Purchasing a home is no small investment. And a few months after handling your closing costs is not the moment you want to incur a four- or five-figure surprise — like, say, learning that the roof of your recent purchase needs to be replaced. This is where the importance of the home inspection comes in. It … Read more
Heather Bien Contributor Heather Bien is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer whose work has appeared on MyDomaine, The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, HelloGiggles, and more. You’ll often find her making pitstops for roadside antique shops, drooling over original hardwood floors, or perfecting her latte recipe.
Home repairs and maintenance can be super intimidating! So we’re here to help you lay a helpful foundation (metaphorically of course — any literal foundation fixes should be left to the pros!) with a comprehensive list of confusing terms. Talking the talk is essential to being able to walk the walk (or, you know, patch … Read more
Heather Bien Contributor Heather Bien is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer whose work has appeared on MyDomaine, The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, HelloGiggles, and more. You’ll often find her making pitstops for roadside antique shops, drooling over original hardwood floors, or perfecting her latte recipe.
Let’s face it: A tool shed is usually all about functional storage, not about being the chicest spot on a property. But home DIYer Kassy Randazzo’s tool shed was neither functional nor appealing. “It was an unfinished space, like most sheds,” she says. “[It had] no wall paneling or flooring. The old wood was discolored, … Read more
When it comes to home maintenance and repairs, you sometimes don’t know what you don’t know — that is, until you’re standing in your flooded basement, wrench in hand, wondering where you went wrong. Take, for example, one of my most recent mishaps. I would consider myself pretty above-average when it comes to home repairs … Read more
Congratulations! You bought your first home. You’ve made it through the first rites of passage: nervously handing over your down payment, giddily scarfing down delivery dinner amid stacks of boxes. But there’s one more critical step in the process of becoming an official homeowner: experiencing that moment you realize you can’t call your landlord when … Read more
Even if you’re well-versed and well-practiced in home repair, sometimes a job requires a professional. “My general rule is that if I have to watch more than 40 minutes of a YouTube video before I can start a project, it’s best to call a pro,” says homeowner David Leapheart. Whenever you hire someone, you of … Read more
Lauren Wellbank Contributor Lauren Wellbank is a freelance writer with more than a decade of experience in the mortgage industry. Her writing has also appeared on HuffPost, Washington Post, Martha Stewart Living, and more. When she’s not writing she can be found spending time with her growing family in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. … Read more