Feb 01
Items Buyers Need to Add to Their Budgets Buying a home is much more than just paying a mortgage bill. Once you factor in association fees, property taxes, utility bills, and home maintenance, owners are often facing a much steeper price that is hundreds of dollars more. Help your buyers get an accurate estimate of …
Jan 31
The Best States to Raise a Family in 2017 North Dakota is the top family-friendly state for 2017, according to new findings from a WalletHub analysis. WalletHub’s research team compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 40 key indicators, such as housing affordability, the unemployment rate, median family salary, education, health …
Jan 30
Mortgage Words You Should Know The mortgage industry loves jargon and it can quickly confuse a real estate professional and all the moreso a borrower. The Fannie Mae Sellers Guide alone has 91 different acronyms and abbreviations. The National Mortgage News recently offered up a few of the most common acronyms buyers and professionals …
Jan 27
Occasions That Call for a Handwritten Note As society operates more and more online, handwritten notes are becoming a rarity — which is why sending one to your clients could help you stand out from your competition. “A thank-you note can stand out from the seemingly dull and impersonal style of digital communications, …
Jan 26
First-Time Buyers Face More Tough Times Many first-time buyers are starting to feel like they just can’t catch a break. The continued limited inventories of homes for sale in the entry-level market and a number of other factors are pressing harder on first-timers who are trying to break in to home ownership. “Constrained inventory in …
Jan 25
Architects Give Home Design a Bold New Spin Some architects worldwide are building a select few homes that can rotate, allowing for a change of interior views from a room throughout the day or programming a home to follow the direction of the sun to help maintain inside temperatures. In New South Wales, Australia, the …
Jan 24
Renovations Uncover Secrets Behind Walls Homeowners are finding that as they renovate and walls are removed, they’re uncovering tokens from the home’s past. They’ve found everything from ritual objects placed behind the walls to ward off evil spirits to time capsules with notes enclosed for future owners to find. Michelle Morgan Harrison, an interior designer, …
Jan 23
Trump Puts a Halt to FHA Mortgage Cuts Just hours after being sworn in, President Donald Trump moved to suspend a plan to reduce the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance premiums that was set to go into effect on Jan. 27. The plan had been announced just a few days ago by the outgoing …
Jan 20
Where Foreclosure Backlogs Remain a Problem Banks continue to clean out the pipeline of loans that were originated during the housing boom days that have since turned sour. Most of the homes that are still being foreclosed on are from loans originated between 2004 and 2008, known as “legacy foreclosures,” according to ATTOM Data …
Jan 19
Mortgage Rates Dip to Lowest in Month Total mortgage applications – including for refinances and home purchases – were essentially flat last week, rising just 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, despite mortgage rates at their lowest averages in a month. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday that applications are now 14 percent lower …
Jan 18
Hot New-Home Trends to Watch There were plenty of new ideas, features, and designs of interest to the real estate community at the 2017 International Builders’ Show and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, both held in Orlando, Fla. last week. We were there to gather the top trends and buzzwords you need …
Jan 17
Millennials Are Missing Out on Home Equity The delay of millennials into home ownership will likely affect their finances for years to come. Real estate wealth has proven to be a major contributor to the financial wealth of previous generations. Indeed, “the most impactful contributor to consumer wealth since the great financial crisis has been …
