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A planned community is a housing development where the homes, roads, stores and other features are carefully designed and orchestrated to make living there as convenient and enjoyable as can be.

For instance: Shopping centers may be deliberately situated within walking distance of planned community homes, which are typically attached—condos, townhouses, apartments—to make travel by foot manageable. Trees and flowers are planted alongside most streets, along with hiking/biking trails. High-speed commuter rails whisk workers to nearby urban centers for their 9-to-5 jobs. There may even be village-wide Wi-Fi, to boot.

Contrast this with the ad hoc way communities are usually built: In many cases, a developer just plunks down row housing on a parcel of land nowhere near commercial districts, which means you’ll have to always grab your car keys for a carton of milk. Sometimes, luck or some modicum of forethought helps these neighborhoods turn out OK, but planned communities, by contrast, put plenty of, well, actual planning into that whole process.

History of planned communities

The first planned community in the United States—Riverside, just outside Chicago—was built in 1869 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who designed New York City’s Central Park. Riverside, with its curved streets, ample greenery, and homes set at least 30 feet from the road, remains a beautiful and affluent community today, with a population of approximately 8,800. Large portions have even been designated National Historic Landmarks.

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Refinancing should take anywhere from 30 to 45 days on average, although that can stretch to 60 days if you hit any snags along the way. In other words: Don’t expect a refinance to happen overnight!

Although the refinancing process can take awhile, it’s definitely worth considering if you want to take advantage of a lower interest rate or withdraw some cash from your home equity (check a refinance calculator to see if refinancing makes sense for you).

Here’s why the process takes so long, plus some things you can do to speed things up.

Why refinance a mortgage?

The reason refinancing takes anywhere from 30 to 45 days is that it involves a series of procedures. Although it will be a little faster than getting your initial mortgage, it still has many of the same time-consuming steps.

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A cigarette is a small cigar and a towelette is a small towel, so what about a kitchenette? The English language has a tendency to not stick to hard and fast grammar rules, but in this situation, the rule stands. A kitchenette is, essentially, a smaller version of a kitchen.

But don’t be quick to count out kitchenettes based on their diminutive size! The benefits of these space-saving amenities far outweigh the disadvantages—so much so that people have started putting them in their homes in addition to their chef’s kitchens.

Traditionally you may think of kitchenettes as the solution for spaces that cannot accommodate (or do not need) a full-size kitchen—such as dorm rooms, extended-stay hotels, or even rooms in your home that you’re renting out. But these days, kitchenettes are veering more into the mainstream, says Samantha Hancock, a real estate professional with Re/Max Advantage Plus in Minneapolis–St. Paul.

Small size, big efficiency

In most living situations where square footage is limited, a kitchenette is the ideal cooking setup. It takes up only a small section of a wall and provides you with the basic necessities of a kitchen.

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When the weather heats up and you want to spend all your time outside, a rousing game of bocce is one of the coolest lawn games you can incorporate into the design of your yard. Also known as Italian lawn bowling, bocce dates back centuries—and it’s a breeze to learn how to play. Plus, throwing a bocce ball requires only one hand, leaving the other free for a seasonal cocktail.

Building a bocce court

If your summer calendar is an endless loop of backyard barbecues and festive get-togethers (Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, to name a few), a bocce court will provide hours of fun for adults and kids. Here’s how to build one.

1. Measure the area for the court

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A 77-year-old man has lived in the same building for years. He says in a lawsuit that a neighbor and his landlord are jointly using dubious tactics to push him out.

Recent residential sales in New York City and the region.

Parents took their children to open houses during the pandemic when they had no other options. They still do, because some say it is an experience to be shared.

It depends, so do your research first.

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If you’ve ever looked over real estate listings and came across an ad for a “luxury home,” you might have thought, “Wow, this one must be special!” But what exactly defines a luxury home, anyway? Is it determined by price, location, square footage, or some magic combination of all of the above?

Well, for starters, “luxury” isn’t strictly about how much cash you blow on the purchase. It’s much more subjective, and a moving target based on what a particular area’s high-end buyers have come to expect.

“It isn’t simply a price per square foot metric,” says The Agency’s Daniel Stevenson, who specializes in selling luxury listings. “Many times luxury is simply in the eye of the very covetous neighbor.”

While it’s hard to pin down an exact definition that encapsulates this air of affluence, luxury homes do tend to have certain features in common. So whether you’re looking to buy a posh place or wondering if you can describe your current digs in such opulent terms, here are some general qualities you can expect to find in a luxury home.

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A desert-modern domicile known as the “Dialogue House” has talked its way onto the market. The buzzy abode is asking for $2,195,000.

“Perched on an elevated hillside, this is one of the higher houses, so it has particularly great views,” says Scott Jarson of az architecture, listing agent for this modern mansion in Phoenix. Located at the base of Echo Mountain, the home features giant walls of glass with spectacular views of the surrounding mountain preserve.

The home was built in 2001 and designed by Wendell Burnette Architects, known for the luxury Utah resort Amangiri. It has three bedrooms and three baths.

“In the design sphere, it’s well-known,” Jarson says.

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A California room is an outdoor space that boasts indoor amenities—similar to a porch but more posh. California rooms are an increasingly popular feature in homes today, particularly in warmer climates. So if you spot this term while perusing real estate listings, it’s helpful to know what it is—and whether it’s right for you.

What to know about a California room

Technically a California room isn’t a room at all. Builders tend to define rooms as structures with four walls. Instead Melissa Hazlett, vice president of marketing and sales for Baldwin & Sons, a homebuilding company based in Newport Beach, CA, likes to call a California room “one part porch and one part room.”

Although California rooms are technically classified as outdoor spaces—and thus aren’t factored into a home’s square footage—they do have protection from the elements. For instance, California rooms have a roof to keep out rain and sun. Yet unlike sunrooms or solariums, which are enclosed on all sides with windows, California rooms are open to the outdoors on one or more sides.

Also setting a California room apart from the sunroom is the fact that these “rooms” don’t have to be attached to a house, says Kathryn Bishop, a Realtor® with Keller Williams Realty in Studio City, CA. The California room can be built freestanding in the backyard, with electric lighting added for evening use and often a fireplace to add a touch of ambiance.

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It’s the perfect place for anyone who ever wanted to see how fast their car could go but didn’t want to risk a ticket.

A sprawling compound on the outskirts of Fayetteville, AR, comes with a 1.2-mile racetrack in the backyard.

“It’s for racing real cars. It runs right by the house, so you can do events and watch the race from down below or the top deck,” says listing agent Daniel Short, with True North Realty Group.

The 7,764-square-foot mansion, 30,000 square feet of metal outbuildings, and 393 acres are listed for $6.7 million. But the list price may change as there is a sale pending for some of the flood plain land for watershed conservation.

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The holiday season brings with it a finer appreciation for the kitchen. It’s a place where loved ones gather, cocktails are mixed, and good meals are made (and hopefully not burned).

But the seasonal spotlight on this space can also draw attention to its flaws—and inspire you to improve your kitchen’s form and function.

For this week’s trending Instagram decor, we thought it would be fun to feast our eyes on impeccably designed kitchens and bookmark the ones that are particularly noteworthy. Here are five such looks we encourage you to emulate to make your kitchen the most beloved—if not most used—room in your home.

1. Light gray cabinetry

One of our favorite kitchen design choices trending right now is ethereal light gray cabinetry, similar to these cabinets from @chelseahargraveinteriors.

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If you have a mortgage, odds are your contract includes an acceleration clause. It basically means that if you break any terms of your loan, your lender can demand “accelerated” payment. In other words, rather than paying that money back over 15 or 30 years as planned, the whole amount is due immediately.

Sound stressful? Here’s what home buyers and owners should know about a mortgage acceleration clause, including what triggers it and how to keep this scary scenario from happening.

What to know about an acceleration clause

An acceleration clause is a part of the standard mortgage agreement used by Fannie Mae, a contract used in many residential mortgages, explains Adam Sherwin of the Sherwin Law Firm, in Somerville, MA. And even if your mortgage is not backed by Fannie Mae, most lenders have some form of an acceleration clause in place.

If you adhere to your mortgage contract by paying your monthly bill on time and otherwise, you will avoid ever triggering this acceleration clause. But if you violate any of your contract’s terms, watch out.

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Never say die! The house from the ’80s adventure comedy “The Goonies” has hit the market for $1,650,000. Located in Astoria, OR, the three-bedroom abode is this week’s most popular listing on Realtor.com®.

Built in 1896, the historic home has been modernized over the years to now offer restored hardwood floors, an updated kitchen, and a skylit bedroom on the top floor, which is also the famed attic from the film. (Sorry, treasure map not included.)

Other digs that drew your clicks include an affordable farmhouse in North Carolina, a ginormous New Jersey mansion, and a spectacular private island in Florida.

For a full look at this week’s 10 most popular homes, keep scrolling.

A once common arrangement that can help or strain work-life balance is being sustained by a new generation of New Yorkers.

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A beautifully preserved 2,318-square-foot home—with a big-league architectural pedigree—has quickly found its new owner.

Kate E. McCaffrey and Julia Brady, with Compass, co-listed the Alameda, CA, property in October for $1,495,000.

Designed by Julia Morgan, best known for her work on Hearst Castle, the home has been altered minimally from its original 1925 design.

Morgan was the first woman admitted to École des Beaux-Arts in Paris to study architecture. She later became California’s first licensed female architect.

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Former Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko and his wife, Masha, are ready to part ways with their Los Angeles home.

The 4,500-square-foot home on a half-acre lot in the tony neighborhood of Bel-Air is available for $5,290,000. The couple purchased the property in 2018 for $3,510,000, according to Realtor.com®.

The couple also had another Bel-Air property, which was destroyed in the deadly Skirball fire in 2017.

Elegant estate

The recently listed home has five bedrooms and six baths. It features an open floor plan with a calm, neutral palette. The ceilings are high and hardwood flooring runs throughout the home.

In 2020 and 2021, thousands of apartments were created in buildings that once housed offices, factories and hotels, signaling a trend that could grow as more people work remotely.

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Home renovation specialists Ben and Erin Napier have made quite a name for themselves on their hit HGTV show, “Home Town,” so we guess it’s no surprise that they’re expanding beyond reality shows. They’ve just starred in their first movie.

A Hallmark movie, to be precise: On “A Christmas Open House,” the plot revolves around a single real estate agent in Atlanta named David and a professional home stager named Melissa as they attempt to prepare her family home in two weeks for an open house, and hopefully a sale on Christmas Eve.

Um, what?

We can’t help but think that Ben and Erin—who pitch in on some staging and renovations for the property before the big night—would never, ever suggest that clients list their home and have a big open house on Christmas Eve.