first impression will motivate agents, who will put your home at the top of their list when showing properties to their clients. Successful staging will give your home an edge over the competition without having to compromise on price. It can sometimes feel like it’s just an added cost, but it’s actually an advertising investment.

It’s true that when you stage your home, it’s marketed in a more neutral way. This can feel like it’s lost its personality. But a properly staged home should actually help buyers more easily visualize themselves living in your home. It does this by helping define spaces and room sizes and giving every room a purpose. Remember that the buyer isn’t you — they want to imagine themselves living there, not you living there.

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How To Prevent Burnout During The Busy Spring Season

Spring is a busy time for real estate, and is a busy time for many other people as well. For years, we’ve been taught to manage our time better to improve our mental health and well-being. But time is fixed, making it difficult to manage completely. You should instead focus on managing your energy, since how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally determines how well you use the hours you have.

The most important thing to pay attention to is yourself. Notice the patterns in your energy throughout the day and across various different types of tasks. Not everyone has the same amount of energy at all points during the day, and might respond differently to different tasks. Energy isn’t just about avoiding exhaustion; some tasks totally drain you, while others can take the same amount of exertion but make you feel energized. This is the same principle that separates introverts from extroverts — not necessarily enjoyment, as people tend to believe — and can be extrapolated to many categories of activity.

Once you know more about yourself, you can choose activities that match your patterns of energy levels. Find one or two habits that genuinely restore you. Don’t try to force yourself to do more when the task that you’re doing is draining you right now. Instead, take a break from it and do something that’s likely to be energizing for you in this moment. That way, you’ll be able to focus better on the initial task later and likely complete it in a much shorter time. Breaks are intentional investments in your energy levels, not laziness or rewards for hard work, and shouldn’t be caused by burnout.

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Using Landscaping To Increase Your Home’s Value

As we enter spring cleaning season, consider cleaning up not just the inside of your home, but the outdoor space as well. It’s easy to forget that a few smart landscaping updates can go beyond just transforming your outdoor space; it can also add value to your home. Here are some ideas to improve both the look and the value of your home.

Native plants, especially trees, are an excellent addition. Plants that naturally thrive in your local climate will need less nurturing, attract pollinating wildlife and blend seamlessly into the natural landscape, creating a low-maintenance, visually appealing space. Trees in particular have a significant impact on home value for many reasons. It helps to create a sense of privacy, allows for shaded areas in the hot summer months, and can make the outdoor space feel generally more interesting and intriguing to potential buyers.

Think about all the various ways you use your outdoor space, and consider breaking up large spaces in your garden into defined spaces. A gravel dining area, a paved fire pit corner, or a shady hammock nook are clear examples of usability that help buyers imagine themselves in the space. Installing edging between the lawn and flower beds helps keep the garden looking neat and well cared for.

Consider upgrades that are both functional and visually appealing. If the concrete is starting to crack, replace it with stepping stones, gravel, or reclaimed brick. Artistic arrangement of these features can also serve as a guide for buyers. Outdoor lighting helps to make the space feel usable beyond daylight hours as well as creating a sense of safety and security.

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How To Balance Priorities When Searching For A New Home

The secret to making sure you are buying the house that is best for you is knowing what your basic needs are before you proceed, and what are simply things that would be nice to have. In order to do this, remember that many wants can be achieved later if basic needs are met. Once you decide what you can live with and without, you can budget accordingly.

Basic needs include health and safety items, which should be your first priority. A solid foundation and floors and walls without defects are important features for safety and are difficult or costly to fix later. The condition of your HVAC is also a health concern, though that can be repaired. Good location is also a priority, despite not necessarily being a safety concern, since that can’t be changed later. Anything else on your list would be want-to-haves rather than need-to-haves. For example, you can later change paint, countertops, and fixtures or do remodeling.

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Is An A-Frame House Right For You?

A-frame houses, with steeply pitched roofs and an unmistakable triangular shape, evoke mountain getaways and cozy weekends by the fire. But beyond their looks, A-frames offer a surprising amount of practicality, making them an appealing option for both full-time living and weekend retreats.

One of the biggest draws is their simplicity. Their A-shaped roofs naturally shed snow and rain, making them ideal for harsh winters or stormy weather. If you expect this sort of whether where you are living or plan to live, it might be a good thing to consider. And you don’t even need to budget for it — because of their straightforward structure, they’re often more affordable to build than many traditional homes, especially if you opt for one of the increasingly popular prefab or kit versions.

Inside an A-frame home, you can expect high ceilings, plenty of natural light and a sense of openness, despite their relatively compact footprint. The upper levels can often include lofts perfect for sleeping, reading or stargazing. A-frame homes typically have a rustic-modern aesthetic, which lends towards a retreat-like atmosphere even if it’s your full-time home. It’s also a great home for rental income.

Of course, they’re not for everyone. Your privacy can be limited, and the unique shape can require creativity with furniture placement and also means less square footage upstairs.

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Consider Timeless Home Decor

Some home decor trends burst onto the scene only to disappear without a trace. They may be popular and fetch a high sales price now, but if you aren’t selling now, it might be a waste. Fortunately, a few design choices have real staying power. If you’re looking to decorate with longevity in mind, here are some ideas for timeless home decor.

Use natural materials. Linen, wool, stone, and solid wood never fall out of favor. Natural look is always in, and sometimes even looks better with time. A linen sofa or marble-topped side table won’t feel dated even as color palettes and accessories evolve. For wood, darker tones have stood the test of time more than lighter wood tones.

Whether they’re vintage or newly handwoven, high-quality rugs in grounded neutral tones can provide the perfect accent to any type of room. Their craftsmanship helps them withstand daily life, while their subtle patterns make them adaptable to changing fashion trends.

It may seem paradoxical, but if you don’t want your decor to feel dated unintentionally, make it feel dated on purpose. Vintage pieces and heirlooms are great at this. Even a single vintage chair or well-loved table will do. Old-style craftsmanship or an item with history have a certain charm that modern pieces can’t easily replicate.

Utilize subtle textures and patterns. Walls with subtle texture can introduce dimension without overwhelming a space. Textures such as grass cloth are highly versatile. Stripes, be they on upholstery, pillows, curtains or walls, remain forever popular. Paired with simple, clean-lined furniture, they can create a balanced look that never feels overdone.

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What To Expect From Virtual Tours

Virtual tours and showings are a great way to speed up home viewing, but because you are not physically in the space, there are a lot of negatives. A virtual tour guides you through the best features of a home that has been properly staged with touched-up photos. This makes it look good, but doesn’t show how it actually looks. Camera angles and zoom levels can avoid defects or distort room sizes. The tour may even completely ignore some walls, rooms, or the ceiling or floors.

Find out exactly what you are seeing and what is not being shown. If something is missing from a virtual tour, it may be because it doesn’t look good, or the tour wasn’t done very professionally and might misrepresent the home. Virtual tours don’t always include the basement, so be sure to check if there is one and what its condition is like. Even if you use virtual showings as a preliminary screening, you should also check out the home in person before purchasing. If you can’t view the home in person for whatever reason, have your agent be your eyes in your absence by checking for any defects, such as wall cracks, evidence of past water issues and any other flaws.

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What Will Trump’s Mortgage Bond Purchase Do For The Economy?

President Donald Trump recently announced a plan to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds, also known as mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Trump intends to use cash reserves from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to fund the purchase. But what are MBS, and what does that mean for the economy?

The first question has a definite answer. MBS are investment packages consisting of many home loans. This is not unusual; Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae already package together the individual loans sold to them and resell them to investors as MBS. What is not as common is using cash reserves from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to purchase already packaged MBS on the secondary market, as Trump is planning to do. This does not mean it never happens — it’s a standard tactic for intervention during financial crises.

So if it’s a strategy for improving the economy during financial crises, that makes it a good thing, right? Well, not necessarily. What’s most important is the signal being sent. The expectation is that purchasing MBS signals higher demand, which would likely result in increased prices on MBS. With increased prices, MBS yield is lower. With mortgage rates being influenced by MBS yield, this theoretically also reduces mortgage rates for homebuyers. But notice that this involves multiple steps, and not all of them are certain. Supply and demand are often treated like immutable laws, but at their core, they are probabilistic models. And when the model doesn’t conform to reality, there can be disastrous effects, such as the 2008 recession that resulted from purchasing subprime mortgages.

So what we need to know is what sort of signal Trump’s $200 billion MBS purchase is likely to send. According to economists at Realtor.com, probably not much of one. $200 billion may sound like a lot of money, but it’s very little in comparison to the trillions of dollars spent on MBS for financial intervention during the Covid-19 pandemic. While many months of significant MBS purchases certainly had a strong positive impact in 2020-2022, a single low-value purchase doesn’t necessarily signal increasing demand, merely a one-time spike. At most, this could cause a small temporary decrease in mortgage rates. This is especially true because investors are humans, not calculators. They may barely notice the small spike in demand, or they may consider it an uncertain investment, since they’re aware it’s a one-time event. All in all, Trump’s $200 MBS purchase probably won’t have a significant effect on the economy.

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More: https://www.realtor.com/advice/finance/mortgage-bonds-explained-trump-proclamation/

Turns Out Giving Is Good For You And Your Health

Christmas is coming up, and whether you love the holiday season or dread it, there’s something you can look forward to — gift giving. It turns out giving to others is good for your health! According to Professor Michael Norton and his Harvard Business School study, participants are happier spending money on others than themselves.

This residual happiness is not limited to spending and physical gift giving. In fact, a National Institutes of Health study found that when people give to charities and volunteer their time, it activates the region of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection and trust. And with the holidays firmly around the corner, there’s no better time to get your give on.

Giving is not only good for our emotional well-being but our physical health, too. Kathleen Lawler of the University of Tennessee conducted a study that found participants had lower blood pressure when providing social support to others (as opposed to those who didn’t), leading to the conclusion that giving reduces stress and improves longevity.

Generosity’s health-boosting effects tend to ripple out and gather up others in its wake. It’s linked to the release of oxytocin, commonly dubbed the “love hormone.” This induces warmth, empathy and the propensity to be generous towards others, which kick-starts a behavioral circle of giving, according to neuroeconomist Paul Zak.

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Need A New Hobby? Try Photography

Taking up a new hobby is an excellent New Year’s resolution, and with everyone having a camera at their fingertips these days, you might have an itch to try properly taking up photography. Becoming a good photographer is more than just point and shoot, though. It’s all about composition, framing and understanding space. Here are three top tips for getting started.

A staple of good photography is the rule of thirds, in which you split the image up into nine imaginary boxes, all equally spaced across the frame, using two horizontal and two vertical lines. Placing the subjects of the photo in the cross sections with background elements such as sky or sea aligned with the lines helps to create the best possible framing for your picture. Some cameras will generate this grid automatically, so you don’t even have to imagine it.

Even if you only intend to photograph one thing, the rest of the image is also part of the photograph. Take advantage of that by using empty space to highlight the true subject. Zooming out and allowing your subject to take up a smaller space in the picture can bring focus to the beauty of the image and help create a story as well as taking the pressure off the subject to draw focus.

Consider a frame within a frame. While a slightly tricky technique to pull off, sometimes the environment itself will provide you with a stunning extra frame for your subject within the frame of the photo. This could be an obvious one like a car window or a doorway, or it could be beautifully created by objects in the shot, such as gaps in trees in the foreground or fortuitously placed shapes in the background.

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What Is A Preliminary Title Report?

Most real estate transactions involve a preliminary title report. This report has details relating to the condition of title for each parcel of real estate. It will verify ownership, reveal any liens and encumbrances and identify easements. These title search elements are found in county property records. Once the information is gathered, it sets forth the conditions for which the title insurance company will issue a title insurance policy. A preliminary title insurance report is usually run once a real property sale opens escrow.

The preliminary report will also outline exclusions that would not be covered under the title insurance policy. The exclusions section of the report is important because it informs all parties of problems before a sale will close. Unpaid taxes, liens, unrecorded easements and judgements will be “clouds on the title” that will have to be resolved prior to change of ownership and before a title insurance policy can be issued.

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Tips For Selling Your Home In Winter

In the winter, there’s less real estate activity, but that also means that the most motivated buyers will have fewer options — which might just include your home. So, if you’re planning to sell in the winter, it’s important to not get lazy, even if demand is low. Good maintenance is important this time of year, whether you’re selling or not. This is especially true in areas that get snow. Drafts, fogged windows or heating that struggles to keep up can raise concerns quickly. Before listing, service your heating system, seal any gaps around doors and windows and address any lingering repairs.

Once you’re ready to list, make sure prospective buyers actually want to look at your home. Snow or no snow, first impressions matter. Keep walkways clear, salt any icy areas and trim dead branches or leftover fall debris. If you have outdoor lighting, use it to brighten the pathways and highlight your entryway, as shorter days mean buyers may be arriving after dark. Be sure to keep everything clean and clutter free. Winter boots and coats can multiply fast at this time of year, so create a neat entry space and hang any winter clothing out of the way. Fresh rugs, clean floors and organized storage areas will go a long way toward improving your home’s appearance.

Make the inside of your home comfortable as well. Warm temperatures, soft lighting, and subtle seasonal scents help buyers imagine themselves settling in. If you have a fireplace, showcase it. Consider layering throws, arranging comfortable seating and ensuring windows are spotless to maximize natural winter light.

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How To Get The Most Out Of The Open Houses You Visit

Open houses are a very useful tool for learning about a property. But it’s not just about walking in, taking a look around, and walking out. Full advantage of visiting an open house is achieved if you can time your visit when there are very few lookers roaming through the house. Too many visitors, and you won’t be able to take in details and may not have an opportunity to speak to the agent or homeowner. If you’re the only visitor, you might miss out on insights from others looking at the property from a different perspective.

You can also learn about more than just that one property. If you’re focused and paying attention, you can learn about an entire neighborhood just by visiting open houses. Observe your surroundings as you’re traveling and notice patterns in traffic and what the neighbors are doing. Once inside, use the information you learn not only to decide whether you want this home, but what some of your expectations can be for other homes in the area. This is particularly effective if you are visiting more than one open house in the same neighborhood. And this is just from the open houses — you can absolutely use this opportunity to directly speak to neighbors. Sometimes neighbors even visit open houses without any intent to buy.

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Questions To Consider Before Buying A Condo

The appeal of a condo over a single family residence or an apartment unit is that is a mix of independence and convenience. This isn’t the right choice for everyone, but even if it is, that doesn’t mean everything is necessarily perfect. There are plenty of hidden pitfalls to consider, some of which apply to any purchase, but some of which won’t necessarily apply to other types of homes.

It’s not uncommon for condos to have deferred maintenance, particularly since the HOA often needs to agree to it. A fancy entrance lobby can hide deeper problems. Take a good look at hallways, stairwells and elevators. Peeling paint or broken lights often signal bigger maintenance issues. Sometimes the issue isn’t deferred maintenance, but foundational problems. Walk the grounds and check for cracks, uneven floors or other signs of sloppy workmanship.

Check the finances. If monthly condo fees seem high compared to nearby buildings, find out why. Ask to see the condo association’s financial statements. Ensure that there’s a healthy reserve fund to deal with unexpected problems. Check to see if the owners are up to date on their payments, as well. If lots of owners are behind on payments, that’s a warning sign. It could mean the community’s financial stability is at risk and that repairs might get delayed.

Spend some time visiting, including at different times of the day. This will help you get a feel for the actual day to day living. You might not notice thin walls until you can hear your prospective neighbors at night, and you want to be prepared for what rush hour traffic is like in the area. Talk to current residents, as well. No one will know better than those who live there what living there is like. They may also be more willing to discuss complaints they have about management with a potential neighbor than they would be sending in a complaint to management.

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AB 851 Now In Effect

Assembly Bill 851 is a new law that requires written attestation that a home sale was not due to an unsolicited purchase offer. It went into effect November 10, 2025, and will remain in effect until January 1, 2027. The law applies to select ZIP codes within Los Angeles County and Ventura County. The affected ZIP codes are 90049,90263, 90265, 90272, 90290, 90402, 91001, 91024, 91103, 91104, 91106, 91107, 91301, and 91302 in Los Angeles County, as well as 91320 in Ventura County.

The goal of this bill is to reduce predatory purchasing in areas affected by the recent wildfires. However, it applies to all sales in these ZIP codes, regardless of whether the seller was affected by the wildfires or not. Under AB 851, an unsolicited purchase offer refers to any offer made without public indication that the owner is willing to sell. Public indication can be a listing with an agent, a For Sale By Owner sign, or a public online posting. Both the buyer and the seller must sign the attestation, and it must be attached to the grant deed.

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