Category: Real Estate
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Indianapolis Rising: Where the Investor Buyers Are Going and Why
Some say the investment boom has fizzled. But mostly, it has changed tactics. Reacting to a sharp increase in the costs of mortgages, investors have shifted away from certain housing markets and into others. Investors are keeping deed recorders very busy in Indianapolis. Suddenly, Milwaukee is feeling the love, too. Columbus, Ohio? Yep, buyers…
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Safe or Sorry? The Evolving Law of Disclosing Flood Risk (and How to Look Up Your Own Home’s Risk of Flooding)
How many of us ask about flood risk before buying a house or renting an apartment? In many areas of the country, whether we rent or buy, no one mentions flood risk. And yet, for millions of homes, flood risks keep increasing. Knowing whether a home has flooded, or is at high risk of flooding,…
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Some Offices Are Bringing Their Remote Workers Back. Will This Force Homeowners to Sell?
“They need us. They won’t force us to come back to the office!” Or will they? During the pandemic, remote work became a survival tactic. Some companies liked the new ways. They said they’d keep remote or hybrid working options available indefinitely. For a time, stories abounded of employees who went remote, moved out of…
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Latest in House Hacking: The Influencer Edition
Back in 2020, it seemed to be everywhere. But we wondered just how persistent “house hacking” would be. Turns out the trend has stayed popular on real estate investment websites, in spite of (or maybe because of) a hard-to-crack housing market. House hacking is really just about buying and renting out real estate. Yet it…
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First-Time Buyers, Get Ready for These Extra Costs
Seriously? Ordinary home expenses now cost the average homeowner more than $14K every year? That’s above and beyond the owner’s mortgage loan payment, according to Zillow and the home improvement estimate company Thumbtack, in their 2023 study. Mortgage interest and high property values aren’t the only price a buyer pays. And the totality of homeownership…
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Climate Risks and Insurance: The Struggle Continues
Insurance policies are getting pricier. There is no end in sight. Companies hope to limit payouts for weather damage linked to climate disruption. And so, as floods, storms and fires intensify, homeowners and buyers across the country should brace themselves for more than weather. Companies are shrinking coverage, hiking premiums, and raising deductibles. Something’s got…
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The Housing Market “Reset” Is Coming. Here Are 5 Tips to Protect Your Equity
The chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, wants to “reset” the U.S. housing market. By hiking interest rates, Powell claims to be forming a more “balanced” market between buyers and sellers. In other words, home values could be set to drop. The Federal Reserve has, in fact, admitted that a sharp drop in…
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Transferring a Deed Without a Lawyer? Here’s What You Should Know
A deed, of course, is a legal document representing property ownership. But you might be wondering if an owner can transfer a deed to another person without a real estate lawyer. The answer is yes. Parties to a transaction are always free to prepare their own deeds. If you do so, be sure your deed measures up…
