Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997
Well, it’s one way to transfer property deeds between people! Yet trading homes with someone else isn’t your typical deed transaction.
In a prolonged tight market, deed exchanges are drawing growing numbers of curious and creative homeowners. Here’s a bit more about the concept.
Continue reading “Could a Home Swap Turn Out to Be a Win-Win? Here’s How It Works.”
Millions of U.S. households have multiple adult generations. How do they divide up the worth of their home and the upkeep that goes into it? Who pays the mortgage, insurance, and property taxes? What happens if an owner leaves the home, or passes away?
A lot comes down to good deed planning.
In this discussion of vesting a multigenerational home, we check out the intersections of people’s lives and deeds.
Continue reading “Multigenerational Homeownership: How the Deed Is Vested”
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 home equity month by month. And property inflation helps them do it.
In this context, a recent NBC News segment featured financial advisers who urge people to become homeowners — in spite of the current high interest rates. From their perspective, not owning is unaffordable.
After all, the gap between the haves and have-nots of real estate widens with inflation. Fear of missing out, a.k.a. FOMO, is a totally reasonable response to this reality.
Or you can…
Continue reading “Buying a Home While Interest Rates Are Still High? The Case for “Yes””
To transfer the deed or keep the deed? That is the question. And it tends to come up when retirement age approaches.
This phase of life often involves downsizing — to lower the household tax, insurance, and maintenance costs.
Paying off the home mortgage can net longtime owners enough to unlock some great options. Rent a nice space at a 55+ apartment property? Downsize? Explore life-plan properties? Or just stay home?
Let’s sort out some basic issues and questions related to each of these alternatives.
Continue reading “What’s Best in Retirement: Owning or Renting?”
Once you get a deed to your own home, you have special wealth-building powers. Pay off the mortgage faithfully month by month, and you own increasing home equity. This is how your home turns into value you can tap when you need or want it.
A home equity line of credit (HELOC) gives you an account to tap for ongoing or surprise expenses —costs like tuition, medical or accessibility needs, starting a new business, or anything else you’d like to pay for without putting debt on a credit card. You use your home equity as collateral. This means banks offer interest rates as low as 9%. That’s a lot lower than credit card rates.
While HELOC rates might start off seemingly low, they can turn into trouble.
Continue reading “The Big Tease: Look Out for Rising Interest on a Home Equity Line of Credit”