The holidays are a happy time for celebrating with family, friends, and co-workers. Unfortunately, this time of year can also be turned sour by a wide variety of clever frauds, unauthorized debit and credit card transactions, and bogus person-to-person scams. By the end of 2015, individuals, retailers, charitable donors, and companies were victimized to the tune of $1.5 billion. That number is expected to have gone up in 2016.
Just as you protect your home with an alarm system, you should set up defenses for your credit and identity. During the holiday season, fraudulent activity spikes. Here’s how to protect yourself from the eight most common scams.
Continue reading 8 Scams to Watch Out For This Holiday Season
Yes, it’s true: Fall is here, and that means winter is just around the corner.
Okay, you made one of the most important decisions in your life: you’re buying a home! You found your ideal home. It’s in your desired neighborhood, close to everything you need. You love its design and feel, and you’re ready to finalize the deal.
Maybe your dream home has the intricate details that you usually find only in older construction — wainscoting and crown molding in the interior, a large yard with an older tree shading the back yard, and a white picket fence.
Before your home goes on the market, you want to make sure it looks its best for potential buyers. Once you have an accepted offer, the next person you need to worry about is the home inspector. The home inspector will be looking at many things your buyer did not. Here are 14 easy fixes to make before your home inspection.
No matter if you’re in a buyer’s or seller’s market, there are a few critical steps you can take to make a smarter purchase. Since buying a home is likely the biggest single investment you will ever make, being prepared will help you make a better purchase. Here are 7 tips and tricks to buying a home.
When you list your home for sale, you may think you’ve priced it right, staged it beautifully, and timed the market for a quick sale.
You can’t avoid paying taxes, and we all need to pay our fair share. However, paying your fair share shouldn’t place an unjust burden on you. As a homeowner, your tax burden is doubled because you pay both income and property taxes. To decrease that burden and boost your tax savings, take advantage of these homeowner tax deductions. As a result, you can use your tax savings to go on a vacation, increase your child’s college fund, build upon your retirement fund, or complete another home improvement project.
