Willie Sutton was an American bank robber and he was asked why he robbed banks. He answered, “because that is where the money is!” He stole about $2 million during his 40-year career. However, internet scammers are stealing much more by using phishing schemes and preying on unsuspecting home buyers. These scammers know where to […]
Accelerate Your Home Buying Process with these At Home Activities
Update: COVID-19 home showing procedures
These are unsettling times and buyers and sellers have a concern about keeping virus-free and staying healthy like the rest of us. To keep everyone safe, these new showing procedures should be considered before walking into a home. Agents are reporting that they are selling homes where the buyers have not physically been in the […]
Why have a mortgage during retirement?
Baby boomers are getting older. They are retiring and staying home more and more. Television ads with your old favs Tom Selleck, Henry Winkler and Robert Wagner come and trying to convince you to consider a reverse mortgage. This is where you basically sell your home to the bank and they let you live there […]
Mortgage Shopping for Better Rates
Lower rates on mortgage loans not only help you amortize your loan faster you will also have a lower monthly payment. A $250,000 mortgage at 4.5% for 30 years will have a $1,266.71 combined monthly payment. At 4%, the same loan will have $1,193.54 combined monthly payment saving you $73.18 a month and at the […]
How to be successful with your garage sale
To give you extra space in your home or get rid of unused items, you can have a well-planned garage or yard sale. You might even make some extra money, but you need to give it the same consideration that any business needs to be successful. Start your researching and planning early Promotion is a […]
Do you have the look? But not the type?
The determining factor for what type of property you have is not in how it looks but rather in your intent for use. Based on your intentions, a property you own can be a principal residence, an income property, an investment property or a dealer property. Let’s look at the definition of each. Principal Residence […]
Why Put More Down
When people are thinking of buying a home the most attractive option is to fork over the least amount as a down payment. Most people want to have cash available to furnish their new home and as a base for any unexpected expenses that might arise after purchase. Some buyers won’t have these options because […]
Financing Home Improvements
Owners can finance improvements on their home by using home improvement loans as a funding source. Home improvement loans do not rely on the home as collateral and are instead personal installment loans. Due to the higher risk to the lender with these types of loans, the interest rate is often much higher than a […]
Rental Property and House-Hacking
If you are thinking about getting into the landlord business, beginning early is an advantage. A term called house-hacking refers to buying a multifamily property with an owner-occupied mortgage. You then live in one of the units while you rent the other units out to other people. Beginning early means you get a longer time […]