Category: General

Forewarned Is Forearmed Buying a house is a major milestone for most people. After the weeks, months, or even years of preparation, a buyer wants to cross the finish line with confidence. Buyers and sellers alike need to know what glitches come up most, and how to avert these issues. Let’s look at six very…

Weighing the Environmental and Financial Factors You might be wondering if a newly built home is right for you, or if it’s better to get a lived-in home. Once upon a time, that question was a simple matter of personal preference. But for today’s buyers, compelling questions arise about affordability in a very hot market,…

So, you’re changing from a co-owner to the sole owner of your house. And now it’s time for your spouse or co–borrower to come off your joint mortgage. Probably from your house deed, too. If the title is already in your name only, that second step isn’t necessary. But assuming the usual situation — your…

He likes it better the old way, so he grows a little garden in the backyard by the fence;He’s consuming what he’s growing nowadays in self-defense;He gets out there in the twilight zone sometimes… – David M. Bellamy Living off the grid means different things to different people. At its most basic, it means disconnecting…

Consumer Protection for Mortgage Borrowers The mortgage crisis of 2008-09 unfolded when lenders offering too many high-risk loans. The problem was referred to as predatory lending. Lawmakers reacted to the crisis with lending rules that kept lenders from approving loan applicants too freely. Here, we look at how this plays out in the ordinary mortgage…

In real estate lingo, an all-cash offer means the buyer isn’t borrowing money to finance a house purchase. The buyer is using money straight from a bank, credit union, or investment account to cover the price of the home. These funds could be saved up and ready, or they be freed up through a sale…

4 Tips to Win at Home Buying This Spring Early 2022 will be a great season for home purchases. Sellers are blessed with the perfect blend of brisk demand and a low interest rate environment. And we can see opportunity here for buyers too. Granted, the bidding wars are still happening, especially for condos and…

Know Before You Buy Buying a condo is a great way to shift from renting to homeownership. Condos are popular, low-maintenance investments. But when community associations fail to function as they should, they set the stage for conflicts. If you’re at odds with your homeowners’ association (HOA), you can sue. Once a court gets involved,…

Today’s real estate industry professionals are strained. They face massive workloads. Much of the work involves copying information, reviewing documents, billing clients, and performing other repetitive tasks. How can real estate companies attract, motivate, or retain great employees if the work isn’t stimulating? Today’s software technology may help firms hire and keep talented people, by…

The median down payment on a house now tops $27K, the National Association of REALTORS® has announced. The bar has been raised. In late 2020, it stood at $20K. In fact, six-figure down payments aren’t unusual, if you’re looking in and around popular coastal cities. Outside the San José tech hub, the median down payment…

Is There Any Escape From Them? If you bought a home before the recent surge in real estate prices, you likely saw your home equity go up quite a bit. And you’ve likely been the recipient of “Sell your house to us” solicitations, and maybe even tempted to sell at these fabulous property values. Meanwhile,…

Anticipate and Outsmart Hackers During Thanksgiving week 2021, a buyer wired the requested $78,430 to close on a home in Millinocket, Maine. It was a case of real estate wire transfer fraud. Bank of America told its customer, the hopeful home buyer, that it would return $9,000 of the diverted funds. The rest of the…

Some big banks and major corporations are asking their employees to come back to their offices. But many of these employees will only work in office buildings for part of the week. Remote work is changing how people get things done. We now know this is a long-term dynamic, transforming even the most traditional workforces.…

As the Supply Chain Saga Continues… We’re a few weeks into 2022 now. Building materials are still backed up in supply chains. For many home developers, building projects have lagged. Pauses in processing, followed by delayed production schedules, were among the immediate effects of the pandemic. In 2021, the vast majority of building companies struggled…

Homes are pricey out there, no question. But rentals are pricier still. Recent research shows that buying a median-priced home is often more affordable than renting a comparable home. These findings apply to most markets across the country.