Image Source: HMS National
If you’re buying a brand new home – meaning a home that has just been built and has no previous owners – it’s fairly typical to automatically receive a warranty for a set number of years on the structure, its fixtures and appliances – and generally at no extra charge. Builders want to give their buyers peace of mind by guaranteeing the quality of their work and this warranty covers it. Since there’s no additional charge for this kind of warranty, there’s little for home owners to grapple with; yes, they’ll gladly accept the warranty. However, what if you buy a resale home (a home that has had previous owners) and have been given the opportunity to pay into a home warranty? Is it worth it? Do home warranties make sense? Is it yet another scare tactic? Angie’s List.
, the web source that lets home owners rank, review and find service providers, has kept tabs on consumer feedback on home warranties and the message they got was rather discouraging. [click to continue…]
Bin it! Image Source: GreenYourMove.ca
Congratulations, home owner, you just got the keys to your new place! Now all that’s left is that delightful matter of packing and moving your crap. Sure, you can go the ol’ Garbage Bag and Boxes from the Liquor Store route, or you can realize you don’t live in a frat house any more and need real, sizeable moving containers that won’t be mistaken for trash. Alas, buying new cardboard boxes is surprisingly costly – and while recyclable, it’s hardly a great move for the environment to keep producing and trashing cardboard. So what’s a classy, budget-minded, and eco-aware person in transition to do? We’ve got the answer! [click to continue…]
We recently wrote about some of the services you can expect, or in the least – ask for –, from your real estate agent. However, it’s important that you also understand that your agent can’t perform miracles. If she could, do you really think she’d spend her time selling your bungalow when there’s peace in the Middle East she could wave her magic wand over? My real estate agent mentioned a few examples from her “clients from hell”, and it’s flabbergasting what people expected of her. Don’t be one of these people, people! [click to continue…]
The first time table legs became a part of my life was when I moved away from the confines of home and family and got my first apartment in college. Trust me, the thought that table legs would become an important challenge in my life had never crossed my mind. But like most of us starting out in life, I might have hooked up with kind of a bunch of Neanderthals. One of them had found an apartment and invited me to go in on it with the other dudes. Turned out unfurnished meant no furniture, who knew. So dining room tables were invariably card tables one of you got from home for free, and since you didn’t have dinner parties or probably even a dining room, this worked just fine. Then there was the living room. A coffee table was a must and you needed a place for the stereo to live as well. These fine furnishings would need to be procured elsewhere. [click to continue…]
You know those ads where you can go to one website – usually owned by an insurance company – and get quotes from a bunch of different insurance companies and directly compare the rates? Those don’t always paint the full picture. I’m not saying those websites are lying, but you can only really get an exact quote for coverage of your home by going through a full questionnaire with the company directly – and usually with a human being. I know – that dreamy world where we don’t have to interact with each other isn’t quite here yet. Sigh. Plus, there’s more to insurance than what you pay monthly – there’s that whole service thing that occurs should you need to make a policy change or – hopefully not – a claim. I recently secured new home insurance and here’s some things I discovered along the way: [click to continue…]
