Category: General

Investing in real estate to build wealth is a popular move. And because we all need to live somewhere, buying a house can be a doubly good decision. Our home offers shelter on our terms and becomes a store of equity when property values rise.  Granted, buying doesn’t make sense for everyone. But for those…

Where Are the Deeds? In a Allegheny County court ruling issued in November 2021, corporate landlords were ordered to deed 285 Pittsburgh-area homes to their renters. The companies are fighting the decision with an appeal. The South Carolina company Vision Property Management boasts of its massive inventory of “affordable lease-to-own property opportunities.” But Vision and other…

Qualifying for the HomeReady®, Home Possible®, HomeOne®, or FHA Loan What’s the scoop on low down payments? The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA, a.k.a. Fannie Mae) offers the 3% HomeReady® loan. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC, known as Freddie Mac) has its own Home Possible® and HomeOne® mortgages, available for as little as…

For Now… A recent press release from Zillow® sports a catchy, controversial title: Baby Boomers and Millennials Are Competing for Homes, and Boomers Are Winning   Is that so? Either way, the headline unmistakably points to millennials and baby boomers, two of the biggest generations in U.S. history, as market movers.

When A Million Renters Are Spending Most of Their Income on Rent… Affordable housing is in short supply. Yet everywhere we look, people need it. People are at risk of displacement in many areas, and inflation isn’t helping. A million of today’s workers spend most of their income on rent. This situation makes it practically…

11 Pro Tips It’s a tough real estate market out there. Sometimes, it has safety hazards, too. Buyers might not think too much about the heightened risks, but real estate professionals do. Of course, real estate agents meet plenty of wonderful people when they show homes. Yet their job also carries personal safety risks. A…

Shooting the Rapids of Change Machine learning, notably encompassing artificial intelligence (AI), is rapidly changing the mortgage process. For many people whose credit ratings have prevented them from buying in the past, AI will be life-changing. And the change is coming soon.

So, the last time we wrote on this topic, Zillow had put Zillow OffersTM on hold, planning to re-enter the iBuying arena in 2022. Since then, Zillow has thrown in the towel. Zillow’s sudden decision to quit iBuying altogether seems to raise questions. Could Zillow’s capitulation be sending a message about the housing market? Or about…

Life After Forbearance Let’s begin with the financial facts. As the festive season approaches, about a half a million more U.S. homeowners are coming out of their 18-month, pandemic-related mortgage forbearance periods. All told, about 15% of U.S. mortgage holders opted to put their payments on hold. Most are already out of their forbearance plans,…

New Opportunities for First-Time Buyers In the final weeks of 2021, remote/hybrid work continues and is becoming standard. We see most U.S. office workers working remotely at least one or two days a week. A fourth of them continue to work from home offices every day. The past two years have clearly changed the way…

Off the Beaten Path Companies that convert shipping containers are defying traditional architectural rules, and turning shipping materials into real estate. The concept was awarded a U.S. patent in 1989, and it has captured the popular imagination in recent years. Now, it’s an international trend that’s found its adherents in U.S. minimalist culture. For one thing, how…

Balancing Risks and Rewards Home flipping is no easy feat, and it’s getting even harder. Just ask Zillow.   Flipping a home, of course, means buying it, sprucing it up, and promptly putting it back on the market for sale. About 5% of homes on the market are flipped houses. Foreclosures are expected to rise…

Is Highest Always Best? If you’re selling your home and have attracted multiple bids, super! Now, how do you choose the best offer? According to the National Association of REALTORS®: Your listing broker can explain various negotiating strategies for you to consider. For example, you can accept the “best” offer; you can inform all potential…

Unexpected Flip-Flop The online real estate company Zillow announced it was putting its iBuying business, Zillow Offers, on hold in mid-October. The company has been buying homes from eager owners who’d like to sell without handling repairs, tours, or closings. Thousands sold their homes to Zillow in 2021 before the company announced the decision to…

Who’s Cheating and How Interest rates are down. Many buyers have jumped in to take advantage of the situation in recent months. Heavy home-buying traffic has led the mortgage industry to shift gears from refinancing to home purchases. Purchases now comprise over half of mortgage closings. The shift in trends is a fraud-friendly shift, says…