The home you own now will likely always remain special to you. After all, you selected it from dozens of others on the market. You’ll always remember the jitters of shopping for such a big-ticket item, the triumph of moving in after signing, and perhaps the first time you had the extended family over to your own home for the holidays. 

Whether this is your starter home or the home in which you raised your family, it’s natural that you’ve gone back and forth trying to decide whether you really need to sell and move on. For most homeowners, though, the day does ultimately arrive when it’s time to upgrade from a starter home to a home that’s better suited for their long-term lifestyle goals. 

If you’re considering whether this is your year to make

When you first took out your school loan, you did it to open more opportunities. Unfortunately, having a significant amount of school debt can challenge those opportunities. If you have a considerable amount of school debt and are left wondering how you can still qualify for a home loan, this article is for you!

The insights we’re about to share with you will help you get a better idea of how to manage your school loan as well as show how it’s possible to be a homeowner despite having student debt. 

How Student Loans Affect Your Home Loan Approval

The first thing to clarify is that student loans themselves don’t prevent you from getting a home loan. However, the debt of student loans can affect your debt-to-income ratio, and a poor DTI can

If you have bad credit, it may seem like buying a house is out of reach - or at least a couple of years away. But, in reality, struggling credit may not be as much of a roadblock as you may think! 

If you have less than ideal credit and have the goal of buying a home, then this blog is for you! Read on to find out more about loan programs for low-credit home buyers as well as how you can improve your score to qualify for a lower interest rate.

The Truth About Bad Credit and Mortgages

Technically, there isn’t a specific minimum credit score to qualify for a conventional loan. Lenders will set their own requirements since they are the ones that are loaning the funds. As you can imagine, they prefer higher scores as that means less risk.

Tax season isn’t always met with positivity. But when you’re a homeowner, you tend to view tax season differently because of the tax benefits. With tax season soon upon us, we wanted to share some of the lesser-known tax benefits of owning a home. 

Did you miss out on the tax breaks for 2019? Not to worry! You can still benefit in the coming year! Come to think of it, the sooner you purchase a home, the longer you can rake in those benefits! 

Interest Paid on Your mortgage is Deductible (in most cases)

Generally speaking, if your mortgage is not greater than $750,000, then you can deduct the interest paid on the loan. This is the most significant benefit of owning a home and claiming it is relatively simple. At the end of the year, your

Millennials, you’re buying your first homes! Congratulations: it’s exciting to see so many of you settling in. If you’re a millennial who is trying to decide when you’re ready to buy your first house, Parks has you covered with our First Home Purchaser’s Readiness Checklist. 

Financial Readiness

Financial readiness is, without a doubt, the most important factor in successfully purchasing your first home without experiencing the pangs of buyer’s remorse that are felt by a reported 81% of millennial homeowners. 

Take the following steps to prepare yourself financially for homeownership.

• Reduce or eliminate all other debt.

High-interest consumer debt, student loans, and sizable car payments will all affect your ability to

Foreclosed homes are some of the best home purchase deals you can find but that doesn’t mean that you should through caution to the wind when considering purchasing a foreclosed home. 

In fact, some foreclosed homes can end up costing you more money (or headaches) than they’re worth. Here’s what you need to know about purchasing a foreclosed home. 

Foreclosed Homes are a Diamond in the Rough 

The first thing to understand is that foreclosed homes are often in a rough state. This may be partly due to the fact that the previous owner was unable to make their mortgage payments, and therefore, couldn’t afford the upkeep either.

Or it could be that the previous owner was imbittered about their home being foreclosed on and abandoned the home,

We pour so much love and care into helping our home take care of us - it’s about time for our homes to help us out a little, right? (Mostly joking - but hey, we take what we can get with our homes, right?). All jokes aside, it’s an amazing world we’re in that we can have switches, appliances, security - you name it - as part of our  “smart home” set up. This means that things that would normally be manual are either automated, activated by voice, synchronized, connected, etc. 

A recent study by a major real estate firm showed that ⅔ of agents agree that buyers are more interested in homes with smart home features than just two to five years ago. Just like any new home feature - while smart home features aren’t yet expected by homebuyers, they are

In 2019, we witnessed the departure of several design trends that had simply worn out their welcome. Dark wood cabinets, pre-packaged looks, all-gray spaces, wall-to-wall white, and solo accent walls were all out, and warm coppers and sparkling coastal blues made a grand entrance.

Whether you’re redecorating your space in 2020, purchasing a new home, or getting ready to stage a home for sale, it’s time to prepare for the new decade of interior design. The following trends are fresh and updated yet classic, and easily adaptable to suit your home’s existing character.

Color Trends

Several companies announced their 2020 pick for “Color of the Year” as 2019 drew to a close, and we’ve picked our favorites. Whether used together or separately, they

Saving for a downpayment is one of the first steps to buying a home --apart from getting pre-qualified for a mortgage. Starting your savings also requires quite a bit of commitment. It takes discipline to forgo that weekend getaway with friends or reduce everyday purchases like your usual morning latte. But when you're saving for a house, every purchase and dollar saved must be a deliberate choice.

But where's the best place to store your home-savings nest egg? After all, you'll be saving in the tens of thousands, not just a couple of thousand. Lenders will also need to verify where your downpayment came from, meaning they'll want to see a record of deposits that prove your savings efforts or gifted funds.

Here are some suggestions for where to

This is not a time of year typically associated with a lot of home sales, but real estate experts advise that owners can actually tap this unique market. All it takes is a different type of prep work and a positive attitude. 

While highlighting bright, sunny days coupled with warm weather and green grass can seem like the best way to market a home, some industry insiders actually prefer to market a home in winter, according to the Realty Times. Homes tend to be more brightly lit, and - in certain cases - even festively decorated in a way that makes a listing look a lot more "home-y" in photos and videos, as well as in person. 

Everyone is motivated 

Another huge benefit that comes with putting a home up for sale in the winter