What You Need to Know About Home Appraisals
Home appraisals are an important part of the real estate sales process when a mortgage loan is required for the transaction. Their purpose is often misunderstood by home buyers and sellers, and it can sometimes provide unexpected complications when the numbers don’t match up. Appraisals are meant to protect the lender, but can also provide […]
How Home Affordability Impacts Buying, Selling and Renting Trends
In our previous article, we talked about the effects of high mortgage rates on the real estate market. [Click here to read the full article.] We touched on the subject of rising home prices, as well. In this post, we would like to dig deeper on the trends of home pricing, renting and overall home […]
Which Real Estate Documents Should I Keep (and for How Long)?
When you buy or sell a home, there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be completed. These represent various legal documents, mortgage loan agreements, title records, tax information and other documents representing your side of the real estate transaction. The big question is what do you actually need to keep in your possession […]
How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early
Having a mortgage is a big part of being a homeowner for most Americans. Getting a home loan is the only way most of us can afford to purchase a property, so it’s a natural part of the real estate cycle. Ultimately, making loan principal and interest payments is a good thing. You are not […]
Why Ethics Matter in Real Estate
We are in a very interesting time right now as the real estate market presents more challenges for home buyers, home sellers, and the real estate agents helping coordinate transactions. The inflated economy and high mortgage rates have made it tougher for many buyers to buy and sellers to sell. Deals are still getting done. […]
How to Improve Your Credit Score
If you are preparing to buy a home and planning to finance it with a mortgage loan, one of your top priorities should be getting your finances in order. Having a strong financial standing will help you qualify for a home loan and get the lowest possible mortgage rate. Some of the steps you can […]
The State of Real Estate—Housing Market 2022
There are a lot of questions in the real estate market right now. Is the market crashing because of inflation and high mortgage rates? Why are mortgage rates so high and will they ever come back down? Is now a good time to sell a home? Should home buyers wait until market conditions improve? We’re […]
Home Appraisal 101—The Questions You Need to Ask
If you are buying a home with a mortgage loan, a home appraisal will be required by your lender. The appraisal is performed as a way to protect both you and the lender from paying more than the home is worth. The process is there to provide an independent opinion of the market value of the […]
What Does an Economy with Inflation Mean?
We’ve been talking to many clients about inflation lately. They keep hearing about it on the news. It’s surprising how few—especially those under the age of 50—really know what inflation is and what it means to be in an inflated economy. More specifically, we like to help educate home buyers and homeowners about the effects […]
What Home Buyers Need to Know in this Fast-Moving Seller’s Market
It is an interesting time for home buyers during this condensed summer market. Being quarantined at home for a couple months forced a lot of homeowners and renters to rethink their housing needs. Whether they want more space or a place where they can comfortably work from home, a lot of people are ready and […]