Zillow Archives - Deeds.com

February 4, 2024April 25, 2024

Can We Use AI Instead of Real Estate Agents Yet?

Real estate sites use AI to offer cutting-edge listing searches. And lenders use artificial intelligence when sizing up an applicant’s financial strength. Tech-focused online lenders employ AI to help them approve or reject loan applications right away. Additionally, AI can automate various business tasks, thereby reducing the risk of fraud.

But can AI manage a real estate deal? Not exactly. You can already use ChatGPT-enabled chatbots to review the public data on markets, specific homes and tours, and mortgage rates. But AI is a tool for real people — not a replacement for them.

October 25, 2023April 25, 2024

Another Shot at a Cheap Mortgage? Builder Offers 4.25% Rate in Some Cities

The massive building company Lennar has been giving out 30-year mortgages fixed at a 4.25% rate in Denver.

Too good to be true?

No, it’s a real offer, from a company doing what it must to attract customers when it’s so hard to afford a home. Colorado buyers have to close by Halloween 2023 to get the deal. But it’s a sign of the times. Here’s why it’s happening, and how buyers can keep alert for more offers like this.

September 13, 2023April 25, 2024

Arizona and Florida Buyers: Now There’s a 1% Down Payment Option

Interest on a 30-year mortgage has topped 7%, bringing rates up to levels not seen since 2002. And with the prices of homes as high as they are right now, it’s harder to buy a home today than at any time in the past 40 years.

Prices will stay high because of demand for homes — that owners aren’t selling. Owners don’t want to jump back into today’s market. No surprise there!

Meanwhile, those overwhelmed by rising rents find it hard to save enough for down payments. To draw potential buyers into a market like this, mortgage companies are creating incentives. Zillow Home Loans LLC, Rocket Mortgage®, and United Wholesale Mortgage are all advertising new, 1% down payment mortgages.

September 11, 2023April 25, 2024

First-Time Buyers, Get Ready for These Extra Costs

Seriously? Ordinary home expenses now cost the average homeowner more than $14K every year? That’s above and beyond the owner’s mortgage loan payment, according to Zillow and the home improvement estimate company Thumbtack, in their 2023 study.

Mortgage interest and high property values aren’t the only price a buyer pays. And the totality of homeownership costs can take first-time buyers by surprise.

Ordinary costs of owning a residence include repairs and maintenance, as well as the inevitable utility charges, property taxes, and insurance premiums.

August 28, 2023April 25, 2024

Look Out for These Bizarre Real Estate Listing Scams

Nationwide, real estate scams siphon hundreds of millions of hard-earned dollars into the accounts of fraudsters. Some new and unusual scams can fool real estate professionals.

Consider the use of AI by cutting-edge scammers. As the news show 60 Minutes recently noted, hackers now use artificial intelligence to copy someone’s voice, and have access to apps that change what comes up on a caller ID.

Here are a few hallmarks of scams that every home seeker or home lister should know. Keep in mind that tech-savvy scammers make these sneaky ploys all the harder to avoid or trace.