-
Understand Your Options To Avoid Foreclosure
Even though experts agree there’s no chance of a large-scale foreclosure crisis, there are a number of homeowners who may be coming face-to-face with foreclosure as a possibility. And while the overall percentage of homeowners at risk is decreasing with time (see graph below), that’s little comfort to those individuals who are facing challenges today. If you haven’t taken advantage of the forbearance period, it may be time to research and understand your options. It starts with knowing what foreclosure is. Investopedia defines it like this: “Foreclosure is the legal process by which a lender attempts to recover the amount owed on a defaulted loan by taking ownership of and selling the mortgaged property. Typically, default…
-
What Does the Future Hold for Home Prices?
If you’re looking to buy or sell a house, chances are you’ve heard talk about today’s rising home prices. And while this increase in home values is great news for sellers, you may be wondering what the future holds. Will prices continue to rise with time, or should you expect them to fall? To answer that question, let’s first understand a few terms you may be hearing right now. Appreciation is an increase in the value of an asset. Depreciation is a decrease in the value of an asset. Deceleration is when something happens at a slower pace. It’s important to note home prices have increased, or appreciated, for 114 straight months. To find out if that trend may continue, look to…
-
4 Ways Homeowners Can Use Their Equity
Your equity is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your goals as a homeowner. And chances are, your equity grew substantially over the past year. According to the latest Equity Insights Report from CoreLogic, homeowners gained an average of $51,500 in equity over the past year. If you’re looking for the best ways to use your growing equity, here are four options: 1. Use Your Equity To Buy a Home That Fits Your Needs If you’re finding you no longer have the space you need, it might be time to move into a larger home. Or, it’s possible you have too much space and would like something smaller. No matter the situation, consider using your equity to power a move into a…
-
Tips for Single Homebuyers: How To Make Your Dream a Reality
If you’re living on your own and looking to buy a home, know that you can make your dream a reality with thoughtful planning and the right team of experts. Research from Freddie Mac shows 28% of all households (36.1 million) are sole-person, and that number is growing. Over the past 40 years, the number of sole-person households has nearly doubled, and that’s a trend that’s expected to continue. According to Freddie Mac: “Our calculation suggests that there will be an additional 5 million sole-person households in the United States by the next decade. This means 42% of the household growth will be contributed by sole-person households, . . .” If you fall into this category, here are three tips…
-
4 Things Every Renter Needs To Consider
As a renter, you’re constantly faced with the same dilemma: keep renting for another year or purchase a home? Your answer depends on your current situation and future plans, but there are a number of benefits to homeownership every renter needs to consider. Here are a few things you should think about before you settle on renting for another year. 1. Rents Are Rising Quickly Rent increasing each year isn’t new. Looking back at Census data confirms rental prices have gone up consistently for decades (see graph below):If you’re a renter, you’re faced with payments that continue to climb each year. Realtor.com recently shared the September Rental Report, and it shows price increases accelerating from August to September (see graph below):As…
-
What Does Being in a Sellers’ Market Mean?
Whether or not you’ve been following the real estate industry lately, there’s a good chance you’ve heard we’re in a serious sellers’ market. But what does that really mean? And why are conditions today so good for people who want to list their house? It starts with the number of houses available for sale. The latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows housing supply is still astonishingly low. Today, we have a 2.6-month supply of homes at the current sales pace. Historically, a 6-month supply is necessary for a ‘normal’ or ‘neutral’ market in which there are enough homes available for active buyers (see graph below):When the supply of houses for sale is as low…
-
Why A Wave Of Foreclosures Is Not On The Way
Why a Wave of Foreclosures Is Not on the Way With forbearance plans coming to an end, many are concerned the housing market will experience a wave of foreclosures similar to what happened after the housing bubble 15 years ago. Here are a few reasons why that won’t happen. There are fewer homeowners in trouble this time After the last housing crash, about 9.3 million households lost their homes to a foreclosure, short sale, or because they simply gave it back to the bank. As stay-at-home orders were issued early last year, the fear was the pandemic would impact the housing industry in a similar way. Many projected up to 30% of all…
-
Home Maintenance Checklist For New Buyers
Part of buying a home is learning how to maintain that home. A well-maintained home is safer and more efficient than a home with lax maintenance. And most home maintenance tasks are fairly easy to do yourself and don’t require a whole lot of time or money. In fact, you can save yourself money in the long-term by properly maintaining your home! Your systems (electrical, HVAC, and plumbing) will run more efficiently, which will reduce your utility bills. And you’ll be able to catch potential issues before they become full-blown problems. To help you maintain your new home, I have a home maintenance checklist specifically for new buyers! We’ll go…
-
Are You Financially Ready For An Investment Property?
You’re thinking about purchasing your first investment property, but you’re just not completely sure you’re ready. Here are 4 key questions to determine if you’re financially ready for your first investment property.
-
How Do I Know What My Home Is Worth?
Have you seen your home value estimates on Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin? For most properties,these 3 sources will have wildly different estimates. Which is the right number? Or (here’s abetter question) are any of these estimates accurate?If you have questions about the fair market value of your home, you’ve come to the right place.I’ll explain why it’s so hard to get an accurate number. And I’ll walk you through the steps realestate professionals take to calculate your home’s value.Let’s get started! Why You Need to Know the Fair Market Value ofYour Home The most common reason homeowners want to know the fair market value of their homes isbecause they are…
