Category: Real Estate
-
Vacation Property Loans? What’s the Scoop?
Some people buy homes, and run vacation rental businesses through them. They might even run their businesses from afar, through apps. And they do it without having to qualify for a loan based on their incomes. These borrowers seek out an unconventional — yet popular — form of mortgage. Lenders approve these loans based…
-
Now They Want a New Trial. Could NAR Ever Drop Its “Clear Cooperation” Policy?
There’s a rule most people follow in the residential real estate world. You’re likely familiar with it. The seller covers the agent fees for both sides of the deal. The seller’s and the buyer’s agents typically split 5% or 6% between the two. Of course, the home buyer ultimately pays for it all — as…
-
Buying a Home While Interest Rates Are Still High? The Case for “Yes”
For too many years, the U.S. housing market has been out of reach for too many people. But giving up might not be an option. Those able to get a foothold in this market often do it to attain a viable financial future. A homeowner’s wealth goes up along with home values. So, owners accumulate…
-
Buy a Flipped Home, Get an FHA Loan. Like Oil and Water—Or Do They Mix?
Once upon a time, way back in 2003, the Federal Housing Administration instituted a 90-day wait for sales of homes by flippers. And to this day, only those who’ve owned for more than three months may sell to buyers who get FHA loans. Clearly, flippers need to keep this in mind. FHA-backed mortgages, of course,…
-
Selling Your Property When a Renter Still Lives There: Why and How?
Can you sell a rental unit “out from under” your renter? A loaded question, of course. Look at it this way. If your renters love where they live, it could be a win for all involved. You have a few things to consider as you plan for positive outcomes, of course. This is true whether…
-
Buying Without Your Spouse? What to Know About a Purchase Money Mortgage
Sometimes a homebuyer who’s married wants to buy property as an individual. They want to be the sole buyer, with no other name on the closing papers. How can it work? Consider the purchase money mortgage. As Cleveland’s CrossCountry Mortgage® company explains, “if a married person wants to purchase a property without their spouse being…
-
Real Estate or Bitcoin? In 2024, Investors Consider the Tradeoffs
Bitcoin watchers have noticed surprising amounts of real estate profits being converted into bitcoin. The reason comes down to unpredictable returns in real estate for wealthy investor-buyers. At the same time, “Bitcoin, as an emerging asset class, potentially offers much higher growth potential for many investors,” writes Nik Hoffman for Bitcoin Magazine. Wow, much potentially…
-
Owning a Home Just Got More Useful. AI Speeds Up HELOC Lending
At the year’s end, it’s fun to pick out the best innovations to appear during the past 12 months. What about the role of artificial intelligence in home lending? More people might take out home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) to put their home equity to work — if only it weren’t such a drawn-out…
-
Added to a Deed: What Are the Tax Consequences?
It’s a common question. You’re going to be added onto someone’s deed. Will you have to declare your new homeownership to the IRS? An acquisition of real estate is not considered income. But being named on a deed could still implicate taxes. Let’s explore why.
-
Hispanics Will Be the Majority of New Homeowners by 2040. Can the Market Meet Their Needs?
This year’s trend study from CoreLogic® shows a steady rise in mortgage lending in mainly Hispanic neighborhoods. Hispanic buyers tend to be younger and less affluent than other buyers across the board. Many are coming into real estate as first-time buyers. They’re motivated. Many will opt for FHA loans if conventional loans are out of…
-
Affordability Rx: U.S. Government Is Now Funding Office-to-Home Conversions
As our readers know, the pandemic changed the way we work and live. Remote and hybrid working are now common ways of earning a living. We’ve also noted how repurposing empty offices could ease the housing crisis. Commercial areas contain more and more vacant space, more of the time. This fact holds true across the…
-
Who Owns Your Home—You, or the Bank? Check for a “Defeasance Clause”
Defeasance? What’s that? Some home loans contain a defeasance clause. It means you’re giving up collateral. Do your home loan documents have defeasance language? If so, your lending institution holds your home’s title for as long as you owe the lender money. Although the legal owner is your lender, you are still called the homeowner.…
-
How Philadelphia’s Funeral Homes Aid in Resolving Tangled Titles to Preserve a Billion Dollars in Real Estate Wealth
Once upon a time, Katherine Gilmore Richardson undertook the crucial task of reclaiming the title to her family home in Wynnefield, West Philly, where she grew up. She got the title back to her family home. She grew up in that corner home in Wynnefield, West Philly. So she wanted to recover its title with…
-
What Is “Subject-To” Home Buying? AKA: Taking Over the Mortgage Payments
Ever heard someone say they got a “subject-to” offer on their home? Or maybe you or someone you know is contacted with a subject-to offer. Maybe you saw a sign saying “We buy homes!” and wondered what’s going on. Subject-to is a little-known strategy in the world of deed transactions. It comes in many forms.…
-
Update! Fed Signals 2024 “Pivot” on Interest Rates. What Should Home Sellers and Seekers Know?
As we’ve all noticed, deed transfers really got stuck in a rut in 2023. Too few owners are selling their homes. Supply is down. Prices are up. A core issue? The Federal Reserve. Over the past two years, the Fed has hiked rates in order to banish inflation and to tighten up the economy. So,…
