Photo courtesy of True Life Design Co via Houzz

We get it. Finally landing your own home and putting a personal stamp on the decor is a big thrill.

But in the heat of the excitement, some younger buyers might do well to slow down and think things through a bit. Otherwise, the situation can quickly devolve to “bye-bye, charm; hello, boring” factory finishes and gallons of greige paint.

Of course, buying a home is a big, expensive deal. And there might not be enough money left for a complete and thoughtful renovation. But that doesn’t have to spell cringeworthy results.

So if you’re about to pull the trigger on a home remodel, be warned that diving headfirst into aggressive demos and trendy designs can be risky. Here are some common mistakes new homeowners make when renovating their spaces.

The CFPB alleges mortgage servicers charged excessive late fees, assessed "fake" private mortgage insurance premiums and made homeowners pay for unnecessary inspections.

HGTV

On “Fixer to Fabulous,” Dave and Jenny Marrs are used to giving homes a bit more character—but what if the house already has too much character?

In the episode “Eccentric House to Modern Home,” the Marrses never suspect anything is off kilter based on the home’s exterior.

“I feel like we’re in Europe,” says Jenny as she and Dave walk up the lengthy front path. “The landscaping’s nice, the brick’s nice, the stone’s nice. I’m not doing anything to the outside of this house. It’s beautiful.”

But once she steps through the front door, her jaw drops.

Getty Images

A decade of under-building has led to a shortfall of 6.5 million single-family homes in the U.S., according to a new report released Wednesday.

Realtor.com looked at household formation, housing starts, and home sales, and found that given how many households were formed between 2012 and 2022, the U.S. is short of 6.5 million single-family homes.

But that gap diminishes somewhat if households opted to live in multi-family construction, which has boomed. Including multi-family homes, the gap in housing units in the U.S. falls to 2.3 million homes.

Yet most of those multi-family units won’t necessarily provide a path to homeownership, said Hannah Jones, an economic analyst at Realtor.com.

Preliminary injunction in Massachusetts says "homeowner benefit agreements" are actually high-interest mortgage loans and can no longer be offered or enforced until case is resolved.

In remarks at Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media and Telcom Conference Tuesday, CEO Robert Thomson said growing Realtor.com after its sale to CoStar fell through is a "personal priority."

Zillow's Listing Media Services product is now available in Houston, Jacksonville, San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago and San Francisco, the search portal announced Wednesday.

Getty Images

Sometimes you need to kiss a few frogs to find a prince. Well, the same is true for selling a home. Although it usually takes longer to meet potential buyers face to face these days—if you do at all—your dealings and various interactions may ultimately make you feel a certain intimacy with these would-be owners … perhaps even more than you’d like.

It pays, literally, to know what kind of person lurks behind the offer. So allow us to introduce you to the kinds of buyers you’ll encounter and how best to deal with them for optimum results!

Type 1: The all-cash showoff

All-cash buyers may seem cocky—understandably. With no worries of financing falling through, this buyer means business and can even ask for a shorter escrow period to seal the deal.

The downside? “You may have to be ready to be flexible,” suggests Robert Vinson of Vinson Real Estate Group in Los Angeles, CA. Translation: An all-cash buyer will probably aim for a lower offer, or may have specific contingencies in mind (e.g., you’ve got to fix that roof now) or else they walk.

Inman's first-ever Intel leadership survey revealed that leaders think the market will be worse in 2023 compared to 2022 — but they also expect to thrive regardless of the economic headwinds.

The CEO of construction tech startup Welcome Homes thinks builders will have to take risks to prevent a massive affordability crisis, the likes of which haven't been seen since the early 1980s.

Realtor.com / Stephane Cardinale / Corbis via Getty Images

Singer Karly-Marina Loaiza, who uses the stage name Kali Uchis, has a stunning home in the San Fernando Valley.

And she’s willing to rent it out. But not for a song.

For the serious sum of $15,000 a month, you can live like the R&B, pop, and hip-hop star. There’s lots of room to drop your bags in the five-bedroom, six-bath, 3,772-square-foot manse.

The songstress purchased the inviting home in 2019 for around $1.7 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. Located in the upscale Valley Village neighborhood in Los Angeles, the house was recently remodeled.

Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey shows Americans are feeling less secure about keeping their jobs, and nearly 8 in 10 think it's a bad time to buy a home.

A modernist kit house in Lake Leelanau, a Mediterranean-style home in Providence and a Craftsman bungalow in Portland.

Realtor.com

The Colorado Tudor at the center of one of the most infamous, unsolved crimes of the 1990s is on the market for nearly $7 million. But the sellers are unlikely to get that much for the spacious residence where the body of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was discovered in 1996.

The current owners have struggled to sell the Boulder home in the past, listing it several times over the past 15 years. The last time they listed the property was in 2014 for a relatively modest $2 million—and they couldn’t find a buyer. So why they are attempting to sell it for more than triple that amount today, given the property’s tragic history, is another mystery.

“I don’t think it’s going to be an easy sale,” says real estate agent and true-crime podcaster Christina Van De Water. She’s based in New Milford, CT, and co-hosts the REal Crime Podcast. “The price is astronomical for the history of the home. It’s going to take a very special person to comfortably move into that home.”

The five-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom estate went back up for sale in mid-November of last year, then taken off the market the week before Christmas. The 7,240-square-foot residence was relisted on March 1 for $6.95 million after undergoing a $300,000 price cut.

Realtor.com / visualspace via Getty Images

Q: What are some creative ideas for first-time buyers to afford homeownership?

As the spring housing market kicks off, first-time homebuyers are staring down high home prices, mortgage interest rates above 7%, and a dearth of newly listed properties for sale. Even if they’re doing well financially, this is going to be a tough market for just about everyone.

I wish I had some magical advice I could sprinkle around to ensure a successful, low-stress homebuying journey that doesn’t break your budget. Spoiler alert: I don’t. You might have to compromise more than you would like and, perhaps, get creative.

Homebuyers struggling to make the math work might want to consider house hacking, an increasingly popular tactic in some areas.

It’s basically a new take on an old concept: Buying a home with the intent to rent out rooms or features on your property to make some additional cash. Many folks house hack to help pay off their mortgage and other bills.

As marketing budgets shrink, we want to know how you're maximizing the power of your past clients and sphere of influence.

The home in Albany, N.Y., has been owned for decades by the author William Kennedy, a devoted chronicler of the gangster’s story. He is now ready to part with it.

Inman’s Marketing All-Stars is a nod to the most effective, creative and boundary-pushing marketing professionals in the real estate community.

Trainer and marketing expert Rachael Hite says you don't have to dance on social media to create short-form content. Here are five ideas that are friendly and feasible for introverted personalities who want to make content that feels more authentic to their brand story.

In this bootstrap economy, knowing how to capture professional pictures and videos of your listings could save you thousands in marketing expenses. Marketing expert Latham Jenkins shares his pro tips for using your iPhone to capture stunning, high-quality footage.