Category: Real Estate
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What Makes a Good Real Estate Agent and How Do I Find One?
Industry pros think home prices could easily rise 2%-5% this year, judging by the Spring 2024 home buying rush already underway. If you want to take the best advantage of a promising market, you might be thinking of hiring an agent. Anyone selling or buying a home can benefit from a good agent’s support. The right…
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Core of the American Dream? Three-Fourths Call Buying a Home Goal #1
The U.S. population has all sorts of goals. But of all that we strive for in our lives, seems we place the highest priority on owning a home. In recent surveys, three-fourths of respondents said owning a home is “the leading component of the American dream.” And yet, just about the same percentage of people…
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Could a Home Swap Turn Out to Be a Win-Win? Here’s How It Works.
Well, it’s one way to transfer property deeds between people! Yet trading homes with someone else isn’t your typical deed transaction. In a prolonged tight market, deed exchanges are drawing growing numbers of curious and creative homeowners. Here’s a bit more about the concept.
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Do I Have to Pay Off My Student Loans Before Buying a Home?
This month, 150,000+ people received emails that say some of their student loan debt will be forgiven. The latest $1.2 billion worth of debt forgiveness is a ray of sunshine for many potential first-time homebuyers. It impacts a person’s access to mortgage loans, and therefore the ability to acquire property deeds. But what about the…
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Ready, Set…Here Comes a Real Spring Home Buying Rush
Seasonal trends have an impact on home selling and buying success. Whether you’re receiving a real estate deed for the first time, or conveying your deed to a new buyer, having a sense of the market is helpful for planning. The housing market stalled in 2023. Can this new Spring season reactivate it? Anything can…
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A New Generation of Renovators? Boomer Sellers Are Putting Younger Buyers to Work.
Some interesting findings came out this year: Leaf Home, a company focused on accessibility and upgrades, together with market researchers at Morning Consult, warn of a looming burden for younger generations. Our aging U.S. housing stock will depend on buyers to carry out repairs. The silver lining for these put-upon home buyers? At least fixer-upper…
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The Hacks Keep Coming: Private Customer Data Exposed at Four Major Mortgage Companies
Remember that Halloween cyberattack on Mr. Cooper? Hackers got customers’ names and birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses and phone numbers. They even got access to people’s banking details. Some customers — new and longtime — tried to log in and could not access their accounts. They could not make payments. Even worse, the breach…
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Buyers Are Back. Are Small Towns Their Best Bets?
Affordable homes for sale are still scarce. And yet a recent Realtor.com survey shows a strong hint of optimism. Four in ten hopeful first-time buyers think 2024 will be their year. “In a year of expected interest rate drops,” says Architectural Digest, “real estate could come roaring back from its beauty sleep.” Well, that’s one…
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Vacation Property Loans? What’s the Scoop?
Some people buy homes, and run vacation rental businesses through them. They might even run their businesses from afar, through apps. And they do it without having to qualify for a loan based on their incomes. These borrowers seek out an unconventional — yet popular — form of mortgage. Lenders approve these loans based…
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Now They Want a New Trial. Could NAR Ever Drop Its “Clear Cooperation” Policy?
There’s a rule most people follow in the residential real estate world. You’re likely familiar with it. The seller covers the agent fees for both sides of the deal. The seller’s and the buyer’s agents typically split 5% or 6% between the two. Of course, the home buyer ultimately pays for it all — as…
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Buying a Home While Interest Rates Are Still High? The Case for “Yes”
For too many years, the U.S. housing market has been out of reach for too many people. But giving up might not be an option. Those able to get a foothold in this market often do it to attain a viable financial future. A homeowner’s wealth goes up along with home values. So, owners accumulate…
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Buy a Flipped Home, Get an FHA Loan. Like Oil and Water—Or Do They Mix?
Once upon a time, way back in 2003, the Federal Housing Administration instituted a 90-day wait for sales of homes by flippers. And to this day, only those who’ve owned for more than three months may sell to buyers who get FHA loans. Clearly, flippers need to keep this in mind. FHA-backed mortgages, of course,…
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Selling Your Property When a Renter Still Lives There: Why and How?
Can you sell a rental unit “out from under” your renter? A loaded question, of course. Look at it this way. If your renters love where they live, it could be a win for all involved. You have a few things to consider as you plan for positive outcomes, of course. This is true whether…
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Buying Without Your Spouse? What to Know About a Purchase Money Mortgage
Sometimes a homebuyer who’s married wants to buy property as an individual. They want to be the sole buyer, with no other name on the closing papers. How can it work? Consider the purchase money mortgage. As Cleveland’s CrossCountry Mortgage® company explains, “if a married person wants to purchase a property without their spouse being…
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Real Estate or Bitcoin? In 2024, Investors Consider the Tradeoffs
Bitcoin watchers have noticed surprising amounts of real estate profits being converted into bitcoin. The reason comes down to unpredictable returns in real estate for wealthy investor-buyers. At the same time, “Bitcoin, as an emerging asset class, potentially offers much higher growth potential for many investors,” writes Nik Hoffman for Bitcoin Magazine. Wow, much potentially…
