The new Housing Bill — the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act marks the most sweeping federal housing reform in decades. Designed to tackle affordability challenges, modernize outdated regulations, and expand access to homeownership, the bill introduces a broad set of changes that will influence both current homeowners and future buyers. Although many provisions will...
Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCS)
Home Equity Lines of Credit are and excellent way to access the equity in your home with very flexible terms, giving you control over how much it will cost you over time. In almost all cases an equity line is written as a second loan on a property, meaning that there is a first mortgage...
Forced-Placed Insurance: Avoid It at All Costs
If you’re a homeowner, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of forced-placed insurance. But what you don’t know could hurt you. What is forced-place insurance, exactly? And how can it hurt you? Let’s take a closer look. Introduction to Forced-Placed Insurance When it comes to homeownership, insurance is a must. It protects you from...
Houseboats: An Ideal On-the_Water Home
Let’s do something a little different today just for fun. Occasionally I run across articles on unique homes for sale across the country. I confess, I can’t help but open them. Even worse, I open them just so I can look at the pictures. I don’t even read the articles. Since I’m a sailor, I...
Draw Any Conclusion You Like About Real Estate Prices
You have heard or read a lot about real estate prices lately. But what you’ve heard and read has been inconsistent, hasn’t it? So, what’s a homeowner (or prospective homeowner) supposed to think? There are many factors that determine whether real estate prices will rise or decline. The trouble is, they don’t all point in...
Home Buyer Strategy for Today’s Market
“It’s impossible to buy a home with these interest rates!” Those of us who paid double-digit interest on our first mortgage find this sentiment amusing, but we must admit that home buyer strategy does have to adjust to buy a home successfully in this market. So let’s look at the various ways a home buyer...
Real Estate Crash – The Inflection Point
Back in May I made some bold predictions about the market this summer. We are now at an inflection point where we will see how close I was to the eventual reality. What do I mean by inflection point? The market could move one way or the other from here. Will real estate crash? Let’s...
Bold Prediction: Will the Real Estate Market Crash?
Everyone wants to know: will the real estate market crash? I’ve had this discussion many times lately, and opinions differ. With no more expertise than any other armchair economist, here my bold predictions for the rest of 2022. The Important Data Points Listings are increasing in most areas. This is normal this time of year. ...
The Number One Reason to Sell Your Home Now
If you are in the market to sell your home now in order move up, however, the decision is not so easy. Inventory is so limited that many homeowners hesitate to sell only because they aren’t sure they will be able to find their next home. As Shakespeare said, “Aye, there’s the rub.”
How to Skip Mortgage Payments
3/23/2020 | Casey Fleming | There’s little question that we are already in a recession. Perhaps you have been affected personally. If so, you may wonder how to skip mortgage payments. During the Great Recession people lost their homes because they could no longer afford to make their mortgage payments. The resulting foreclosures exacerbated the downturn...