Escalation Clauses: How They Work When You're Competing for a Home

Featured Advice

Which Home Records to Keep, and for How Long

Closing papers, improvement receipts, tax forms, insurance and warranty records each have their own timeline. Here's what to keep, how long, and a simple way to organize it all.

You’ll learnWhich purchase and closing documents to keep for as long as you own the home

Selling Your Home and Capital Gains: How the Home Sale Tax Exclusion Works

Many sellers owe no federal tax on the profit from their main home, but the exclusion isn't automatic. Here's how gain is calculated, the ownership and use tests, and what can complicate it.

You’ll learnHow gain is calculated from your amount realized and adjusted basis

The Listing Agreement, Explained: What You're Signing When You Hire an Agent to Sell

A listing agreement sets how long your agent represents you, how they're paid, and how you can get out. Here's what each key term means and what to ask before you sign.

You’ll learnThe three common types of listing agreements and how they differ

Full MLS, Coming Soon or Office Exclusive? How Sellers Choose How Their Home Is Marketed

Sellers in many markets can now choose full MLS exposure, delayed marketing or an office exclusive listing. Here's how each works, what you trade off and what to ask your listing agent.

You’ll learnWhat the MLS does and how listings reach public home search sites

Buying a Home

Escalation Clauses: How They Work When You're Competing for a Home

How an escalation clause works, with a hypothetical example

Renovation Loans: How FHA 203(k) and Conventional Rehab Mortgages Work

How a renovation loan combines the home and the repair budget in one mortgage

USDA Home Loans: How the Rural Housing Program Works and How to Check Eligibility

The difference between USDA guaranteed and Direct loans

Home Ownership

See also: Insurance · Home Maintenance

Which Home Records to Keep, and for How Long

Which purchase and closing documents to keep for as long as you own the home

Ordinance or Law Coverage: The Rebuilding Cost Many Homeowners Policies Limit

Why repairing to current building code can cost more than repairing what you had

Fall and Winter Home Prep: What to Do Before the First Freeze

Why heating service, alarm testing and dryer vents come first, before the first cold night

Selling a Home

Selling Your Home and Capital Gains: How the Home Sale Tax Exclusion Works

How gain is calculated from your amount realized and adjusted basis

The Listing Agreement, Explained: What You're Signing When You Hire an Agent to Sell

The three common types of listing agreements and how they differ

Full MLS, Coming Soon or Office Exclusive? How Sellers Choose How Their Home Is Marketed

What the MLS does and how listings reach public home search sites

Southern Coastal NC

Living in Wilmington, NC: What Buyers Should Know Before Moving

Why Wilmington, the three beach towns, and the unincorporated county are separate jurisdictions, and why that changes taxes, rules, and utilities

Buying an Investment Property on Oak Island, NC: What to Check Before You Buy

Calabash, NC: What Buyers Should Know

Why Calabash is a creek and waterway town built around a working seafood waterfront rather than an oceanfront beach town

The Benefits of Living in Southport, NC Year-Round: Why Full-Time Residents Get the Best of the Town

What the roughly October-to-April off-season gives Southport residents: a calm waterfront, open restaurant tables, and downtown returned to locals