Summer is upon us, and with it comes the usual influx of vacation travelers. Such is life in Florida.

It brings a much appreciated boost to the state’s economy, but also puts a strain on the long-term residents in many areas that are seen as summer vacation hotspots. As tenants rent out rooms to short-term travelers for premium rates, the amenities get more and more use, and condos start to look more like a Holiday Inn than a home.

And what people sometimes forget is that these condos often are homes, and not just part-time residences, owned half of the year and rented out the other half. And for these condo owners – everyone from a single bachelor to a big family – the increase of rowdy vacationers is not always a good thing.

It’s almost a

Buyer’s Remorse: it’s a real thing.

Nearly everyone’s felt it before, but it’s usually a cheap and simple fix that involves returning the offensive purchase. But with a new home, you can’t just hand back the receipt and get a refund – once it’s yours, it’s yours, at least until you decide to sell.

It can be avoided, however. Follow this checklist to make sure you never feel that familiar pang of regret after you walk away with a new home.

1.   Have you see the house more than once?

You might be able to get away with this if you’re lucky, but for added confidence it’s always a good idea to check out the potential home multiple times. See it during the day, but also try to see it at other times too – maybe the light in the morning comes through

Hardly anything is a one-person job anymore, and hiring a professional isn’t a waste of money. It’s a way to ensure something gets done right, and real estate is no exception. If you want the most out of your buying or selling experience, here are some professional services that are there to help you – you just have to ask.

• Home Loan Lenders

Not everyone has hundreds of thousands (or especially millions) of dollars lying around, so if you plan on buying a home and you aren’t the co-founder of Microsoft, you’ll have to get a home loan. Generally this will be done via a bank, and you can even hire a home mortgage broker to find the best deal for you.

• Real Estate Agents

In order to get the right loan, however, you’ll need to enlist

Whether you buy a house, rent an apartment, sell one of the two, or anything in between, you’re going to find yourself, at least once, staring at a jumbling of words on a sheet of paper that you’ve never seen before.

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of real estate terms that you’ll probably never see, but there are a  select few that nearly everyone has to deal with at some point, so you should be well aware of what they mean – and the next time you encounter one in the wild, you’ll be more knowledgeable and more confident.

APR: If you’ve ever seen a car commercial on TV, you have heard these three letters enough for a lifetime. They stand for “Annual Percentage Rate,” and it is an annual interest rate charged on a loan or credit.

Closing:

In years past, the common conception has been that renting property is a much more effective money saver as compared to buying, and that homes are an investment that will only lose you money as time goes by. New information, however, is showing that to be less and less true.

According to Forbes, just last year renting was 46% more expensive than buying. And even though the rising cost of homes has narrowed the gap slightly, it is still 44% more expensive to rent today – thanks in part to the steady decline of mortgage prices and the opposite growth of rent costs.

Buying isn’t as simple as it sounds, however. The biggest problem resides in the fact that nearly everyone who buys a property started out paying rent somewhere. Because of these rising

No place says “vacation” quite like Florida.

Ask anyone why and they’ll each give you a different answer. Maybe it’s the palms. Maybe it’s the weather, or the warmth. Maybe it’s the miles upon miles of beaches – everyone has their reason. Whatever it is, it’s catching on, and making America’s favorite peninsula the vacation destination on everybody’s list.  

According to CNBC, of the top ten “Best Cities to Buy a Vacation Home,” Florida held five spots. Ft. Myers came in second overall after Las Vegas, but if you are adverse to a wild Vegas lifestyle and instead want a warm, relaxing, and cathartic vacation experience, Florida is the way to go.

• It’s inexpensive – if you know where to look

Florida has been given a reputation of being a

Insurance is so common now that it isn’t uncommon to purchase it for even a simple cell phone. Nobody wants to pay out of pocket when things go bad, so they double down with the insurance option.

But when it comes to owning a home, there are countless different options and offers to choose from, under many different prices with many different fees. It can be complicated, but it’s important to understand exactly what you’re paying for now, so you don’t pay later.

Essentially, homeowner’s insurance is a kind of insurance that covers private homes – such as the common single-family detached home – from incidents that the homeowner could never afford. It can cover many different things, depending on the particular policy, including incidents that affect

It’s a competitive market, and getting your home listed and sold in as short a time as possible can save you lots of time, hassle, and money. The best part – there are ways to do this without even lowering the asking price.

• Make yourself stand out…

It can be as simple as adding a couple subtle flower pots to your window sills, or putting a fresh coat of paint on the wood trim around the front porch. Everyone is looking for reasons why not to buy your place, so don’t give them any. Think of things that other homes on the market might not have, and add them to yours. It’s about being creative and giving the buyer what he or she wants to see.

• …But don’t go overboard

Studies have shown that when there is too much added or changed about

In a market that has drastically changed over the past several years, general loan practices are becoming more and more jumbled. Everyone, including the banks, is becoming much more conscious about their money, and it’s becoming a problem for many home buyers – they aren’t getting their loans approved by the bank. It’s a fairly complicated situation, but here are a few simple reasons why this is happening, as well as some ways to avoid it happening to you.

1.   Lack of Income

If you don’t have proof of income for the past several years, expect to have your loan denied. Banks will rarely take a chance lending to someone that cannot prove what kind of income they have recently made, even if they have a stellar credit history. Avoid this by being

If you’re planning on making the big move from renter to first-time homeowner, you’re probably going to have a lot on your plate. It’s a daunting thing, buying your first home – but one of the most rewarding. Still, there’s a lot to learn about the process, so below are some tips and reminders that are made to help all the first-time buyers out there get knowledgeable and get organized.

• Be prepared to make a commitment

Don’t go into buying a new home thinking that it’ll be just a temporary residence. While you likely won’t be staying there forever, you should still count on living there for roughly 3-5 years. This is because it will likely take at least that long to build up equity in the home and recoup all of your investment costs. Leave