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  Christmas lights can be modest displays to show good cheer, or million-bulb light-apaloozas that draw gawkers from near and far. Here are some tips on how to get the most from — and spend the least on — your holiday display. 1. Safety First Emergency rooms are filled with homeowners who lose fights with their holiday lights and fall off ladders or suffer electric shocks. To avoid the holiday black and blues, never hang lights solo; instead, work with a partner who holds the ladder. Also, avoid climbing on roofs after rain or snow. 2. Unpack Carefully Lights break and glass cuts. So unpack your lights gingerly, looking for and replacing broken bulbs along the way. 3. Extension Cords Are Your Friends Splurge on heavy-duty extension cords that are UL-listed for outdoor use. To avoid overloading, only link five strings of lights together before plugging into an extension cord. 4. LEDs Cost Less to Light LED Christmas lights use roughly 70% to 90% less energy and last up

You’re noseblind to your home’s odors. Here’s how to find and eliminate the smelly culprits. Stand in your kitchen and take a deep breath. Smell that? From last night's fish to your son's nasty lacrosse pads (why did he leave them on the table?), you probably can't detect any of your home's rankest odors. You've got nose blindness. "You adapt to the smells around you," says Dr. Richard Doty, the director of the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania. On a sensory level, your processing mechanism becomes less sensitive to the continuous stimuli. Or, on a cognitive level, you can become habituated to the smells and basically learn to ignore them. Or you can do both. But on a I-don't-want-my-house-to-stink level, you don't have to be resigned to living with odors — even if you can't smell them yourself. Here are some of the most common nose blindness culprits, and how to ban them from your home. 1. Love Your Pet. Destroy T

Make your home warm and inviting to boost your home’s value and speed up the sale process. The first step to getting buyers to make an offer on your home is to impress them with its appearance so they begin to envision themselves living there. Here are seven tips for making your home look bigger, brighter, and more desirable. 1.  Start with a Clean Slate Before you can worry about where to place furniture and which wall hanging should go where, each thorough cleaning right down to the nitpicky details like wiping down light switch covers. Deep clean and deodorize carpets and window coverings. room in your home must be spotless. Do a 2.   Stow Away Your Clutter It’s harder for buyers to picture themselves in your home when they’re looking at your family photos, collectibles, and knickknacks. Pack up all your personal decorations. However, don’t make spaces like mantles and coffee and end tables barren. Leave three items of varying heights on each surface, suggests Barb Schwa

How to Keep Your House Cool Without AC Want summer comfort but hate the AC? Follow these tips on how to keep your house cool without frosty air conditioning. Read Copyright 2016 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

New rules have taken effect that will change your home buying experience! The Know Before You Owe mortgage initiative is designed to empower consumers with the information they need to make informed mortgage choices. It includes the implementation of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, which is often referred to as “TRID.”  Mortgages are complex and confusing. This new rule primarily does two things: It simplifies and consolidates some of the required loan disclosures, and It changes the timing of some activities in the mortgage process. If you are a buyer and would like to better understand the complicated process of applying for a mortgage, click here for a helpful step-by-step guide that includes information on the mortgage process and the new  regulatory changes.  This booklet is a toolkit that can help you make better choices along your path to owning a home.

It's been a busy real estate season in Maine and across the country!  Sales are up...  and prices are up too! Check out these promising numbers: June 2015 over June 2014 Statewide: 2014: 1,513 units sold 2015: 1,788 units sold Change: Up 18.18% Median Price: 2014: $185,000 2015: $187,000 Change: Up 1.46% Second Quarter 2015 over Q2 2014 Statewide: 2014: 3,830 units Sold 2015: 4,155 units Sold Change: Up 8.49% Median Price: 2014: $175,000 2015: $184,000 Change: Up 5.84%

In 2014, the   Maine housing market   improved   on a year-to-year basis.   Home sales in the Portland area rose by 4.2 percent compared to 2013. The 551 single family housing units purchased in 2014 comes close to the 2005 record of 570 and also marks the city’s third consecutive year of increasing sales numbers. However, this performance is still lower that the 21.3 percent improvement in home sales that Portland recorded in 2013. On the upside, this slowdown in Portland sales rates brings the city’s average to a level below state averages, as well as below the numbers clocked in several other communities across the state. Median sales prices in Portland increased by a subtle 2.1 percent and the average price now stands at $238,000. This marks the fourth year in row with selling price improvements on the Portland single family home market. At the same time, the 2014 median selling price in Portland sits above the state average, which was stagnat last year.  Portland remains by f