purchase
Inventory Shortage? How to Find a House When Listings are Scarce (Updated for 2023)
A shortage of housing inventory made it difficult for many homebuyers to find a house this year. And according to many experts, next year may be much of the same. As more and more Baby Boomers age in place and…
Read More
Rent to Own Mortgage: How to Transform Rent Payments into a Mortgage
Why pay rent toward someone else’s mortgage when you could put that cash toward your own? That’s exactly the thought behind renting to own agreements, which let you rent a property, apply a portion of your rent costs toward the mortgage…
Read More
Buying a House in a Vacation Town? Read This First
Interest in vacation-area real estate is picking up. According to a report from Zillow, pending sales in well-known vacation markets are up 30% over last year. Whether that’s due to more remote work arrangements, desire for a change of scenery,…
Read More
The Pros and Cons of Buying a New Construction Home
Home construction has picked up steam in recent months, and experts largely expect that continue. Fannie Mae, for example, predicts that housing starts will jump by 6.7% in 2021. The Mortgage Bankers Associations also sees strong single-family construction numbers for…
Read More
4 Reasons Fall May Be the Best Time To Buy a House
Fall’s certainly the season for pumpkin-carving, hayrides, and apple cider tasting, but more importantly? It’s also a great time to buy a house. Both the current market and historical trends point to good home-buying conditions for Americans this fall. From…
Read More
Buying a New Home? Expect Lots of Mail
Buying a new place is exciting. You get to decorate, meet the neighbors, and make that new house a home. One thing you may not expect, though? That’d be all the mail that typically comes with it. Are you moving…
Read More
Escrow and the Role It Plays in the Home Buying Process
If you’re buying a home, you’ve probably heard your real estate agent mention the term “escrow.” However, you may be wondering, “What is escrow — and what role does it play in the home buying process?” In that case, you’re…
Read More
Buying a Multigenerational Home? Here‘s What You Should Look for
Gen Xers account for the largest share of multigenerational home purchases, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. It’s no surprise either, with their parents getting older, many are taking on caregiving duties and shunning the help (and costs) of…
Read More
Understanding the Mortgage Underwriting Process
Underwriting can seem like the most mysterious part of the mortgage loan approval process. What are underwriters? And what do they do? A Quick Overview of Mortgage Underwriting Mortgage underwriters assess risk. Using specific, pre-determined guidelines, they look at things…
Read More
What to Do if You Inherit a House
There’s no doubt about it: a home isn’t the easiest thing to come into. Do you sell it and cash in right away? Do you move in? Do you wait around for the market to improve and its value to…
Read More