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With mortgage rates below 4% since May 2019, you would think that most people would have already refinanced but according to a recent Lending Tree survey, 49% of homeowners say they are considering a mortgage refinance in the next year. The report estimated that over a third of homeowners are have mortgages above 4% and 11% didn't know what their rate was. ...CONTINUE READING

With at least 40% less homes on the market currently than there were a year ago, serious buyers have probably experienced the disappointment of losing a home they wanted to buy from increased competition. Today's buyers are looking for ways to improve their odds of being the best contract without having to use the purchase price as their only tool. ...CONTINUE READING

"How long do I have to keep this stuff?" is the usual question you ask yourself when feeling that you are running out of room for all this "paper" that may never be needed. ...CONTINUE READING

There is a little-known provision in the tax code that allows homeowners to rent their principal residence or second home for up to 14 days a year without having to recognize the income. In this situation, the taxpayer does not deduct the rental expenses associated with the income. ...CONTINUE READING

Before you pay cash for a home, ask yourself if there is a possibility, at some point in the future, you might put a mortgage on the home and would want to deduct the mortgage interest on your federal tax return. ...CONTINUE READING

Doing a lot of work to a car before you trade or sell it to a dealer is not generally a good idea. In most cases, you won't recapture the cost of the repairs. They can do the repairs for a less than you can. Not to mention, you are selling to a wholesaler who needs to sell it again to the end user and still make a profit. ...CONTINUE READING

To understand the reasoning behind why a homeowner should not sell their home by themselves, we need to identify the motivation.  Probably, more times than not, the homeowner wants to "save" the cost of the commission.  It certainly represents a significant amount of money. ...CONTINUE READING

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. ...CONTINUE READING

The rent to income ratio is the monthly affordable rent as a percentage of monthly income. Ideally, tenants should keep it within 30% of monthly gross income. In some markets, in may not be possible because the shortage of available rental units. In these situations, tenants are required to spend more than 30%. ...CONTINUE READING

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 a different strategy. ...CONTINUE READING