The Walden Madden Real Estate Blog

The holiday season seems to come and go in such a whirlwind and it can create a similar issue in your Fairbanks, Anchorage home. After opening gifts, with all of their wrapping paper and ribbon, your home can start to turn into a storage facility of sorts until the new year.

Don't wait that long! Organize your Alaskan home now, clear the cutter and begin to organize all of the holiday chaos before we arrive at New Year's Eve next week. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Take down the tree
This is the best place to start organizing after the holidays. If you have an artificial tree inside your Alaskan home, wrap...

It's Christmastime year-round in North Pole, Alaska, but with the holiday officially here next week, it's time for the surrounding communities to prepare to relax and enjoy. And not just to open your Fairbanks, Anchorage home to family and friends— there are a few steps to take to ensure you have a stress-free week sans holiday disasters. 

• Be aware of what you're sharing on social media. Don't be too quick to detail your plans for a holiday vacation online, including where you're going, when you're leaving, when you'll be back. You don't want anyone to know exactly when you won't be home. 
   
• December is the worst month for electrical fires. Be careful not to overload outlets and extension cords. Always check your holiday lights for...

If you're a first-time homebuyer in Alaska or have simply not owned a home in several years, obtaining a mortgage is about to get easier for you. All thanks to new lending guidelines from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that will allow for down payments as low as 3 percent. 

This week, both mortgage giants announced the new 3 percent down payment options on home purchases. For Fannie's program, first-time homebuyers can start to take advantage of the low down payment option as early as December 13. For Freddie, the new program will officially roll out on March 23, 2015.  

These new mortgage...