The interest rate your mortgage lender offers you when you buy or refinance a house is not necessarily the rate you have to stick with. In fact, you can lower your mortgage rate by shelling out at closing for something called mortgage points. But what are they and how can they save you some serious […]
Cascadia has timbered villas and chalets aplenty. But what exactly makes a grand lodge? It should breathe an air of epic romance, a place where quotidian worries succumb to wild beauty and creature comforts. These 10 retreats invoke the mythic best of the Northwest. And each has its perfect season. Winter CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Timberline’s 400-ton […]
Seattle has the Frank Gehry designed MoPop, a shimmer of color and curves, and Rem Koolhaus’ sinuous, blinding downtown central library. A Renzo Piano skyscraper towers over San Francisco’s SoMa district and his California Academy of Sciences building anchors the museum district in Golden Gate Park. And there’s Gehry again in downtown LA for the Disney Concert Hall. […]
Real estate over the last two and a half years can really be summed up by one phrase: Epic seller’s market. We’ve seen countless people list their homes and receive multiple offers over asking—all while doing the bare minimum to fix up or market their property. Home sellers, we have to be honest here: you’ve had it […]
Many homes across the United States are part of an HOA, or homeowners association. So what does that mean? In a nutshell, an HOA helps ensure that your community looks its best and functions smoothly. If you’re buying a condo, townhouse, or free-standing home in a neighborhood with shared common areas and amenities (such as swimming pools, […]
Hate cleaning your house? No one could blame you: There’s precious little fun in scrubbing toilets. Or wiping down grime-streaked windows to the point where your elbows are sore for weeks. And you probably cringe when you think about your living room’s floor-to-ceiling built-in shelves, whose upper levels haven’t seen a dust rag since Tony Soprano faded abruptly to black. Enter the […]
When you buy a home, there are usually a flurry of things you look forward to in your first winter season—like watching the snow fall through your living room window, snuggling up next to a crackling fireplace, and even making snow angels in the front yard. But some of the things you may discover during […]
When you think of the most design-forward room in your home, does the bathroom come to mind? For most of us, the answer is a resounding NO. In fact, unless you’re lucky enough to have a spa space with a free-standing tub and a rain shower, rarely do bathrooms go down in history as the most meditative […]
Do you ever wish your kitchen could be a bit more than just a functional, meal-prep room? Sure, you want ample counter space and all the latest kitchen gadgets. But maybe you also want a dash of decor that feels authentically you—a perfect piece that conveys the same warmth and quirk as a professionally-designed kitchen (without […]
While homebuyers haven’t had much (or any) room to haggle amid the seller’s market that’s reigned for the past two years, a new report offers some indisputable proof that those days are officially over. A recent survey by Realtor.com and HarrisX of 449 Americans who sold their home in the past 12 months reveals that sellers aren’t driving […]