If you are planning to sell your single-family home to move to a condo or townhouse, you will likely become part of a homeowner's association (HOA). An HOA is typically present with multi-family home communities, and it is the governing authority for the neighborhood. When you buy a house that is part of an HOA, the association will have a set of covenants, conditions, and restrictions, and this is called CC&Rs.

Your pets are like members of your family, and you couldn't imagine your home without them. However, just because you're overly fond on your pets doesn't mean potential buyers will feel the same. The years living with your pets have been filled with joy, happiness, stains, damage and other signs that your dog or cat has made themselves at home. If you're putting your home on the market, here are a few tips to prevent potential buyers from turning up their nose at your pet-friendly home:

When you're renting an apartment, you are always careful to not cause intentional damage to the property -- you could lose your damage deposit when your lease ends. However, when you have a baby, you need to find solutions to keep baby safe from harm. Many of these require cosmetic altering, leaving nail holes, tape residue, or scratched paint in their wake. Here are some ideas for baby proofing your rental apartment without causing any property damage.

Although applying for a mortgage to purchase a home has become the default way of becoming a homeowner, there are actually a variety of alternative options that may be better practically and/or financially. Here are three creative ways you can buy a home if you're experiencing financial challenges or just want to get the best deal possible. Cash First, Mortgage Later As noted before, most people get approved for mortgages first and then hand the cash over to sellers once they find their dream homes.

Buying markers for your kids may have sounded like a great idea at the time; however, once a marker explodes on your carpet, you may regret your decision to purchase the markers. Kids and carpeting do not always mix well. Kids are known for leaving things on the floor, and they rarely think of the consequences. If you just discovered marker stains on your carpet and want to eliminate the stains, you may find success with one of these methods.

If you see mice in your kitchen and you can't find holes anywhere in the room or rest of the house, check your home's vinyl siding for damage. Mice can squeeze through spaces as small as a dime. Mice have a keen sense of smell and can pick up odors from cereal boxes and other stored food. Mice will also invade your home if it's not mouse-proofed properly. Here's more information about mice and siding, and what you can do to keep mice out of your kitchen walls and home once you find them.

When shopping for a new home, it's important to consider the various hobbies and activities that you will engage in on a daily basis. If you love to read, then you understand how important it is to have a comfortable reading spot and a place to store all of your books. Instead of adapting a home after you've purchased it, looking for specific features beforehand can make a huge difference for your reading situation.

Most Americans are quite patriotic and are happy to enlist in the military in order to serve and protect their country. In 2010, 2,266,883 Americans were serving in the U.S. military. If you happen to be serving in the military, this doesn't necessarily mean that you have to put the rest of your life on hold. In fact, you can still juggle many aspects of your life—especially wealth building. One of the easiest ways to build wealth is to invest in real estate, and there's no better way than investing in a custom built military home while you are enlisted.

Buyers consider a home's kitchen is one of the most important selling points of a home. If you are looking to list your home for sale, you will want to make the kitchen stand out. But, if your kitchen is dated, you may not want to invest in a full-blown renovation. This is because most kitchen renovations will only net you about 66 percent of your investment back when it comes time to sell your home.

Moving day can be stressful. This is true whether you're just changing apartments or going halfway across the world--either way, you'll still need to make decisions about what to bring and what to get rid of. When moving abroad, these decisions become even more crucial; certain household items and belongings can be extremely expensive to ship overseas, or may not even match the culture found in your destination country. In this short list, you'll learn about three items you should almost always toss, store, or sell, rather than bringing them along with you.