The emotional toll of losing a home, or even the threat of a loss, is tremendous. Leaving your home when you have time to gather your things together is already stressful, but escaping with only the clothes on your back can be devastating.

If you live in an earthquake, fire, flood, tornado or other natural disaster zones, you know losing your home is a possibility, but no matter how “prepared” you think you are, you’re not really ready when the time comes.

“Don’t underestimate the challenge of evacuation, relocation, and rebuilding after a fire. It doesn’t matter if the loss is expected or not, [...]

In an ideal scenario, the perfect house shows up when you are ready and have the cash flow to cover the down payment, closing costs, and first month’s mortgage. However, this isn’t always the case. If crunching the closing cost numbers is beyond stressful, rather than missing the opportunity to buy now, you might see if a lender credit could make it happen.

A lender credit is also called a lender assist, though you may want to sit down with your mortgage broker to more solidly understand the verbiage he/she uses. What is a lender credit? Essentially, as a borrower, your lender could agree to credit closing costs. For instance, you might [...]

The Millennial Generation is next up to endure the homebuying process and is currently taking over the market. As the largest living generation, their buying habits and attitudes toward homebuying will definitely shape the future of the real estate industry. With this, we decided to do a little research to see how the average millennial feels about home buying. After conducting a survey we, here at Homes.com, found out that this open-minded, liberal, and self-expressive generation has a unique attitude toward home buying. 7 in 10 non-home owning millennials feel it will be difficult for them to get a mortgage – with close to 1 in 10 (nine percent) saying they’ve given up [...]

If you’re thinking of putting your house on the market, you probably already have a giant to-do list. You want to paint the bedroom, hang new curtains and fix the broken planks on the deck. In reality, those might not be the best places to concentrate your energy. An updated bathroom can make or break a home’s appeal and value.

“Some people want new, clean spaces,” said Ken Kostecki, Maison Construction & Renovation president. “Kitchens and bathrooms are the places where you get top value. You’re going to get that money out of it.”

Here are some signs that it’s time to update your bathroom:

Real estate is no longer a one-size-fits-all business. Technology and a competitive market give you more options and provide you with new ways of saving money on a real estate transaction. The trend is clearly apparent in brokerage fees, generally one of the most expensive parts of selling a home.

Brokerages have historically split a 6% commission when a home is sold. The buyer’s agent got 3%, and the seller’s agent received 3%, and you had little to no negotiating power with the arrangement. That model worked well when homes sold for $50,000, as the fee was relatively small. Now, with homes selling for $500,000 or more on average, the fee has become larger, and [...]

Bow wow wow yippy yo yippy YAY! In light of all of your hectic Christmas and New Years travel plans, have you secured a place for you and your furry friend(s) to lodge this holiday season? If you haven’t, have no fear. Homes.com has compiled a list of some of the best pet-friendly lodging across the country.

Located in sunny Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, your pooch will go crazy for the amenities offered at Edgemere Cottages. This quaint bed & breakfast has a country, cottage style with lush gardens and is just a mere one mile from the beach – perfect for an evening walk! For humans, the cottages offer homemade breakfast, cottages available [...]

We all know that the best part of Thanksgiving dinner is the dessert that follows. After stuffing your face on Turkey Day, National Cake Day rolls around on November 26th. Here at Homes.com, we’ve compiled a map of some popular cake specialties in the US. Who typically bakes the cakes in your family? Do you prefer coconut cake like the people of South Carolina, or Meyer Lemon like California residents?

Other popular cake varieties across the country include red velvet (Arkansas), Smith Island Cake (Maryland), and gooey butter cake (Missouri).

According to The Bulletin, a Central Oregon publication, there are only eight states with an official state [...]

At Homes.com, we know the importance of finding the perfect place to call “home.” One of the most difficult parts of going to college can be making your college home feel as comfortable as your home! To make that transition easier, we wanted to award a $1,000 scholarship to one highly-motivated student to help cover some of their college expenses.

The rules for the scholarship were simple: the participants had to snap a photo and write a description detailing how they’ve made — or plan to make — their college experience feel like their own personal home away from home.

With over 700 entries, our judges had a tough time picking a winner from the many [...]

Check out our 2016 National Neighborhood Study to learn what a typical American neighborhood is for 2,000 Americans from around the country, as well as 1,000 New Yorkers.

As the Greek poet Hesiod once said, “A bad neighbor is a misfortune, as much as a good one is a great blessing.” Unfortunately, we all aren’t blessed with perfect neighbors…

Neighbors, neighbors, neighbors. Do you cringe at the thought of that word? For some, sharing property lines can become an ongoing battle. 2 AM ruckus here, a Peeping Tom over there. Regardless, you may have to see them almost every day. While the saying goes, “love thy neighbor,” for many [...]

Seattle, Washington is a place like no other, nestled between the salt waters of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washington, in the most northwestern state of our great nation. With a population of over 700,000, Seattle easily triples the next largest city in Washington state in terms of people, with an amazing array of different architectural home styles, many of which take their inspiration from Seattle’s iconic buildings, sweeping natural vistas, culture or history.

Here are some architectural styles you’ll see on more everyday houses around the city:

Seattle has the distinction of being a city with its own special architectural [...]

Natural disasters are unpredictable and costly to recover from. Even if you have a few days to prepare, the “calm before the storm” looks a lot more like chaos. Keep your home ready at all times for the unexpected with these six steps.

Preparation is key to protecting your family and your home in the event of a disaster, and an emergency plan is the first step. Know what types of emergencies you need to prepare for based on your location and delegate specific responsibilities to each family member. Know where you will meet if separated, how you will communicate if cell towers are down, and what each person should pack and bring if [...]

“This spacious 6192 square foot single family home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, oh and by the way, a bomb shelter too!”

No matter how innocuous a real estate agent might be, featuring a bomb shelter as a selling point can take some finesse and subtly, or ‘spin’ as we like to say in marketing.

With searches on Google currently trending for “bomb shelters near me” we thought we’d take a look at a few properties listed on Homes.com and compare descriptives, qualifiers, and superlatives, while offering some advice to agents and home sellers on the best way to market your home to both preppers and non-preppers alike!