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This may indeed be the case if you’ve found that perfect house, only to have lenders inform you that you don’t qualify for a mortgage.

Enter the co-signer.

What does having a co-signer mean for you as a home buyer, and what are the benefits and risks? Read on!

Why a buyer might need one

That property you’re eyeing may be just out of your price range, or perhaps you have either a poor or no credit history. Even if you know how to scrimp and save to make your monthly mortgage payments, the bank doesn’t know how well you pinch pennies. And being a financial institution, it needs a guarantee that the money it lends a potentially risky borrower will be paid back. And that’s where a co-signer comes in.

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The trick is finding someone trustworthy with a proven track record of success. There are plenty of websites and apps that make it a snap to recruit this much-needed helping hand. But hiring the wrong person to get a job done can turn a seemingly straightforward task into an expensive headache. What can you do to make sure your home project is snafu-free?

Here are the essential things to consider.

Do you need a handyman or a licensed professional?

A handyman is typically a jack-of-all-trades who handles basic projects or repair jobs that don’t require special licensing—think interior painting or assembling flat-packed furniture. However, for projects that involve your home’s major systems, such as plumbing and electrical, it is best to hire a licensed professional.

“Licensed [professionals] have the training, experience, and tools to make code-compliant installations and repairs,” says New York City architect John Mochelle. ”Someone without proper training in those areas can cause far more harm than good.”

The house, designed by a notable modernist architect, needed someone with vision — and the willingness to do a lot of work.

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Many homebuyers today are losing sleep over steeply rising interest rates, which have more or less doubled over the past year and reached their highest level in two decades. Now hovering in the mid-6 % range, these higher rates are adding hundreds, or even thousands, to the monthly housing costs of new buyers.

Yet buyers who feel trapped into paying high interest should know that there is a way to lower that rate with a mortgage rate buy-down.

True to its name, a mortgage rate buy-down is where money is paid upfront to “buy down” the interest rate on the loan for a certain period of time. This, in turn, can reduce the buyer’s monthly mortgage payments—at least temporarily—so the buyer can ease into the housing costs.

Best of all? Buyers don’t pay for buy-downs. Rather, home sellers, builders, and sometimes even lenders front the costs in order to entice cash-strapped buyers to the closing table.

The house in Sonoma County, designed by a notable modernist architect, needed someone with vision — and the willingness to do a lot of work.

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Realtor.com

If everything really is bigger in the Lone Star State, then this 14,868-square-foot Houston mansion certainly proves the point.

With a hefty $27.5 million asking price, the sprawling four-bedroom masterpiece sits on 9 acres. The home is owned by the founding partner of a private equity firm and is the city’s most expensive property.

Along with fine design and the Texas-sized price, the property’s acreage also sets the place apart.

“One of the most important things about this home is its privacy,” says listing agent Robert S. Frank, of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty—Central Houston Brokerage. “It is located in Piney Point Village, which is one of the most exclusive areas in Houston. There is a wetland wildlife reserve that is part of the property, which is what gives you so much privacy.”

Proptech DropOffer, a company that developed an app to help agents assist buyers in off-market transactions, predicts the number of selling alternatives on the market will result in an increase in non-MLS deals in 2023.

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This crowning touch typically tops lamps, the ends of curtain rods and other furnishings to add a final flourish to your home decor.

“A finial is the cherry on top—it takes a nice lamp and makes it a knockout,” offers Jason Oliver Nixon, co-founder of the design firm Madcap Cottage.

Here’s more about this decorative piece, including its history and where to use it around the house.

Where do finials come from?

The Greeks and Romans first used finials to crown their early structures, but these toppers can also be spotted on the roofs of pagodas across Asia and on onion domes in Russia.

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Dennis Shirshikov

After months of house hunting, Dennis Shirshikov and Natalie Backman couldn’t believe their luck when they finally found the perfect home. Located in Greene, NY, the three-bedroom house on a quarter of an acre had plenty of room for their three young kids, two dogs, and three cats. Best of all, it was a steal, listed at just $90,000.

“It needed some minor repairs but was completely livable,” Shirshikov recalls.

Shirshikov, who works at the real estate investment site Awning.com, had amassed a decent down payment of $20,000. Nonetheless, getting a good mortgage proved to be much harder than he’d anticipated.

“We struggled to get a good mortgage,” Shirshikov admits. “We could not get a mortgage with a decent rate.”

Realtor.com

A meticulously restored Palm Springs, CA, home in a post-World War II housing area has entered the market.

It’s one of 15 homes in a development called Bel Vista, designed by local architect Albert Frey.

The home known as Bel Vista #2 is now listed for $995,000.

Frey created the early type of modernist architecture the area is known for.

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Painting can be hellishly messy, but there are plenty of ways to clean up any accidents.

The amount of work you’ll need to do depends on a few things, including the kind of paint you used and whether it’s still wet or dry. Here’s what to do in each scenario.

Removing paint from wood floors, baseboards, and window frames

One of the most common areas where you’ll find yourself having to remove paint is the wood that’s all around your freshly painted walls, from the baseboards to the door trim to the windowsill.

For latex paint: Latex is what’s usually used for walls and ceilings. And you’re in luck if that’s what you’re facing!

HGTV

On “Home Town,” Erin and Ben Napier help make houses feel like home—but they must also make sure a property is safe to live in.

In the episode “A Solid Foundation,” the HGTV stars meet Chase and Corrinn, who have bought a 1929 property in Laurel, MS, for $250,000. They plan to renovate it for $70,000, but this budget won’t go far once Erin and Ben find rotted subflooring and unstable walls, which Ben says are “the kind of problems that eventually bring a house down.” Clearly, this is not the type of house the couple should live in with their four kids.

The Napiers need to spend an extra $8,000 to keep this place standing. To save money, they find plenty of ways to incorporate family heirlooms and upcycle old parts of the house. Here’s how they pull it off, with plenty of lessons on mixing old with new in creative ways you might want to try, too.

Painting trim can make a big difference

HGTV