Renting vs. Buying Your First Home: Pros and Cons

For many Americans, there are at least three things they want to do during their lifetime: go to college, buy their own home, and travel the world. But is it actually better to buy your own home than it is to rent? Given that for decades owning a home has been promoted as the single most important investment anyone can make, this might sound like a strange question to you. In this piece, we’ll cover renting vs. buying to help you decide.

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Renting vs. buying depends largely on your long-term plans.
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What is a Good Return on Real Estate Investment?

As a real estate investor, how can you tell when a real estate investment is making enough profits to justify the money and effort put into it? After all, no one wants to make a mistake when large amounts of money are involved. This is an important question because while you may think of yourself as a businessperson, you may, in reality, be making money for the bank and the government instead of yourself.

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Why You Need a Realtor When Buying a Rental Property

The vast majority of people will use a real estate agent when selling their homes. Most will also use an agent when buying a house, especially first-time homebuyers. It can be critically important to use a Realtor when building a house. But what about when buying a rental property?

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Current Home Updates to Increase Value

When you are considering current home updates to increase value, the first step is to do some research. Some updates you might tackle just for yourself or your family. Others are home updates to increase the value of your home. Whether you are looking to sell your home in the future or simply want to get your money back, here are the top five best investments that you can make in 2021 and beyond. 

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Top 6 Factors to Consider Before Installing a Pool

Have you always dreamed of having a pool in your backyard? Depending on where you are located in the country, this could make a significant difference in your property values. At the same time, you need to think carefully before installing a pool.

Photo of an inground pool being installed - Top 6 Factors to Consider Before Installing a Pool

Pools come in all shapes and sizes. You need to make sure you can take care of them. Before you put a pool in, what are a few of the most important factors to consider? Take a look at the list below, and remember to reach out to a professional who can help you.

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4 Sound Reasons to Invest in Property on the French Riviera

French-born, English playwright, novelist, and short-story writer W. Somerset Maugham—the highest-paid author during the 1930s—is known for many witticisms. Among them is this gem: “Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five.” Maybe you’d like to invest in property on the French Riviera?

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4 Things to Consider When Thinking of Remodeling Your Living Room

If you’ve considered remodeling your living room, there are a few points to consider before moving forward with the project. This remodel needs to be insightful and practical to get the most out of the investment and effort. Before beginning, consider some details that affect the outcome and the process of remodeling. With some research and planning, you’ll successfully create an updated and useful space you’ll enjoy for years to come.

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Because your living room is used so frequently, special thought should go into its design. | Photo by Luis Martinez
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5 Landscaping Tips to Elevate Your Home’s Value

It’s never a bad idea to change and renovate your house to increase its curb appeal. Spending a few hundred dollars can give you back by increasing the house value by thousands of dollars. In this piece, we’re going to look at five smart landscaping tips that will help you elevate the value of your home.

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Sunrooms and More: A Guide to Additions for Your Home

Like life, it gets to a point where we need to revamp ourselves by doing something different to look or feel good. The same applies to our living spaces. Most homeowners get to a point where they think they need to make some changes to the “normal home look” that has always existed. We present this guide to additions for your home to help you view the whole picture accurately.

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Sunrooms are a great way to expand the footprint of your living space. | Image by Kimberly Montgomery
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The Importance of Property Management to Landlords and Tenants

The property management strategy a property investor chooses is arguably the next most important factor (after the location of the property) for the success of their investment. Property management affects not only the performance of a rental but the property investor’s ability to grow. This piece will highlight the strengths of hiring an outside property management group rather than managing the properties on your own.

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8 Ways to Invest in Real Estate Without Big Money

As children, some of us had our eyes set on a profession in teaching, medicine, or technology. Others have always been drawn to the idea of real estate. But one big barrier remains. It takes money to get into real estate investing. And that money has to come from somewhere. Most of us aren’t born with money in the bank. This piece will outline eight ways to invest in real estate even if you don’t have a giant bank account.

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Top 7 Renovation Mistakes That Can Hurt Your House Value

Most homeowners want to sell their property for the highest price possible. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to do so, and investing in various renovations is one of them. But, blindly renovating anything without proper research and execution can do you more harm than good. In this article, we’re going to cover seven renovation mistakes that you’ll want to avoid.

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Louisville Real Estate Prices by Area

I’ve been writing a “Best Bang for Your Buck” article since 2014. (If you’re interested, I’ll link them at the bottom of this piece.) Somehow I missed writing last year’s article. Something must have interrupted my thinking *cough* *Covid* *cough*. Well, I’m not going to let that disrupt me again! So without further ado, here’s the most current data you can find on Louisville real estate prices by area.

Louisville Real Estate Prices by Area
Springhurst continues to be a great value for its prime location.
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2021 Home Staging Trends

Preparing your home for sale is a serious task. It involves several steps and may take away some of your time, but it’s worth it. It can help you find a buyer much faster, but also get a better deal. But the question that bothers sellers the most is – how to make a home attractive for the potential buyer? An important factor centers on current home staging trends.

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Minimalist interior design is most often the best choice for staging a home to sell. | Photo by Francesca Tosolini
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