How to Part Peacefully with Your Landlord

If you've been thinking of buying a home, but the prospect of breaking your apartment lease has you holding back, you might be glad to know there are options available to you as a renter. A lease isn't always an iron-clad agreement with all the rights on the side of your landlord. Of course, buying a home isn't the only reason to break a lease. There are many reasons to break a lease: Your job may have changed, you might find the rent too steep, or you may have lost a loved one who used to share the space with you. Here are a few things you can do to help extract yourself from the situation:

Helpful Tips to Declutter Your Home

Preparing your home to sell means presenting a home which is attractive to buyers. If you’re going to be living in the home while it’s on the market, and you’re choosing not to stage it, you absolutely must go through a de-cluttering process. It can feel overwhelming at first, but I assure you the process can be broken down into manageable steps which will help your home sell potentially faster and for a better price.

Cleaning Up Credit Inaccuracies

Discovering an error on your credit history can be a rude surprise when you’re attempting to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Though most people don’t think about the details of their credit report until the need to secure a loan, it’s a good idea to check your report for inaccuracies periodically.

If you do find an error, the best way to attempt a correction is through a dispute letter. Dispute letters allow you to formally request a fix by the reporting agency. Though it may take a little time to get the errors removed, cleaning up these mistakes can have a direct (and favorable!) effect on your credit score, helping you secure lower interest rates and better terms.

Here’s what you’ll need to include for each mistake you find:

Summertime is for Grilling!

The good weather’s on its way. Let’s fire it up!

Whether you're a die-hard charcoal fan, or more of a Hank Hill "taste the meat not the heat" propane griller, I hope you enjoy these tips and recipes. One of the great joys of owning your own home is making a space for a little outdoor cooking. It can be hard to grill on an apartment balcony!

The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association recently shared these interesting facts for National Barbecue Month. You can see why grilling is so popular!