National homeowner equity grew in the fourth quarter of 2020 by $1.5 Trillion or 16.2% year-over-year based on a CoreLogic analysis.  The study was done on the six out of ten homeowners who have mortgages on their home. The fourth quarter of 2020 also saw the number of mortgaged residential homes with negative equity decrease […]

For generations, people have begun their homeowner experience with a “starter” home.  Part of the logic may be that by beginning with a smaller home, they can learn what it takes to run the home and discover some of the unexpected costs that come along with it.  A slightly longer view into the future could suggest […]

One of the silver linings to filing your income tax return is finding out that you are going to receive a refund that could literally open the door to owning a home.  If you happen to be one of these fortunate taxpayers, your next decision is what to do with it.  With the average tax […]

Sometimes, as people approach the inevitable, they start trying to get their things “in order”.  They may even have a will, but they decide to transfer title to real estate prior to their death which could be an unnecessary expense for the would-be heir. Generally, when property is passed through direction of a will, the […]

Mortgage insurance benefits the lender if a borrower with less than a 20% down payment defaults on their loan.  Most conventional mortgages greater than 80% and all FHA loans require the borrower to have this coverage. Private mortgage insurance on conventional loans can range from 0.5% to 2.25% based on the loan-to-value and the credit […]

This strategy is not about trying to negotiate the best price; it is about beating out the competition and buying the home.  It may be difficult to understand until you have lost a few homes to better offers but when the reality of the situation is that there are not that many homes on the […]