A red bench on a sunlit front porch

Front Porch Report

Plain-spoken guides to buying, selling, financing, and moving into a home — plus the occasional story about the house itself.

Mortgages

Rates, points, and getting pre-approved

Agents & Selling

Interviewing agents, listing, and touring homes
An open sign hanging in a glass storefront door
Agents & Selling

Open House Etiquette for Buyers

A few unwritten rules make an open house more useful for you and less awkward for everyone else in the room.

By Marcus Ibe · October 14, 2026

Moving

What it actually costs, and how to book it

Home Life

How houses are built, and what it's like to live in one
An interior room under construction showing exposed wooden stud framing
Home Life

How a 1920s Bungalow Is Framed

The Craftsman bungalow's low roofline and deep front porch aren't just style choices — they follow from how the house was actually built.

By Tom Delacroix · October 10, 2026
Houses covered in snow on a quiet residential street
Home Life

The First Winter in a New House

You can tour a house a dozen times before you buy it, but you don't actually meet it until the temperature drops and it has to keep you warm.

By Tom Delacroix · October 7, 2026
An aerial view of a suburban neighborhood with curving residential streets
Home Life

A History of the Suburban Cul-de-Sac

The dead-end street went from a medieval accident to a deliberate planning ideal, then fell out of favor with the very engineers who once championed it.

By Tom Delacroix · October 3, 2026