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Appreciation and amortization are key factors in building equity for homeowners with mortgages. As the home goes up in value due to appreciation and the unpaid balance goes down due to amortization, the equity increases. ...CONTINUE READING

While updating and remodeling certainly makes a home more enjoyable and livable, and increases the value, homeowners should not expect to recover 100% of the cost of the remodeling. Certainly, remodeling and updating makes a home sell faster, some of the expenditures will not return their full cost, although, some do return more than others. ...CONTINUE READING

Mortgage rates have been kept artificially low by the Federal Reserve since the Great Recession in 2010. There is a whole generation of people who have never known what might be called normal mortgage rates. And then, most of the rest of the adults in America have forgotten what average rates were in the 60's, 70's, and especially, in the 80's when they hit 18.45%. ...CONTINUE READING

Adjustable-rate mortgages are not the right choice for many homeowners especially, if they plan to own the home for a long time. Less than 3% of buyers choose an adjustable-rate mortgage according to NAR's 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. With fixed-rate mortgages hovering in the mid 4.00% range, it's understandable that people select a rate that will not change over the term. ...CONTINUE READING

Real estate has been described as the basis of all wealth. Without considering income or investment property, buying a home to live in is an incredibly powerful way to build wealth or financial net worth. ...CONTINUE READING

Two commonly known ways to lower your mortgage payments are to make a larger down payment especially if it eliminates private mortgage insurance and improve your credit score before applying for a mortgage. ...CONTINUE READING

We have all heard this expression that implies that had a person known earlier in life what they know now, they would have done things differently. The subject possibilities are endless While no one has a crystal ball to see into the future, it may be possible to learn from people who have experienced similar situations. ...CONTINUE READING

The concern about inflation is the sustained upward movement in the overall price of goods and services while the purchasing value of money decreases. Tangible assets like your home consistently become more valuable over time. In inflationary periods, your home is a good investment and a hedge against inflation. ...CONTINUE READING

Annual percentage rate is a calculation to accurately reflect the cost of the mortgage considering the note rate of interest, financing fees and charges based on the term of the mortgage. ...CONTINUE READING

There is more to selling a home than you might think. Superficially, a person might think that it will sell itself currently because, nationally, homes for sale receive 3.6 offers and they sell within 18 days. ...CONTINUE READING