Awkward Moments in Real Estate

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / April 8, 2019 / Comments Off on Awkward Moments in Real Estate

In honor of National Humor Month, we’re sharing some of the hilariously awkward moments that can happen when you’re buying or selling a home. Better than that, we’re sharing tips for how to avoid them in the first place! Avoid surprises. Surprises are great—for your birthday. They’re less wonderful when it comes to being caught […]

When to Laugh and When to Run

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / April 1, 2019 / Comments Off on When to Laugh and When to Run

Your real estate agent shares with you that there’s a new listing on the market that you should see right away. It’s the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms. There’s a fenced-in yard for your puppy. It’s five minutes from base and in a good neighborhood with well-regarded schools and a reputation for having a […]

DIY Home Office

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / March 25, 2019 / Comments Off on DIY Home Office

If you’ve moved for/with the military, then you already know that sometimes the house you rent or buy at your new duty station isn’t always the house of your dreams—the one with the basement where you can set up your workout equipment or the spare bedroom for the craft room you fantasize about having in […]

How Much to Offer

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / March 19, 2019 / Comments Off on How Much to Offer

If you’re at the point in the house hunting process where you’re asking yourself how much you should make an offer for, that’s exciting news! It means you’ve found a house that you could see yourself calling “home.” But it also means you’re likely in a panic about exactly how much you should make your […]

Timing an Offer

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / March 14, 2019 / Comments Off on Timing an Offer

Real estate is time-sensitive. Timing affects what options are on the market. Whether it’s a better time for buyers or sellers. How active (or slow) the market is. Who else is looking for a home. All of it is impacted by timing. For military families, timing is even more critical. When the new orders are […]

“Must Haves” and “Nice to Haves”

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / February 25, 2019 / Comments Off on “Must Haves” and “Nice to Haves”

There are (or there should be) two houses in your head when you’re picturing where you’ll next call “home.” One is your dream home, the one with the gorgeous center kitchen island and the water feature in the backyard that leads into a scenic forest where you can see deer frolicking in the woods from […]

Only Fools Fall in Love (with a House They Can’t Afford)

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / February 18, 2019 / Comments Off on Only Fools Fall in Love (with a House They Can’t Afford)

You found “it.” You know, the one. The house that you’ve been looking for that is just “perfect.” And you are totally in love with it. That’s fantastic news, in theory. In practice, that’s only great news if you’ve already established that the house is within your budget—not that larger number the bank is happy […]

The Five Love Languages and Your Perfect Home

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / February 11, 2019 / Comments Off on The Five Love Languages and Your Perfect Home

When you’re in house-buying mode, you’re often inundated with options. You’ve no doubt poured over countless listings, done drive-bys of neighborhoods with “for sale” signs, spent far too many hours watching video tours of homes, and done more than your fair share of open houses. With all these potential properties on the table, how do […]

Websites for Design Inspiration

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / January 24, 2019 / Comments Off on Websites for Design Inspiration

A new-to-you home is a blank slate that awaits your personal touch. Whether you’re here for a spell or here for the long haul, the key to making a house a home is first to fill it with the ones you love and then make it uniquely yours. You bring the people, and we’ve got […]

7 Home Maintenance Tasks You Should Outsource

By Melissa Diaz, Realtor® / January 21, 2019 / Comments Off on 7 Home Maintenance Tasks You Should Outsource

Home ownership brings with it personal pride, the opportunity to build equity in something that will endure, and the freedom to do what you want with your home. If you’ve spent enough time in base housing, you know there’s something magical about being able to splash bright colors on walls and not worry (as much) […]