Lisa Iannucci

From air filters to zoning laws.

Trying to find your first home is very exciting. But somewhere between the online research and countless showings, house hunting loses its luster. The whole thing just overwhelms. In this mix of ever-changing emotions, it’s easy to make mistakes. And while you can expect to make a few blunders the first time you do anything new, the stakes are a bit higher when buying a home. A few slip-ups can end up costing thousands of dollars—and possibly your dream home.

When it was time for Apartment Therapy’s managing editor Sarah Yang to apply for college back in 2006, she had a few considerations about where to enroll: “I wanted to move away from home and live in a big city,” she says. Yang, the oldest of two children, grew up in California, just outside of Los Angeles. Though sticking around to try out L.A.

When it comes to choosing a style of home, you might have a hard time balancing your desire for traditional details with your love of all things clean and modern. But you don’t have to choose! The real estate market is brimming with fabulous renovated, modern farmhouses. According to Amy Huff, a Realtor at the center of it all in Waco, Texas, many buyers are attracted to this style thanks to Chip and Joanna Gaines’s renovations on “Fixer Upper.

While some people think bigger is better, we’re firmly in the camp that good things come in small packages… but not too small. Thankfully, there are plenty of homes across the country that make great use of the limited space they take up. But if you don’t know what to look for, you just might miss them. Want to skip the McMansions—but aren’t quite ready for a tiny house? These listings make great options. (Oh, and they’re super affordable, too!

You’ve probably seen a good amount of Oscar- and Emmy-worthy homes in your lifetime: “Home Alone,” “The Truman Show,” “Father of the Bride,” “Breaking Bad,” and “This Is Us” just being a small handful of them. But did you ever realize that these houses on screen are people’s actual homes? Many movie-worthy homes are rented out everyday for photoshoots, movies, TV, and music videos by production companies.

In many locations across the country, having a $350,000 budget to buy a home will get you some pretty nice digs, but when you’re looking in some of the big cities that stack of cash can translate into what some people may consider a college dorm room. Interested in seeing just how far your dollar stretches in the five major cities?

If you live in a tiny home, you’re faced with living a full life with less space—and less stuff. This makes going to Target a difficult task for tiny homeowners, because, well, they’re just as tempted by all the cute, quirky, and cool things in the aisles as you are (the Target effect is real, y’all!) But it also means that these residents are experts at cutting through the clutter to find the best problem-solving products while shopping.

Ever wonder what kind of a home you could buy if you had a $1 million budget? Will you be able to afford a mansion in Houston or a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan? We profiled five major cities to find out exactly what kind of home a small fortune can get you.

Living in a tiny home not only means having fewer things in a smaller space—it also means buying intentionally and purchasing items that help reduce clutter and make the most of your precious real estate. But intentional, double-duty items don’t automatically equal expensive—some tiny dwellers swear by space-savers they bought for just under $5.

Will Bradley Cooper’s latest iteration of “A Star Is Born” sweep the Oscars come February? Perhaps. Did the cozy, secluded home that Cooper’s troubled character Jackson Maine shared with Lady Gaga’s Ally sweep us off our feet? Most definitely. Though the movie was fiction, the house where some intense jam sessions (and equally intense fighting) took place actually exists in the wild.

Ask anyone about Waco, Texas, and most likely they’ll ask “Isn’t that where Chip and Joanna are from?” Thanks to Gaineses, the stars of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper,” interest in this central Texas community has skyrocketed over the last few years. As a result, Waco, Texas has not only become a huge tourist destination, but it has also sparked the interest of potential home buyers.

Once you graduate college, you’re handed a diploma and—most likely—a mountain of debt. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find a job where you make enough to pay off your student loans and then, maybe, move on to the next big investment of your life homeownership. Unfortunately, according to a study by Credit Sesame, the state in which you live may affect your ability to pay your student loans.

The idea of living in a tiny home is simple—you own, need, and use less stuff. But tiny home dwellers still do need some items in their home to, you know, live. The challenge is, these necessary items to store dishes and cutlery, work on, and sleep in need to not take up more room than they’re worth. When a tiny home owner does find one of these magic items, it can be a life-changing experience. And, just like you, tiny home owners often turn to IKEA for these small-space savers.

Don't want to spend a ton of money? There are more than enough small-scale kitchen repairs and replacements that can increase a home's overall value

Will they or won’t they? Several times this year, the Federal Reserve System raised the benchmark interest rate and seemed gung-ho to do it again by the end of the year. If you’re about to get a new mortgage, these interest rate hikes will directly affect you, meaning you’ll pay more over time for that new house. And if you’re not in the market for a new mortgage, federal interest rate hikes will still hit you, albeit indirectly.

Congratulations! You just moved into your new place and can’t wait to get settled. There are boxes to unpack, new neighbors to get to know and a new neighborhood to explore. But wait! Before you leave your new home to say hi to the Joneses or even rest your moving-weary head on the pillow that very first night, there are a few things you must know and do: You know that key that opened your front door? Think about how many other people might have the same key. Former residents?