It’s a new year, and if buying a home in 2026 is on your mind, there’s one simple piece of advice worth hearing first: get started now. Not in March. Not in spring. Not “when the weather gets better.” Now. Why? For starters, buying a home takes time. A recent Realtor.com article suggests getting started at least six months before you plan to close. That doesn’t mean starting in January automatically puts you on track for a June closing. In fact, if you get started now, there’s a good chance...

Most home buyers would love to know if there’s a secret day on the calendar to get the best deal on a house. It’s understandable considering it’s such a large purchase and many people will line up at dawn for Black Friday, and set price alerts on everything from airfare to air fryers throughout the year. So if there were a magical 24-hour window where homes suddenly went on sale… you’d probably be tempted to try and buy a house on that day if possible, right? Well, according to a recent...

Unless you’re a real estate agent, you probably don’t think about home appraisals more than a few times in your life. (Considering how much time real estate agents spend worrying about them, you’re probably better off!) But when you buy a house, chances are a third-party appraiser will need to inspect the house and analyze whether you’re paying an appropriate amount for it. That’s a good thing, because it ensures you’re not overpaying for a house, but sometimes an appraiser can make mistakes,...