At Home With Valerie

Winter is coming! Time to think about your home and how you will prepare it for the long months ahead. Here are some great tips to get your home winter ready. After all, your home is the biggest investment you have. So, protect it! Take care! Valerie McConville

“People who look through keyholes are apt to get the idea that most things are keyhole shaped.” (Source Unknown) A lot of energy gets spent these days managing reputations online. From LinkedIn profiles to the contents of our tweets and status updates, nearly everyone operates under the assumption that what we share will be indexed available, creating at least a partial picture of who we are. And I think we’ve all had the experience of “Googling” someone we’ve just met. Is this a good idea? With all of this information available online, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:  1. It’s worth reiterating that what’s available online about a person is only a partial view (and may even be inaccurate). Disinformation is as easily saved as fact, and can be hard to correct.  2. Social media sites often paint heavily polarized pictures of a person’s beliefs or personality, and tend to reveal the carefully curated best or unintentional moments ...

If you have a son or daughter in college, you probably sent them with most of their possessions, including expensive laptops and other electronics. So what happens if their dorm room is robbed? Are they covered? What about off-campus? Learn more about the issue here… If you have a son or daughter heading off to college this fall, you’ve probably sent them along with most of their most prized possessions. Laptop, stereo, smartphone, mountain bike… it all adds up to several thousands of dollars of personal gear. So what happens if they get robbed? Will you be stuck for the replacement costs, or are they covered on your homeowner’s insurance policy? Believe it or not, the insurance policy on your home might just cover what your kid takes to school. But there’s a catch: Many policies only cover the student if they live in a dorm on campus. If they’re in an apartment or house on their own, you might not be covered. One alternative to covering your student’s ...

Many people who are self-employed think it’s impossible to qualify for a mortgage. While it can be more difficult, there are some things you can do to improve your odds. Here’s how…  The so-called “gig” economy means more people than ever are self-employed, receiving 1099 tax forms as independent contractors. In the world of the self-employed, the idea of securing a mortgage can seem like a fantasy. Unlike the traditionally employed, the self-employed entrepreneur is seen as a greater risk. Despite making a good living, some self-employed workers never even apply for a mortgage, believing the dream of home ownership is cut off by slim chances for approval. This isn’t necessarily true! Don’t give up on home ownership just because you’re self-employed. Instead, take the steps to boost your status in the eyes of lenders. Here are some tips to put you on the path towards pre-approval: 1. Lower your debt. Debt is what haunts almost all new buyers seeking a lo...

Selling a home is an emotional process… especially when your home doesn’t sell the first time around. If you’ve had the unfortunate experience of seeing your plans to move fall apart, here’s a little help for getting over the slump and regrouping for the future.  Everyone says selling your home is one of life’s great emotional rollercoasters. From making the leap to moving day, the process is one of surprises, anticipation, and (hopefully) celebration.  But what happens if your home doesn’t sell? If your home’s been on the market for the length of your contract with your real estate agent and it hasn’t sold, your home is on its way to becoming “an expired listing.” At this point you have to make a choice whether to continue with your agent, find a new agent, or delay your dreams and take your home off the market. Still, the sting of the experience lingers. How do you move on from an expired listing? Here are some tips to learn and even grow from the experience: ...