Category: Real Estate
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U.S. Housing Affordability Politics: What Is Still Possible?
Is it possible to offer real relief to people struggling with our housing affordability challenge? If so, then how? What do you think? Many of us have very good ideas. Can our law and policy makers hear us? The need for affordable U.S. housing has been left hanging way too long. So let’s look at…
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People Living in Train Cars? It’s a Thing.
It certainly is. Some train car homeowners live in them, as with the picture here. Others rent them out as novelty vacation rental homes. You can even stay in one to try out the lifestyle! It’s not even a new idea. The concept of living in a train car has attracted people for generations.
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More Deed Holders Slip Under Water. Lost Equity Risk Varies by Region.
The average deed holder is doing OK—sitting on $299K. But as high as home values are, across-the-board homeowner equity is down from its 2024 highs. Home equity belonging to the average U.S. deed holder went down by about $13K last year. In 32 states, people have been losing equity. Most strikingly, the number of mortgage…
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Can I Sell My Home With Unpaid Property Taxes or Tax Liens?
Any deed holder who’s struggling with the cost of living would understand: meeting property tax deadlines can be stressful. Sometimes, tax deadlines bring impossible burdens to a household. Those who need to sell their homes may wonder what can be done about the back taxes. The city or county government may have recorded a property…
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Is a Cash Real Estate Buyer Trying to Rip You Off?
Making a cash sale is about working with someone who’s ready to buy your home without needing a mortgage to do it. Without a financing contingency, a cash sale is a simple, reliable, quick process. Or is it? Sad but true: Scammers, posing as would-be cash buyers, are out there. All-cash home sale scammers want…
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Are Risky Mortgages Making a Comeback? Here’s What We All Must Know.
Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) can be helpful financial tools. They can also create trouble when the rate adjusts upward. Since the pandemic, adjustable-rate mortgage loans have seen a comeback. And some market watchers are becoming concerned. As one headline put the point this month: Adjustable-Rate Mortgages Caused Trouble in 2008. They’re Worrying Experts Again.
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Sign of the Times: Companies Emerge to Help Friends Acquire Deeds Together
A form of co-ownership called the tenancy in common is picking up steam across the country. Four years ago, a Los Angeles company started turning single-home properties into townhome associations where co-buyers could share living spaces. Then we saw “upzoning” laws take shape. California’s Senate Bill 9 allowed single-unit property owners to split their parcels into multiple housing units.…
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A New Century’s American Dream: Holding a Deed, or Retiring Early?
The world has changed. Work is increasingly automated, and jobs aren’t guaranteed. Property values are high. Could early retirement be taking homeownership’s place at the core of the American Dream? In previous generations, secure careers underpinned the dream of holding a deed. Financial independence was not as urgent when a career and retirement were predictable.…
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Reach Equity, for Zero Interest? Beeline Gets Deed Holders Buzzing
Blockchain-based home equity lenders are now in business. Here, we look at one. Digital mortgage lender Beeline Holdings, based in Providence, Rhode Island, offers conventional home mortgages as well as alternative loan products, for primary homes and investment properties alike. Beeline serves people, and it serves other mortgage companies. The company recently got itself listed…
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Buying Another Home? Qualifying as a “First-Time Home Buyer” When It’s Not Your First-Ever Deed
First-time home buyer status can make a purchase more affordable. And you don’t have to be a first-ever deed holder. “First-timer” is typically defined as someone who (a) actually never held a deed before; or (b) has not owned a primary home for more than three years. Just three years of faithfully holding your deed,…
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Judge Forces White House Budget Director to Keep Consumer Bureau on Life Support
Begrudgingly, Russell T. Vought just requested $145 million from the Federal Reserve to keep the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — which he runs — alive. Barely. Only a few months of the CFPB’s work will be covered by that $145 million. Judge Amy Berman Jackson declared in a December 30, 2025 federal court order that…
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The Fair Credit Reporting Act: Behind the Scenes When You Acquire a Deed
Getting a deed often depends on a credit report. That’s because credit history is essential to the outcome of a mortgage application. Wrong or breached data can lead to denied loans and other negative effects, like higher mortgage interest rates. There is some good news for an applicant who’s turned down. The applicant must be…
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Higher SALT Caps, Lost Credits: How the 2025 Tax Law Affects Deed Holders
On the Fourth of July, 2025, Donald Trump signed the “Largest Tax Cuts in History” into law. California’s governor calls the law a plan for the ultra-rich. And yes, as SmartAsset.com points out, independent analyses show most of the new tax cuts will benefit those who already enjoy high incomes. Many changes begin with the…
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Eyes on the Ball: Fair Housing Strengthens a Society’s Commitment to Equal Rights
Housing discrimination leads to so many regrettable circumstances. It divides and segregates us. It sits at the core of the affordability struggle. It leads to unrest, anger, and desperation in our cities and towns. Unfairness in the housing setup constantly affects the quality of people’s medical care, safety…even access to healthy food. It impacts some…
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Quitclaim Deeds, Gift Deeds, and Transfer on Death Deeds
Transferring real property between family members is one of the most common estate planning activities in the United States. Whether parents want to pass a family home to adult children, siblings need to resolve inherited property ownership, or grandparents wish to gift vacation property to the next generation, understanding the available deed options is essential…
