Tag: Homeownership
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Senate Passes ROAD to Housing Act—Builders, Housing Advocates Weigh In
In March, the U.S. Senate passed the housing bill called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The intent of the law is to make U.S. housing more accessible to more people. The price tag on a typical home sold in the U.S. is sidelining hopeful buyers caught in a troubled economy. The ROAD to…
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Leave Some Deeds for the Rest of Us! Will the White House Lower the Boom on Corporate Buyers?
You may have heard about the Trump executive order on real estate investment companies. The idea is about keeping large companies from buying homes that ordinary deed seekers would want to buy. It comes in the midst of poll results showing voters upset with high prices, and profit-seekers buying up homes. Does this depend on…
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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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Thinking of Downsizing? Consider Costs Along With Benefits.
Thinking of downsizing? For some deed holders, it’s a fantastic choice. Just be sure you’re on the lookout for unexpected costs in today’s housing market. Here, we go through some scenarios so you can spot potential issues related to moving into a smaller place. Don’t let them catch you by surprise.
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Consider This Before Creating a Life Estate Deed
Say you decide you’d like to stay in your home for life. After all, with the costs for assisted living going through the roof, holding your deed might be the best senior living plan! You can certainly draw up a life estate deed, and convey your property into a co-ownership with someone — a friend,…
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Can I Find My Property Line With My Deed?
Need to check your property lines? Will the deed tell you what you need to know? Your deed shows you the legal description of your property. But when accuracy matters, you’ll need a surveyor to stake the land and confirm the location of your property boundaries. Let’s take a look at what the deed tells…
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If I Have a Mortgage, Who Really Holds the Title to My Home?
A home buyer who uses financing — as most people do — is considered a homeowner, as opposed to a renter. The buyer has paid the seller, so the buyer owns the home, regardless of whether the deal is done with cash or financed. If the property’s value rises (or falls), then the gain (or…
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Real Estate Is Still Key to Wealth—But It’s Taking Longer.
This year, the National Association of REALTORS® came out with an article titled The 5-Year Rule Is No More. It was all about how long a buyer needs to stay in a home to “truly break even.” That old drop of wisdom about holding onto a home five years to recoup the cost of closing…
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House-Proud: New Research Links Homeownership to Mental Wellness
More than two in every 10 adults in the United States live with mental illnesses. More than 8% of our population is dealing with a major depressive disorder. Since the pandemic took hold, mental health issues have shown a trend upward. What does a deed (or the lack of one) have to do with this?…
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Philadelphia’s New Title Clearance Unit Is on a Roll
The new Title Clearance Unit is fast becoming an essential element of Philadelphia’s office of the Register of Wills. Its mission and focus? Helping Philadelphians who inherited family homes, but never formally transferred the deeds. John P. Sabatina, who accepted the Register of Wills post in January 2024, promptly unveiled the new division, supported…
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“Locking” Your Home Title? Read This First.
You might have seen ads urging you to get services that “lock” your title against deed theft. First, is deed theft really a thing? Next, if it is, do “title lock” companies really prevent it? Yes, and no. Let’s break this down, Q&A-style. Then, we’ll offer some important but simple tips to keep tabs on…
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Deeds in Disarray: Untangling Titles Passed Down Informally
When homes are passed down without a will, legal ownership can become questionable. Claims to the title can tangle. This happens most often in households of modest income (many who couldn’t afford probate). Loss of the home title, of course, pushes families into still harder situations. Indeed, a number of factors could keep households from…
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Will Congress Expand the Capital Gains Exemption to Help People Sell Their Homes?
Property values keep going up. Why doesn’t the capital gains exemption do the same? Taxes on home sales can make deed holders hold their homes when they might otherwise sell. When current deed holders don’t want to sell their properties, inventory suffers. Meanwhile, there are young people looking for homes to buy.
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Married, and Not on the Deed. What Are My Rights?
Sometimes, only one spouse is named on the deed. This can be because one person already owned the home before marriage, or because one spouse inherited a deed. Or perhaps there are financial or tax advantages to having only one person on the deed and not the other. Or the sole named deed holder simply…
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What’s Going On With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
Many people acquire deeds by applying for conventional loans. When we say conventional, we mean loans supported by our country’s federal housing agency through two powerhouses of the mortgage world: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That’s why we keep current with news on the policy changes happening in that agency. And there’s a lot to…
