Miriam's Blog

Congratulations on your new home! The first year of homeownership can be an exciting, yet overwhelming, experience. You're now responsible for a lot of things that were once handled by a landlord, and there’s a lot to learn. But don’t worry—this guide will help you…

The start of a new year is the perfect time to lay the groundwork for your future — and if homeownership is on your horizon, it’s time to make those New Year’s resolutions a reality. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or moving to a new place, there are key steps…

·  Clean gutters: Prevent rain from damaging your home's foundation and walls by cleaning your gutters and downspouts.  ·  Winterize Exterior Spigots: Turn the water line off to the spigots and then open the spigot to release all of the…

I recently experienced a homeowner’s insurance situation that caused my family members a tremendous amount of aggravation, inconvenience and money. A water heater from an apartment unit above slowly leaked into the unit below owned by a family member. The water was…

Lately, everyone I speak with is asking the same question…. What is going on in the real estate market right now and what do you think 2024 will bring? Here are some insights that I can share that provide current market trends as well as thoughts about the future as we…

Thinking about making a case to appeal your property tax?There are a lot of factors that keep us tied to the Garden State like our top-rated schools and close proximity to NYC. Our property taxes, however, have us scratching our heads sometimes. Although you might think…

Buying a home is always an anxiety-ridden process, and that goes triple 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 “overwhelming” hardly seems like an appropriate…

If you've never owned a house before, then it's entirely possible that you've never deep-cleaned a house. (Hey, no shame in that game.) But when the house is yours, the desire to see it as clean and sparkling as it can possibly be is strong -- and you might have no idea…

If you’ve been thinking about investing in real estate, getting your finances in order before you start searching for properties and scheduling appointments will save you from money headaches in the long run.  Real estate investments could be one of your largest…

If you’re not familiar with home inspections, then you might have a lot of questions about what gets inspected, how thorough the inspectors are, why you even need one, and what you can expect if you’re walking with an inspector through the house you’re…

Is now the best time to sell your home? That’s an intensely personal question that depends on a number of factors -- many of them beyond your control.  In 2006, some sellers might have been wondering if they should have waited another year and netted even more…

When you're selling your house, it can be tempting to hope that buyers will see past the surface to the beautiful bone structure of your abode and realize what a lovely life they could make in it.  But the truth is that most homes could use a little bit of a facelift…