Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997
Until recently, getting a mortgage was a paper chase. Suddenly, the industry’s going digital. It’s all part of the wave to remote and hybrid work. And the rules and regulations have adjusted with phenomenal speed. Title companies now view digital closings and notary services as inevitable — especially given pending legislation to make remote online …
Continue reading “Digital Closings Are Here, and They’re Evolving Fast”
After the phenomenal real estate market of the past few years, those who’d like to sell could reap significant capital gains over and above what they originally paid for their homes. Those who sell should know how the Internal Revenue Service will tax those profits. From time to time we hear the federal government will …
Continue reading “Selling Your Home for a Handsome Profit This Year? Is Capital Gains Tax an Issue?”
Home values are up. If you’re like many homeowners today, you’re sitting on a substantial sum of home equity. But you might hesitate to sell your home and buy another one. Who wants to give up yesterday’s cheap mortgages for loans with tomorrow’s high interest rates? So, if you’re “stuck” with a great mortgage, you …
Continue reading “What You Need to Know About Home Improvement Loans”
It’s legal to buy a house at the age of majority. That special number is 18 years old — with a few exceptions. People reach legal adulthood at 19 in Alabama and Nebraska. And Mississippi residents are late bloomers—they stop being minors at age 21. Legal majority means you’re old enough to apply for mortgages, …
The red-hot real estate market might have cooled somewhat. But with housing in relatively short supply, affordability is hard to come by. The major hurdles for buyers right now? Down payments, mortgage payments, and interest. There are no simple hacks to work around these hurdles. But there are a few indicators worth watching closely.
Occasionally, the parties to a home sale make side deals, and do not write them down. This can lead to later questions, regarding just how meaningful a side agreement is. To know whether a side agreement is binding after closing, it helps to be familiar with the impact a deed transfer has on that agreement. …
Continue reading ““Merging With the Deed”: Are Side Agreements Binding After Closing?”
Are you thinking of buying a home that could use some energy upgrades? Maybe the HVAC, water heater, or windows are old and inefficient. A “green mortgage” — known to lenders as an energy-efficient mortgage, or EEM, — allows buyers to finance energy upgrades through a mortgage that allows a little extra borrowing to cover …
Continue reading “What’s a Green Mortgage? Energy-Efficient Mortgage Lets a Borrower Ask for More”
The president’s proposed 2024 budget would end the famous 1031 exchange, a popular tax rule that helps property sellers avoid capital gains tax. Basically, it’s a way of swapping one investment property for another. But Joe Biden’s budget calls it an “indefinite interest-free loan from the government.” This tax loophole, as the White House describes …
Continue reading “The 1031 Exchange Helps Real Estate Buyers Avoid Tax. Joe Biden’s Not a Fan.”
Becoming a homeowner in 2023 is no easy feat. To get mortgages with decent terms these days, buyers need strong incomes and credit profiles. They need the sheer luck of finding a suitable home, receiving positive appraisal and inspection reports, getting an offer accepted, and winning that all-important final mortgage approval. A buyer must get …
Continue reading “Four Things New Homeowners Love About Owning Their Homes”
The state of Rhode Island has just introduced an initiative to give $17,500 in down payment money to new buyers. Yes, that’s a $17,500 grant to first-time homebuyers in Rhode Island. The reason? To ease the growing inequality in an increasingly exclusive real estate market. U.S. homeownership seems to be turning into a privilege of the …
Continue reading “Rhode Island Is Helping People Buy Houses and Condos”