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Under Contract! What Happens Next: A Buyer's Timeline from Offer to Keys

This weekWhat the New Housing Order Could Mean for Buyers and Owners

Featured Advice

Wire Fraud in Real Estate: How Buyers Protect Their Closing Funds

Closing funds are a target for criminals who send fake wiring instructions. Here's how the scam works, the red flags to watch for, and what to do if money goes to the wrong account.

You’ll learnHow real estate wire fraud typically works, from a compromised email to "updated" instructions

Buyers: What Not to Do While Your Mortgage Is in Underwriting

While your mortgage is in underwriting, small financial changes can raise questions or delay closing. Here's what to avoid, what to do instead, and why to ask your loan officer first.

You’ll learnWhy small financial changes can matter while your loan is in underwriting

A Buyer's First 30 Days After Closing: Locks, Utilities, Records and What to Do First

Just closed on a home? Here's a practical first-month plan: locks and codes, utilities and mail, shutoffs and alarms, your first mortgage payment, and the paperwork to keep.

You’ll learnWhy rekeying locks and resetting codes and smart devices comes first

Under Contract! What Sellers Should Expect Between Offer and Closing

You've accepted an offer. Now what? Here's what sellers can expect between contract and closing, from earnest money and contingency deadlines to inspection, appraisal, title work and the move.

You’ll learnThe usual sequence of steps between an accepted offer and closing

This Week's News

Housing News, Week of Oct. 26, 2026: What the New Housing Order Could Mean for Buyers and Owners

What the Oct. 22 housing executive order directs, as reported by several outlets

Buying a Home

Under Contract! What Happens Next: A Buyer's Timeline from Offer to Keys

Which contract deadlines to find and track right after your offer is accepted

Wire Fraud in Real Estate: How Buyers Protect Their Closing Funds

How real estate wire fraud typically works, from a compromised email to "updated" instructions

Buyers: What Not to Do While Your Mortgage Is in Underwriting

Why small financial changes can matter while your loan is in underwriting

Home Ownership

See also: Insurance · Home Maintenance

A Buyer's First 30 Days After Closing: Locks, Utilities, Records and What to Do First

Why rekeying locks and resetting codes and smart devices comes first

Homestead Exemptions: What They Are, Who May Qualify and How to Apply

What a property tax homestead exemption is and the common ways it reduces taxable value

Homeowners Insurance Non-Renewal: What It Means and What to Do Next

How a non-renewal differs from a cancellation, and why the effective date matters most

Selling a Home

Under Contract! What Sellers Should Expect Between Offer and Closing

The usual sequence of steps between an accepted offer and closing

The Buyer's Inspection Came Back: How Sellers Should Handle Repair Requests

How to read a repair request alongside the inspection report

When the Appraisal Comes in Low: Options for Sellers

What a low appraisal means for a seller, and what it doesn't automatically mean

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