Doug Frost - The Deaf Real Estate Pro

What goes into building the inside walls of a home? Here’s a quick lesson for homeowners.

The ABCs of Wall Construction Many structural components make up a house, but three are arguably the most important: the foundation, the walls and the roof. Everything else depends on those three. Walls stand on the foundation and support the roof. Here’s what you need to know to be an informed homeowner. Materials. Wall frame...

Ever wonder how home loans are bought and sold? Here’s how it works and why it should matter to you.

Primary and Secondary Mortgage Markets: What’s the Difference? When you buy a home, your mortgage is sold to you by a banker or broker on the primary mortgage market. When that first lender sells your mortgage to another firm, your mortgage enters the secondary market. Does it make any difference to you as a consumer? Primary mortgage market. When you decide to...

You’ve accepted an offer on your house, but now you’re dreading the inspection report. Here are four survival tips for anxious home seller.

The Home Inspector is Coming and I’m Terrified One of the most anxiety producing aspects of selling a home is when the buyer sends the home inspector. As the seller, you don’t want your buyer to get cold feet over the inspection report. Although such nervousness is normal, a little knowledge and preparation will go a long way toward a successf...

Put your house to work for you. Here’s what you need to know to rent out your home on a short-term basis.

How to Use Your Home to Make Money Thanks to today’s online and cell phone technology, pretty much everyone has the opportunity to be a landlord. Using services such as Airbnb and HomeAway, you can rent out your home to travelers visiting your community. Interested? Let’s take a look. Ask questions. Do you live in a neighborhood ...

Grab the popcorn and nachos, then sink into your favorite chair for the new buzz in home theater excitement.

Tune In For Latest Home Theater Trends There’s nothing like watching your favorite movies or gaming on a big-screen, high-definition TV. With technology and home furnishing trends constantly evolving, what is the latest in home theaters? The room. One of the things that made home theaters so unique when they first became popular was ha...

Pay attention to certain marketing words and phrases. Here is a glossary of terms for your reference when reviewing ads.

Read Between the Lines in Real Estate Ads Scanning the real estate ads, astute readers will notice a lot of the same phrases popping up. That’s not an accident. Like every good sales rep, real estate agents utilize certain words and phrases to make their sales pitch. Here's what the terms could mean. Cozy affixed to anything usually equat...

Time for an open house? Here is your how-to guide to make your house shine.

Squeaky Clean Tips for a Successful Open House It’s time to showcase your home with an open house. Your to-do list may be long, but the most basic of all is to clean it until it shines. Nothing is more fundamental to selling your house than to have it sparkling clean. Here are the basics. Consider hiring a professional. You may want to DIY it,...

Do you have what it takes to be your own general contractor? Here's what it means to be the big boss.

Becoming Your Own General Contractor Being your own general contractor is a pretty tall order, even for small projects, so before jumping in feet first, let’s look at what it involves and decide if you think you’re up to the task. What’s your experience? The first thing to consider is how much experience you have in the construct...

Whether you want an outdoor kitchen that’s the envy of the neighborhood or just a simple grill, here are some tips to get you cooking.

Sizzling Trends in Outdoor Cooking Outdoor cooking has become a multi-billion dollar business in the United States. Here are the hottest trends fresh off the grill. It started so simply. In the era of black and white TV, dear old dad hovered over the charcoal grill, torching burgers and hot dogs. Much later came larger cart-style gri...

Don’t sweat the paperwork when it’s time to shop for a mortgage on your new home. Learn about the new consumer-friendly forms that will make your choices easier to understand.

Simplified Loan Statements Make Choices More Clear If you haven’t bought a home in recent years, the paperwork you’ll be confronted with will look a little different this time around. That’s because of new regulations put in place following the 2008 financial crisis. Under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dod...