Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are two names that are constantly thrown around in the world of home finance, but what are they, really?
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Mortgage fraud is a real issue, and home buyers and sellers need to be careful in their real estate dealings .
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Getting your first (or even your second or third) mortgage can be really stressful and confusing. There’s a lot of technical information to absorb in a very small window of time and sometimes that means you’ll miss some of the details. Most of the time, your banker will be happy to fill in the blanks for you, but what do you do if you have a lender who doesn’t have your best interest in mind?
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Being self-employed can be a really great situation for people who need more control over their work environments or who simply work better by themselves. For the most part, it’s just like working other jobs, except that you’re the one making the big decisions. Unfortunately, for a long time a lot of lenders didn’t see it that way -- instead, you were considered a high risk borrower.
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Even though it’s been a while since I was an active Realtor, I do still keep an eye on the market because I am both a homeowner and a future home buyer. It’s good to know what’s going on when you’re making such a large purchase, but it’s not for everyone. That’s why I’m here to distribute tips and hints and bits and pieces that hopefully help you better understand the whirlwind that is buying a home.
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Well, kids, the numbers are in. According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales are still down. So far, we’ve had five months of this type of flailing. Reporting by HousingWire states that it’s the slowest pace since February 2016. February: one of the traditionally worst months of the year for selling a house, that’s where we are now.
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While everybody else was busy focusing on interest rates and new housing trends, something sort of unbelievable happened--a whole bunch of real estate-related startups popped up and started changing the way people manage their home purchases from the moment they decide to apply for a loan and well beyond the closing table..
No, really, it’s true.
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Maybe this has happened to you: you’re enjoying the benefits of home ownership, planning your next renovation or color scheme for the living room, when -- bam! -- you get hit with a property tax bill you totally didn’t expect.
Is there anything you can do when your property taxes go up?
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Trying to predict what the real estate market is going to do is a bit like trying to nail a runny egg to a tree. Nevertheless, buyers are often asking real estate experts questions like “is it a good time to buy a house?” These market-related questions have as many answers as they have askers -- the industry as a whole is a slippery beast.
With this new and exciting column from Home.Loans, we’re going to tackle those animals, as well as help you understand the information that experts rely on to forecast trends. Let’s go!
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We’re going to tell you where you totally can’t afford to buy a house--or if you do, it’s going to cost you a premium. Since the real estate market has been plagued by housing inventory shortages, many areas are experiencing run-away housing costs simply due to too many buyers and too few homes.
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