When it’s time to sell your home, selling it for the right price that coincides with the current local housing marketing is key. Selling can be difficult and daunting, but if you avoid common mistakes, it can help ensure the process is stress-free and easy. Here’s what you should avoid before you put your house on the market:
1. Not doing any researchSetting a price on a home without performing the necessary research before putting it on the market will make the process more time consuming and difficult. It’s always in the seller’s best interest to research not only the market but also prices of surrounding homes in your neighborhood. By doing so, it guarantees you can sell your home for what it’s worth without overpricing it. Researching will set you up for success and ensure you’re on the right track to successfully sell your home!
 
2. Setting the price too highThis is one of the biggest mistakes a seller can make, and it almost always ...

While you can’t control what happens outside your home, these are ways to assess the value of a home’s neighborhood – and whether it’s right for you:
AESTHETICS
Looks aren’t everything, but they do say a lot about a neighborhood. An attractive neighborhood shows people care about it. And that great curb appeal can be helpful down the road when selling your house. The next buyer will see a great-looking place and feel right at home.
AFFORDABILITY
Different than the actual price of the house, affordability reflects the standard of living in the city or neighborhood you’re considering. How much does it cost to truly live in the area? See how much groceries, transportation, child care, restaurants, movies and other entertainment cost. Then do the math to see if life here fits your budget.
SAFETY
Whether you’re living alone or have family, feeling safe in your neighborhood is an important factor. Tap into online tools (like these) to find ...

 
Good credit is an important tool for financial health. Protect yourself from things like fraud, identity theft or bad money habits that could bring it down.
If you’re reading this article, you probably know how important healthy credit is to your financial well-being. Good credit scores, generally in the range of over 700, make you more likely to be approved for loans, but also mean you’ll likely pay less to borrow money. The good news is there are clear steps you can take to improve your credit score , but once you’ve built solid credit it’s important to maintain it as well.
 
 So how do you do it? Here are 6 tips for maintaining a strong credit score:
 


STAY ON TOP OF YOUR BILLS.


The most important factor to determining your credit score is whether you consistently pay your bills on time. This doesn’t change once you’ve built up a good score. When a bill is more than 30 days past due, it will show up on ...

There's all of this talk about refinancing nowadays... why? Well, it's a pretty big deal. Refinancing your mortgage means replacing your existing mortgage with a new one carrying better terms. Refinancing comes with a number of potential benefits, including…
YOU CAN SAVE ON YOUR MONTHLY PAYMENT
 
YOU CAN TAKE CASH OUT OF THE EQUITY TO PAY OFF HIGHER INTEREST DEBT
 
REDUCTION OR POSSIBLE ELIMINATION OF YOUR MONTHLY PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE (PMI)
Without giving you too much info on PMI, we will stick to the headline: The inverse relationship of property values and loan amounts lead to a decreasing loan-to-value…which ultimately results in a lower or no PMI for a new loan. Our loan experts are happy to walk you through this and keep you up-to-date every step of the way.
CUT YEARS OFF OF YOUR MORTGAGE
Simultaneously, you can maintain the same payment to pay your home off sooner and save in 
interest.
 
DREAMING OF A CHANGE?
With ...

A lien is a legal claim against your property. Being sure there are no liens is necessary because liens can affect your ability to sell the home in the future, and you could end up paying to get rid of the lien when you go to sell. It is normal to feel nervous about the possibility that there could be a lien, so we’d like to help you find out!

To determine if there is a lien on the home you will have to perform a property lien search. This information is public records, so you should be able to find what you are looking for; there are just multiple routes you can take to get there.

 

What are my options?

 

SEARCH THE RECORDS YOURSELF

 Some counties publish the data online, so as long as you have the name of the property owner or the address, you will be able to see the previous information regarding liens on the home.

VISIT THE RECORDER IN PERSON

If you are unsure of how to search for the data on your own, the county recorder, clerk, o ...