Daydreaming about owning your own home is one of the most intoxicating practices known to modern man, especially now that HGTV and all the house flipping shows make it look like a cake walk. But when the time comes to actually put your money where your daydream is, it can be challenging for first-time buyers especially to understand how a home that doesn’t currently come anywhere close to “dream” status could be whipped into shape — and how a home that they think is perfect...

Buying a home can be an anxiety-ridden process, and that potential anxiety gets amplified for anyone who’s embarking on homeownership for the very first time. There’s so much to do and so much you don’t know that “being overwhelmed” hardly seems like an appropriate description of how it feels.

And even though you don’t want to scare yourself away from the entire process, you still need to be wary of falling into a few common traps that first-time buyers generally...

Most people don’t buy a home every day — it’s a once-or-twice-a-decade activity for many of us as opposed to a day-in-day-out activity.

So when you start getting serious about buying, whether it’s your first home or your fourth, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed pretty quickly. Some parts of the process (like searching for a home) have recently become more accessible through technology, but when every buyer has access to the same technology and resources, it’s tough...

There comes a time in every home owner’s life when he or she realizes: “I am not the same person I was when I bought this place.” Maybe your lifestyle or your family configuration has changed, or maybe the house just isn’t as appealing as it was when you signed that ream of paperwork on closing day.

If you’re thinking about moving on, then there are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you take the plunge and list the house. When you can answer these questions,...