Category: General

It happens to more than a hundred homeowners each year. Governments and companies take home equity from the owners who run into hard times and can’t cover their property tax bills. In other words, these entities aren’t only recovering their legitimate past-due balances through foreclosures. They are also keeping all the value they can extract…

The purchase contract. It’s the core of the transaction. Negotiating a strong position is important. Making sure that position is reflected in writing matters. Reviewing the document is a must. Here are some of the most important issues a buyer usually wants to see in a purchase contract.

Is a real estate move among your New Year’s resolutions? If so, there are some advantages in selling early in the year. But whenever you do it, successful selling is an art. Here are a few tips to create the perfect mindset.

So you really, really, want that special home. Will you be the seller’s choice? It’s tempting to gush over the home in a letter to the owner. That way, couldn’t you bond with the owner over your love for the home? And isn’t it helpful to create goodwill with the party you’re hoping to deal…

It doesn’t happen often, but it happens occasionally. Someone in a deceased homeowner’s family was missing or unknown. Maybe that someone had a potential interest in the home. So here’s the question. What if a relative decides to make a claim, perhaps years after a home has changed hands? Sure, anyone can claim anything. No…

Struggling to sell? Does it feel as though the potential buyers are all worried about the economy (or about “buying at the top of the market”)? Or maybe they can’t get the loan they’d hoped for, given the recent rise in mortgage interest rates. If so, you might wonder if it’s time to lower your…

It’s hard to find a starter home these days. Across the United States — and especially where younger generations are hunting — there are rarely listings for less than $300,000, let alone anything that fits the popular image of a first-time buyer’s home. This means younger buyers are coming up with their own ideas of…

Housing is in high demand and short supply. With so many hopeful buyers searching for affordable listings, the idea of installing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) is increasingly popular, according to Bankrate. An ADU is a mini home on the same property as (or even connected to) the main home. In some cases the units are…

Gen Z (“Zoomers”) are people who were born between 1997 and 2012. A Rocket Mortgage survey says 86% of this generation in the United States is mentally ready to buy homes. Nearly half hope to make their purchases within five years. They’d likely benefit from becoming homeowners. But can they afford it?

The internet and the smartphone help with all kinds of tasks. But can technology support accessibility at home?   Property-related technology, or proptech, can indeed. To start, tech innovations can make housing safer. They can monitor and improve indoor air quality. They can warn us about potential outages of basic systems in our homes. Smart…

With climate change impacting more and more real estate, insurance keeps getting pricier. As we reported last year, mortgage lenders for coastal homes often expect 40% down payments, just to offset the risks. This year, the insurance tech company Policygenius published a study showing U.S. homeowners’ insurance rising at a remarkable 12%+ rate. Among the top…

Spring is high season for home sales. But buying in winter means settling down in time to watch the garden bloom in a new home. There’s a lot to be said for that. In the northern latitudes, home shopping can mean weather-related holdups here and there. But winter is a great time to work with…

Owning a decent, healthful, attainably priced home should be possible for everyone. Buyers in the modest- and middle-income categories should be able to achieve homeownership. After all, buying a home is considered a key to building up a store of value and attaining financial safety. Lately, though, the dream of homeownership has been fading for…

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) protects at-risk species. Most everyone supports its mission. But when it impacts the property they own, developers and landowners may believe the law clashes with their 5th Amendment rights. Why? The law regulates their use of property — which sometimes amounts to a taking without payment to the owner. In…

All home buyers have some repair work ahead of them. Sometimes, only finishing touches are needed. In other cases, major systems need replacement. A new buyer should budget for significant costs in the first year. But the real kicker is just how much people who buy brand-new homes will likely spend. On average, a typical…