Cleaning the pool or weeding the yard are tasks that come with regular, visible reminders. But how do you keep up with other necessary maintenance that might not be as noticeable? Here are some essential home maintenance tasks that are often overlooked. Appliances: If you want your fridge, dryer and other appliances to last you for the long haul with fewer repair calls, they need regular care and tune-ups: Change and clean the refrigerator drip pan Wash your dryer lint screen

Don’t have the down payment for your dream home? Here are nine ways to come up with cash for a new home. You’ve found the perfect house. Interest rates are still low. There’s just one thing standing between you and your dream home: a down payment. Don’t abandon your home­ownership dreams just yet. Here are nine ways to come up with cash for a new home. 1. Pay off your credit cards Paying bills will help in your hunt for down payment money. When you carry a credit- card bal

Tired of your home looking off-trend and out of touch? Or investing in an older home and want to update it? You don't need deep pockets to do either. In fact, upgrading your home can be quite affordable with the right projects. Here are five ways to make a big impact without spending a lot: Repaint. Paint trends come and go, so if your walls are still the same color or have the same wallpaper from 1980, they're likely out of date. Consider giving the walls a new look with a

It is the largest generation in U.S. history, and Millennials may also set a record as the one whose behaviors have been most heavily researched. Despite the hours of study and pails of ink, the direction the generation's members will ultimately take in their lives still has the nation a bit flummoxed. This may especially be true of their decisions about shelter. The Urban Institute (UI) just completed another large study on young adults born between 1981 and 1997. That, comp

Another day, another Wells Fargo PR disaster. The company is admitting they have foreclosed on about 400 homes owned by borrowers who were not allowed loan modifications to which they were entitled, delayed three years in admitting the problem, and are hoping to cheaply remediate it. The bank disclosed the problem in a filing last Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Wells Fargo admitted there had been an error in an automated program that persisted for

"Possibly the only thing worse than a world in which homeownership doesn't work as a wealth-building tool is a world in which it does work as a wealth-building tool." That statement summarizes the argument made recently by Daniel Hertz, senior fellow at City Observatory who contends that housing can't be both affordable and a good investment. This observation runs contrary to conventional wisdom that homeownership is the most reliable pathway to household wealth. Well perhaps