Posts made by author 'Badger Peabody & Smith Realty'
1
Dealing with Debt
This week I'd like to encourage a little common sense when it comes to your finances and the purchase of a home.
First on the list is debt. Nearly all of us carry it like an albatross around our necks. There can be a healthy debt load but there can also be the dangerous kind. We're not going to delve into all the potential woes if your debt becomes too much of a monster. The goal here is to trim it down to a more manageable and tolerable level. My parents just purchased a new (to me) vehicle. It turns out they have great credit (owning a home and not missing payments will help with that!). They don't carry a very large debt load (literally none) and pay off any bills they have on time and in-full.
On average, Americans carry almost $60,000 in household debt and about $11,000 in credit card debt. That is a sig...
19
Adore Your Agent
To whom do you go for advice? Are you fortunate enough that it is still your mom? (Thanks, mom!) Do you have that one awesome relative you lean on for advice, answers, tough-love? (Thanks, Lib!) Or is it a long-term friendship that fosters immediate reconnection whenever you two reach out? (Thanks, Kerri!) Most of us have someone that is our rock. It's the person that knows us and "gets" us. To those people, I encourage you to reach out today and let them know how much they mean to you. Just a quick note is truly all it takes.
I kicked off with that sentiment today because I'm itching to have a long-overdue conversation with my awesome cousin, Libby. I'm embarking on a new adventure in 2020 and she is the one who is the steady voice of reason and always injects some perspective that I had not seen before. And since this is...
17
Plenty of 2020 Upgrades
Now that we've all smashed our way into a new decade (and I celebrated my birthday by getting my avalanche safety certification) it is time to take a look at what buyers are going to be itching for in the coming year. There are certainly features that always stand the test of time. Like a roof that doesn't leak and windows that go up and down. But I digress. What we're focused on today are those features that (for the most part) you can add to or upgrade in your own home in order to make it more enticing for buyers. And as with all of these options, they simply make your home more pleasurable for YOU while you are still living there. Let's jump in. (And Happy New Year!)
The survey was done by Porch.com and they picked the brains of 980 recent home shoppers. One of the more interesting notes I found was that these buyers...
8
Looking Forward and Back
Depending on when you are reading this, the new year has likely begun. If you are like me, you stayed out WAY too late on Tuesday night. And, since my birthday (still not quite yet 50 years old.), is on Sunday, I am still enjoying a couple of lazy days. Those include getting out in the snowy woods followed by some good quality time on the couch! I'm super excited about this new year and new decade! Today I'd like to take a little time to peek ahead and see what's in store.
A dear friend of mine introduced me to a fantastic, introspective exercise that I think we can all benefit from. It is a simple process of looking "back" and "forward" through the last/next decade. You basically choose the three things you are most proud of in the last decade and dig a little into the "why" behind those. Then you shift the focus on the future...
7
Happiest of Holidays
Alfred and Eleanor Wilcox were two of my favorite people on earth. When I was first born, our family lived with them in New York for those first years of my life they introduced me to the concept of "home". As I grew up, and our family relocated all over New England, we always found a way to get back to Alfred and Eleanor's house for the holidays. "Nana" and "Bampa" were their "real" names for all four of us grandkids. The smell of Nana's cooking and Bampa's ever-present smile were always a highlight for our visits. Of course, actually FINDING Bampa sitting down in one place long enough to see the smile was always a challenge. As I look back now it is obvious that lots of care, love, time and hard work went into creating that atmosphere that we looked forward to and appreciated so much.
Shortly after their passing, a strange...