Category: General

Late summer is the Goldilocks season for buying a home.

During winter, the real estate market can get a little like cold porridge. It’s harder to predict open house weather, and there are fewer houses being shown. Gardens go dormant, and home sale activity chills. So inventory can be limited in the cold months of winter.

During spring, and through the early summer months, the market can get too hot! Spring brings out the buyers with pent-up demand. More buyer competition will always make real estate pricier.

And that’s why August and September could be… just right.

Continue reading “Why August Is a Great Time to Buy Your Home”

On July 28, 2022, Joshua Browder tweeted:

Today, we are announcing a new DoNotPay product to fight institutional racism, by removing racist language from millions of original housing deeds and HOA documents…

Joshua Browder is founder and CEO of DoNotPay, the “robot lawyer” company putting computers to work for consumer rights. DoNotPay is urging Californians to have discriminatory language removed from their property deeds and homeowners’ association documents. And it’s automating the process.

Continue reading “Robots Against Racism: New Tech Detects Old Prejudice in Deeds”

Is the Seller’s Market Winding Down?

Some home sellers had to reduce their asking prices this summer — even in areas that were last season’s sizzling hot markets. By May, said Redfin.com, home buying competition was “plateauing.” And by June, according to data from Realtor.com®, there were sure signs of a market returning to Earth.  

About a third of sellers with Austin homes listed on Realtor.com® websites cut back their asking prices. A pattern was forming. Similar cuts showed up in Reno and Boise.

What’s going on? With some homebuyers balking at rising mortgage rates, houses aren’t moving quite so fast these days. And sellers can’t call all the shots any more. Hopeful buyers should find this interesting, so let’s take a look.

Continue reading “Six Cities Where Home Buyers Might Finally Get a Fair Deal”

Whether the Economy’s Booming or Busting…

It’s home sweet home, but it’s also one of the most powerful investments a person can make.

Buying a house has key financial advantages, compared against investments like a portfolio of stocks and bonds, or a wallet of digital currencies.

Whether it’s about planning for retirement, leaving the rent cycle, or getting a starter home with profit in mind… Here are 4 top reasons a house can be a great financial move.

Continue reading “Four Reasons Real Estate Tops Other Investments”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has just settled an unprecedented lawsuit against a mortgage-only lender, Trident Mortgage Company. The DOJ is targeting “modern-day redlining” — practices which put mortgages off-limits to minority applicants. Trident admitted no wrongdoing.

The subsidiary of Chester County, Pennsylvania-based Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach did agree to set aside more than $20 million for home loans in underserved communities.

The suit and the settlement show the DOJ is serious about targeting banks and mortgage lenders found neglecting or avoiding minority borrowers. The settlement was announced on Jul. 27, 2022.

Continue reading “The Justice Department Zeroes In on Mortgage Discrimination”

Scrambling to do taxes at the last minute can mean missing key breaks. Here are some tips, notes, and reminders to help you stay in shape, tax-wise, all year.

Continue reading “Tax Tips for Homeowners to Keep in Mind All Year”

In the Adirondacks and Beyond…

Jobs around Lake Placid and Saranac Lake are plentiful these days. There’s just one hitch. Prospective takers can’t find accessibly priced housing. Around these scenic Adirondack towns in northern New York, affordable units are few and far between. In Lake Placid, the Mohawk Valley Land Bank is working to remedy the situation by offering reliable workforce housing.

And other land banks are on the rise just about everywhere. Let’s take a look.

Continue reading “Banking on Land Banks for Affordable Housing”

Lawmakers in North Carolina hope to provide financial protection for hundreds of thousands of people in medical debt. Medical debt is not only the leading cause of bankruptcy, it turns out. It can actually lead to the loss of homes.

How can patients’ financial safety be guarded? A bipartisan bill in North Carolina called the Medical Debt De-Weaponization Act aims to do it. If it passes, it will make the state a leader in dealing with medical debt practices.

Here’s the story.

Continue reading “Hospitals Use Deeds of Trust to “Bully” Cash-Strapped Patients”

House prices are ridiculous. What’s going on with the costs of building a house? And is relief for the consumer anywhere in sight?

Let’s take a look.

Continue reading “Inflation and the Rising Cost of Building a House”

Several years back, Rodriques Best got married. The couple bought a home in Greensboro, North Carolina. Then they divorced. Rodriques received the home by quitclaim in the divorce settlement. The couple signed the paperwork with a notary, and submitted it for recording.

The notary, hired to help create the new deed with Rodriques as sole owner, made a mistake. It was the ex, not Rodriques, whose name went on the new deed.

The recorder of deeds, as usual, accepted the notarized document for recording. Notarized signatures on a deed signify that the county recorder’s office should accept an instrument as valid. Rodriques, too, thought everything was recorded correctly.

The quick takeaway from this story is clear, right?

Always check the deed before it’s filed.

Wait a minute. Rodriques is blind. He placed confidence in the notary to put the right information on the new deed.

Continue reading “Wrong Name on the Deed and Other Stories”