Spring into celebration! 🐣🌷 With holidays around the corner, it’s an important time for businesses to start planning for celebrations and time off.

Some holidays coming up in the next few months:

📅 Easter (Mar 31): A potential long weekend for many, which may affect business hours.
📅 Admin Professionals Day (Apr 24): A day to celebrate your dedicated staff.
📅 Mother’s Day (May 12): A chance for special promotions and sales — and to honor all of the mothers in your network!
📅 Memorial Day (May 27): Prep for a day off and the chance to honor those who have made the greatest sacrifice for our nation.

We hope this is a helpful reminder — stay tuned for our next spring preview!

Are you a parent of one of the over 18 million students gearing up to start or continue their undergraduate journey this fall? As we dive into this exciting season, it’s crucial to think about a topic that often bubbles up this time of year: financial planning for college students.

With the cost of tuition more than doubling since the 1960s, strategizing is more important than ever to navigate through the college years smoothly. Swipe through ➡️ for some practical tips and insights.

Please feel free to share this post with anyone in your network who might find these insights valuable. We’re here to provide personalized guidance and support to make sense of this pivotal time in your student’s life.

We just came across this inspiring story on Good News Network: The Collyweston Historical and Preservation Society (CHAPS), a group of passionate amateurs, has uncovered the remains of Collyweston Palace, linked to Henry VIII’s grandmother, Margaret Beaufort.

With five years of perseverance and ground-penetrating radar, these enthusiasts, led by Chris Close, have revealed an important part of history, previously hidden for centuries. "We’re just a bunch of amateurs with enthusiasm, and against all odds, we’ve unearthed this," says Close.

Raising £14,000, CHAPS not only found the palace’s foundations but also garnered the interest of professional archaeologists. They’re now in an advanced excavation stage, identifying building functions and preserving artifacts for an exhibit at Lady Margaret’s Chapel.

If you want to read the full story, you can do so here:

www.goodnewsnetwork.org/history-enthusiasts-found-a-buried-15th-century-royal-palace-on-their-own/

Thinking of selling your home? Don’t make these top 5 mistakes 🙅‍♀️

❌ Don’t overlook preparation costs. Tasks like painting, replacing outdated or broken fixtures, and boosting curb appeal cost money, but will be worth it.

❌ Don’t sell without an agent. With homes selling so quickly, you want a trusted professional at your side helping you make timely and cost-saving decisions.

❌ Don’t price too high or too low. Don’t lose money or dissuade buyers. An agent can help by pulling nearby comps and suggesting a good listing price.

❌ Don’t hide issues from buyers. Major issues will eventually be found by a home inspection. Your agent can advise which issues require attention and which can be negotiable.

❌ Don’t have lousy listing photos. Your home’s first showing is probably online, so consider hiring a professional photographer to capture your home at its best.

Do you have any Don’ts to add to the list? Share them with us in the comments!

#sellingyourhome #realestate #selling #housing

With the major U.S. equity market indexes continuing their multi-month runs in March, we thought now would be the perfect time to offer an overview of key developments over the course of the last month.

Swipe for details on stock index performance, inflation, and more ➡️ Do any of these data points surprise you? Share in the comments. And as always, let us know if we can be of assistance with any questions or needs.

We’ve gotten a few more questions about refinancing recently, so today we thought we’d lend a hand 🤝 by sharing a brief overview of its definition as part of our mortgage term series.

📃 How to define it: When you refinance your mortgage, you replace your current mortgage with a new mortgage at a new interest rate.

💡 When it makes sense: When monthly payments will be lower or the speed with which you can pay off the loan faster. Or if you need to tap into your home’s equity for cash.

🕰️What else you should know: Refinancing resets the clock, meaning past payments won’t count toward the new loan term. In addition, a refinance will have closing costs.

#mortgagerates #mortgage #realestate #buyinghome

Spring has sprung, and it’s the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the beauty of the season! Whether you’re laying down a blanket for a leisurely picnic or lacing up your boots for a scenic hike, nature’s wonders are all around. What’s your springtime favorite? Let us know!

Comment “🌼” for a picnic

Comment “🥾” for a hike

Drop your vote in the comments! Will it be the relaxing charm of a picnic or the adventurous spirit of a hike?

April is here, and our team loves seeing what historical days landed in April over the years. Here are a few:

🏇 April 3, 1860 – The Start of the Pony Express: This mail service, which used relay teams of horse-mounted riders, began its operations, significantly speeding up mail delivery in the 19th century United States.

🌌 April 12, 1981 – First Space Shuttle Launch (STS-1): The Space Shuttle Columbia launched on its maiden voyage (STS-1), marking a new era in space exploration. This was a significant milestone in American space history.

🚗 April 17, 1964 – Ford Mustang Debuts: The Ford Mustang, an iconic American car, was officially unveiled at the New York World’s Fair. It became a symbol of American culture and automotive innovation.

🧬 April 25, 1953 – DNA’s Double Helix Revealed: The structure of DNA was described by James Watson and Francis Crick, a groundbreaking discovery in the field of genetics and biology.

Did any of these dates surprise you? Let us know in the comments ⬇️

When we’ve talked with some soon-to-be new homeowners about escrow, their response has boiled down to a head scratch and a resounding “Escrows me?!”

Given many new homeowners’ lack of knowledge on the subject, we thought escrow accounts would be a great addition to our mortgage term series. Here are some fast facts:

🏦 It’s a savings account managed by the mortgage servicer, who deposits part of your mortgage payment each month into the account.

🤹 The funds go toward annual property taxes/homeowner’s insurance, allowing you to pay monthly rather than at once and preventing you from having to juggle multiple bills.

☑️ Escrow accounts are required for all government-backed loans.

Have another term you’d like to define… or have a mortgage pun to add to the mix? Our comment section has plenty of real estate – add them below!

#mortgage #escrow #buyinghome #buyingrealestate #realestate