Posts made by author 'Jay Mattlin'

Every industry has jargon an outsider wouldn't understand, and probably doesn't need to know. But real estate is a field where almost every "outsider" needs a bit of insider knowledge in order to successfully buy, sell, or rent a place to live a few times in their lives.

For instance, you could go your entire life without hearing the term "comp" once, but the minute you decide to buy or sell a house you'll hear agents say it like it's a word you probably already know. It's not nuclear physics, so you can probably figure out what they're talking about, especially in the context they're bringing it up. But just in case you've never heard the term before, "comp" is short for "comparable."

Okay, but what exactly is a comparable?

Comparables are houses that are currently on the market, under contract, or (most importantly) recently sold. They're used to compare against a house you're planning to buy or sell, in order t...

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Whether you sold a home in the past few years or not, you're probably well aware that houses have been selling fast, with multiple offers, and over asking price.

But everyone also knows it can't always be like that. The real estate market is cyclical, and we've seen a favorable market for sellers for quite a while now. So at some point it will likely shift in favor of buyers, at least to some degree. When? Nobody knows for sure. But it'll start happening at some point, so it's good to be aware of that and keep things in perspective if you're thinking about selling in the near future.

There are so many different predictions about whether prices will fall, or just stabilize, but most theories are that prices won't continue to rise. Buyer activity is projected to cool off due to rising interest rates, which could lead to less bidding wars, fewer offers, and ultimately lower offers for sellers.

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You're probably well aware that mortgage rates are rising. At the same time, home prices don't seem to be coming down, there's still a ton of competition, and you're probably no stranger to bidding wars when you make an offer on a house.

So you might be searching for a way to maintain the buying power you had when rates were a little lower, or just a competitive edge so you can offer a little more for the houses you bid on.
Which means you've probably been reading or hearing about adjustable rate mortgages making a comeback.

They haven't been getting much attention for quite some time. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage has been so historically low, they haven't been all that necessary to consider. But with the mix of rates going up, low inventory, and stiff competition, buyers are sizing them up as an option.

The last time they were popular was prior to the real estate market bubble bursting in 2007. Leading up to it, people were taking on riskier mortgages...

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Painting is a fast, easy, and affordable way to completely change the look and feel of a room. And if you want your room to look and feel both timely and on-trend, it's important to choose the right colors.

But in 2022, what, exactly, are those colors?

A recent report from home design resource Living Cozy analyzed interior-design related Google searches over the past 12 months to determine the biggest paint trends for 2022. Some of this year's major paint trends include:

• Kitchens are the most popular room to repaint. According to the report, kitchens are, by far, the most popular room to repaint, with over 6.5 million Google searches across all colors. (For comparison, the next most popular room to repaint—the bedroom—had less than half the searches.)
• Soothing...

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Are you interested in making your home more energy-efficient — and saving money? Discover whether there are some big (or small) energy-saving opportunities that you're missing.

• Energy auditor:Get an energy audit from your utility company.

• Light bulbs: Swap out incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent or LED options.

• Sun/window treatments: Use the light and heat from the sun to selectively warm your house by opening your blinds or curtains.

• Power strips: Flip the switch on power strips when you're done using electronics.

• Weather-stripping on windows: If windows aren't airtight, you can weather-strip them to protect a...

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