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Just 3% Down? Here’s How It’s Done.

Two people standing outside holding letters to form the word HOME.

Qualifying for the HomeReady®, Home Possible®, HomeOne®, or FHA Loan

What’s the scoop on low down payments?

  • The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA, a.k.a. Fannie Mae) offers the 3% HomeReady® loan.
  • The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC, known as Freddie Mac) has its own Home Possible® and HomeOne® mortgages, available for as little as 3% down.
  • And we can’t overlook the FHA loan, backed by the Federal Housing Administration. FHA loans can be had with down payments as low as 3.5%.

If you wonder whether any of these options will work in your situation, read on!  

Continue reading “Just 3% Down? Here’s How It’s Done.”
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Investing in Social Impact Real Estate Can Make a Difference

When A Million Renters Are Spending Most of Their Income on Rent…

Four people discussing social impact real estate.

Affordable housing is in short supply. Yet everywhere we look, people need it. People are at risk of displacement in many areas, and inflation isn’t helping.

A million of today’s workers spend most of their income on rent. This situation makes it practically impossible for households to save money, get a mortgage, or ride out times of financial stress.

Public funding has not been enough. Some investors are approaching the challenge by setting up Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

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Protect Your Safety When Buying a Home

11 Pro Tips

A person, outside, with a cell phone and laptop computer likely shopping for houses

It’s a tough real estate market out there. Sometimes, it has safety hazards, too. Buyers might not think too much about the heightened risks, but real estate professionals do.

Of course, real estate agents meet plenty of wonderful people when they show homes. Yet their job also carries personal safety risks. A survey by the National Association of REALTORS® suggests that four of every ten agents have feared for their safety on the job. And when real estate professionals say this, it’s a sign that buyers should exercise situational awareness too.

Here, we take a look at what to look out for, and share 11 top tips used by experts.

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Zillow Quits iBuying for Good. A Message for the 2022 Home Buying Market?

Property Tech News Flash

So, the last time we wrote on this topic, Zillow had put Zillow OffersTM on hold, planning to re-enter the iBuying arena in 2022.

Since then, Zillow has thrown in the towel. Zillow’s sudden decision to quit iBuying altogether seems to raise questions. Could Zillow’s capitulation be sending a message about the housing market? Or about the iBuying model itself?

Let’s take a new look at what’s going on.

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Billions in Delayed Mortgage Payments: Is This Sustainable?

Life After Forbearance

A person in deep thought about delayed mortgage payments and a future after mortgage forbearance.

Let’s begin with the financial facts. As the festive season approaches, about a half a million more U.S. homeowners are coming out of their 18-month, pandemic-related mortgage forbearance periods.

All told, about 15% of U.S. mortgage holders opted to put their payments on hold. Most are already out of their forbearance plans, but that doesn’t mean they’re out of the woods yet. Many exited forbearance without having made their past-due payments. They owe, on average, just over $14 thousand per homeowner. The Brookings Institution counts the current U.S. mortgage forbearance overhang in the tens of billions of dollars.

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Suing a Prior Owner Under Warranty Deed Covenants

People sitting at a table reviewing a legal document.

The Length of a Deed’s Warranty May Vary

Most people have the general idea that by transferring a home with a warranty deed, a seller makes binding promises to a buyer. But what do most of us know about those promises — unless and until something goes wrong later, and legal action is contemplated?

A warranty deed offers its recipient significant assurances. It’s good to know what promises the seller is making, and how long they cover the buyer. These promises, called covenants, assert that the seller has the legal right to sell, that the title is good, and, in certain cases, that the seller is willing to defend the title against future challenges.  

To lay this out clearly, a warranty deed is a seller’s promise that:

  • The seller owns the property to be conveyed.
  • The seller has full rights to convey title to a new owner.
  • The title is clear.
  • The seller agrees to “warrant and forever defend” the title being conveyed.

Note: State law where a property is located sets forth the language through which deeds convey titles. Owners can check the deed language in the state where the property is located for the words “warrant and forever defend” or similar terminology.

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Can the Shift to Remote Work Turn Renters Into Homeowners?

Person sitting on the floor of a living room working o a computer.

New Opportunities for First-Time Buyers

In the final weeks of 2021, remote/hybrid work continues and is becoming standard. We see most U.S. office workers working remotely at least one or two days a week. A fourth of them continue to work from home offices every day. The past two years have clearly changed the way we work, and the way we view our home lives. For many, these will be lasting changes.

A Harvard business prof urges companies to maintain the work-from-home culture, citing positive productivity data, talent and diversity, a healthier gender balance on staffs, and the climate benefits of less driving. There’s still another benefit of the shift to work-from-home employment. It’s the increased potential for renters to find paths to homeownership.

Zillow® believes that the shift remote work could turn nearly 2 million renters into buyers. How?

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