By Tim Anderson and Harry Chandler Purchasing a vacation home is a great way to ensure that you always have a place to escape, without worrying about crammed hotel rooms and the inconvenience of living out of a suitcase for a week. When you own a vacation home, you can pack and leave at your convenience, because you always have a home away from home ready for you...

From learning thermostats to garage-opening apps, there’s no doubt smart home devices have brought convenience to our doorstep – but we’re willing to bet many aren’t nearly as practical as they seem. Below, we’ve rounded up some recent innovations that are more oddity than necessity. Could these be the smart home solutions we never knew we needed? You be...

Posted on Oct 27 2015 - 4:34pm by Zoe Eisenberg
Comments Off on Halloween Costume Ideas for Time-Crunched REALTORS®

Halloween is this week, everyone! We know you're busy listing, selling, meeting new clients and closing business, so time to scare up a costume idea is limited, to say the least. If you're scraping the bottom of the think-tank for ideas and want to dress up to take your kids trick or treating or hit that rager at your friends' house (weekend Halloween - bonus!) we...

Posted on Oct 27 2015 - 1:15pm by Housecall
Comments Off on Ghost Towns: America’s Most Haunted ZIP Codes

With the holiday of haunt right around the corner, RealtyTrac took a look at a segment of properties where the haunting may hit too close to home for neighbors and potential buyers. More than 22,000 single family homes nationwide are vacant and have a homeowner who is now deceased, according to an analysis of public record data. That’s one in every 5,973 housing...

By Anita Alvarez The fall season brings with it memorable events and tasty treats. Freshly harvested local apples, pumpkin treats galore and Halloween festivities are just a few. Getting creative with your Halloween parties and local trick or treat night means coming up with ingenious creations. While Pinterest may provide inspiration for a few clever decorations...

Judie Crockett is proud to admit that she’s addicted to Facebook. While she used to feel embarrassed about her self-professed love for the popular social networking site, Crockett realized that it’s actually a reflection of her love for the real estate business. “I’m addicted to Facebook because I’m addicted to people. I really do care about people and I...

Posted on Oct 22 2015 - 12:10pm by Suzanne De Vita
Comments Off on Buyer Beware: Would You Scare Up the Cash for These Haunted Houses?

Ever wondered what it’d be like to live in a haunted house? Skip the ghost tour and buy one of these haunted listings, perfect for those unafraid of sharing space with the supernatural. Ann Starrett Mansion                     Port Townsend, Wash.
$750,000 Overlooking Puget Sound, the Queen Anne-style Ann...

Posted on Oct 21 2015 - 11:59am by Housecall
Comments Off on Off the Beaten Path: Safety Solutions for Secluded Living

Contributed by Terri Engels When people think of crime-ridden locales, it may be images of bustling city backdrops that dance in their heads – the kind of area where you wake up to the sounds of sirens instead of the call of a rooster. While it’s true that bigger cities have a more tangible element of crime, it must be noted that rural areas have their own unique...

Posted on Oct 21 2015 - 9:47am by Housecall
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It’s our favorite time of year again —Halloween! Bring on the haunted houses, creepy costumes and goodies galore. Halloween also means it’s time for Zillow’s annual roundup of the best cities in the U.S. to take your little creatures trick or treating. Zillow’s research team has been data crunching around the clock to nail down the winners, introducing...

One Washington, D.C.-based developer is hitting the road to find new potential renters in their brand new (foodless) food truck. The JBG Companies is the creator of Dwell Direct, an outfit they deem a “mobile real estate experience.” The new truck is now the company’s mobile leasing office, furnished with a 60-inch touch screen, iPads, and wowing photos of...