Tag: real estate
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So Many Homes in HOAs—Is This the Future of Houses?
It’s your deed. But it could come with community-wide restrictions, as well as a long list of homeowners’ association rules that support those restrictions. If you value privacy and autonomy, this might be just what you’re trying to avoid. You want ownership — not other people telling you how to live. But it’s getting harder…
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Received an Offer to Have Your Deed Mailed to You for a Fee? Toss It!
This year, Recorder of Deeds Jeanne Sorg has an important message for home buyers in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Look out, Sorg tells homeowners, for deceptive letters mailed to residents from outfits like Property Site. (That’s just one example of the companies who send out these letters, Sorg notes.) The letters at issue say the companies…
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People Can Walk (and Sit) on Your Beachfront Property. Tell Buyers, Rhode Island’s New Law Says.
The owners of Rhode Island’s beachfront homes would like to own the beach — all the way out to the water. But last June, Rhode Island law created a public right to access areas of passable shore up to ten feet above the visible high tide line — the line where you can see the…
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How to Find and Buy a Fixer-Upper (Before Someone Else Does)
Nabbing a deed to a home these days is no easy feat. In this hostile market, many hopeful buyers are looking around for a fixer-upper just to get a toehold. In fact, there are financing options out there that make restoring a home affordable for buyers who have struggled to enter the market and don’t…
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Out of Control: Title Insurance and Other “Extras” Home Buyers Pay
$18K annually. That’s what the average homeowner pays to be one — above and beyond the price of the home and mortgage, property taxes, and utilities. Mortgage closing costs make up a third of that figure. U.S. housing costs are outpacing the country’s overall inflation. Homeowners’ insurance alone is up 11% year over year. And…
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Seller-Paid Agent Commissions Are Over in August. How Will Buying Homes Change?
Effective August 17, sellers won’t have to agree to pay both sides’ commissions up front when they list their homes for sale. And agents can no longer communicate “offers of compensation” to other agents through their local Multiple Listing Services. August will mark “a time of adjustment,” says Kevin Sears, who recently took the role…
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Tapping Into Home Equity Puts a Lien on Your Deed. Consider the Risks.
Many deed holders have accumulated a lot of home equity over recent years. Financial gurus online often encourage homeowners to tap into it. After all, why not take advantage of a home’s rise in value to get cash and do something on your bucket list? But handy as they are, home equity loans do come…
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I’m a Senior, Looking for a Mortgage. Will I Be Treated Fairly?
Great question. The first thing to know is that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act is on your side! Under this federal law, lenders may not consider an applicant’s age as a reason to approve or turn down your application. Simply stated, seniors can get mortgages if they demonstrate their ability to make the monthly mortgage…
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Driving Change: Can a Real Estate Company Use AI to Root Out Prejudice in Deeds?
Seattle real estate firm John L. Scott is on to something. The company is working with Amazon Web Services to create intelligent document processing. The goal? To help deed holders easily check for race-based deed restrictions — and take action. Race-based prejudice is all too common in deeds across the United States. The language…
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The Rise and Rise of Down Payments
A down payment is the portion of a home’s purchase price the mortgage borrower pays upfront. You knew that. But did you know the median down payment for U.S. homebuyers is now more than $55K+? That’s remarkable. It was less than $45K just last year. Buyers often try to put 20% of the purchase price down.…
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I Inherited a Home. Should I Sell It, or Rent It Out?
Many heirs receive real estate because it’s a valuable asset — not necessarily because they need the homes to live in. So, for the heir who doesn’t want to live in the inherited home, what’s the best decision to make? Rent or sell the home? The answer is clear: It all depends! It’ll turn on…
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Reporting a Home Sale? What to Know About Capital Gains Tax (Even If You’re Exempt)
Hopeful buyers have struggled on and on with real estate price surges. Those who have managed to break into this market have watched their home values surge, too. When these homeowners decide to sell, the profits they accumulated in their homes are known to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as capital gains. People who sold…
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Can’t Wait to Move. (If Only We Could Pack Up Our Low Mortgage Rate and Take It With Us!)
Some people wish they could move, but hesitate to sell their current homes. They might be thinking: “I’d gladly sell my home right now, if only I could shift the remaining 25 years of my 4%-interest mortgage to the next house I buy! (Oh, well.)” “Giving up our 3% rate and getting a new mortgage…
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It’s Election Year. How Will This Affect Sellers and Buyers?
As we enter an election year the current administration points to how strong the economy is. But there’s a disconnect between these regular public assurances and people’s life experiences. So many are either locked into their current mortgages or just completely sidelined from the market. This is no joke: High mortgage rates. Wages lagging while…
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Real Property Basics: What Is a Clear Title?
A clear title. The term is commonly used to mean the deed holder can prove ownership, unquestionably. To verify that, a title company can conduct a title search. Other parties’ claims on the title are called title defects, or clouds on title. What do these claims look like? They might be mortgage liens, court judgments,…
