Lenders today generally use two standard guidelines to determine how much of a monthly mortgage payment you can afford and what your debt ratio is. The first guideline is that your household should spend no more than 28 percent of its gross monthly income (before taxes) on monthly housing expens
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10/15/2007
Congratulations on the purchase of your new home! Now, for the next challenge: moving. I’ve talked about how to go through all of your “stuff” and pare things down and out here. Hold that Garage Sale for the final clearance, see here on tips for that. Next comes the move. Are you packing yoursel
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10/11/2007
It is said that most people make a snap judgment about something within 10 seconds of first seeing it. That especially goes for reactions to houses. You either like it or you don't. Color choices in houses can be a real turn off to people. I think everyone has seen rooms in bright, obnoxious
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10/10/2007
As the days grow shorter in the Fall season, Daylight Savings time will end one week later than we are used to, on November 4th so before it comes it's time to finish up those last few to-do's on your list. The battery in your Smoke Detectors must be changed annually. What better time to do it
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10/09/2007
It's Fall and the weather is moving towards cooler nights and mornings. It's almost time for the furnace to be put back into use as winter approaches. Did you know that it's time to have the vents cleaned out if you haven't done it within the past 3 years? Yup, those vents are loaded with dirt
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10/07/2007
The move is over. The boxes have been broken down and are stacked in the garage. And the mess is loosely organized meaning the stuff is in the right room but not really put away. There really are ways to make this easier than you think! It's called organization. So take a deep breath, let it
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10/05/2007
If you're like me, you are drowning in paper both at home and in your office space. Paper, paper everywhere. At home we have stacks and stacks of paper in the kitchen, family room and our office. What is it all and why do we need it? Truthfully, we really don't need most of it and with a few
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10/04/2007
San Mateo County homes generally lack a great deal of square footage so space is always an issue. Yesterday I wrote the first five hints to help you in your clutter removal tasks. I have five more hits to help you in your quest to pair down your junk into use able items of value in your life.
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10/03/2007
Last week I talked about space and whether we really need huge houses. It's not that big an issue here in our area where most homes built before the 1990's were modest in size comparing to other parts of the county. So most of us have Space Issues. Did you know that in the 1950's the average w
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10/02/2007
If you have an older home and are considering selling it within the next year or so, you are likely already considering what ROI's are best in preparing your home for that future sale. I've talked previously about doing remodeling yourself or having it done, the importance of landscaping, and th
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09/25/2007