Dropping Homeowners Coverage Could Prove Costly
If you’re a homeowner who’s considering canceling your insurance coverage due to the high cost, think twice. Even if you own the house outright, you might not be able to recover from a catastrophe.
Many Vacant Houses Need to Be Registered – Even Vacation Homes
Many local governments started requiring vacant units to be registered following the Great Financial Crisis. Ignoring these rules can prove costly.
Sellers, It’s Time to Think About Concessions
Sometimes, homebuyers are hesitant to pull the trigger. They might love the house they found – it’s priced right and mortgage rates are coming down – but they just can’t decide whether to move forward.
Don’t Miss the Chance to Refi
If the past is prologue, millions of homeowners with high-rate mortgages won’t refinance their loans, even as mortgage rates tumble.
Cash Buyers Can Get Their Money Back
Cash is king when it comes to buying a house. Always has been, and always will be. And these days, individual cash buyers – as opposed to cash-laden investors – have an even better shot of scoring the house of their dreams.
A Homeowner’s Playbook for the Day After Disaster
These days, disasters like wildfires, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes are more powerful – and more frequent – than ever. It’s increasingly likely that wherever you live, your home will be hit one way or another.
States Are Taking the Fight to Squatters
Some states are taking long-overdue legislative steps to deal with squatters: people who take over others’ properties without their consent, sometimes dumping the owner’s stuff and trashing their homes.
How Homeowners Can Save on Rising Insurance Premiums
Homeowners may be able to find some relief from rising property taxes and insurance premiums – without doing much work in the process.
Basic Customer Service Creates Big Opening for Agents
Nearly half of online property inquiries are simply ignored, according to new research from real estate analyst and consultant Mike DelPrete.
Thinking Solar? Beware of Crooked Lenders
Homeowners considering adding solar panels to their rooftops should beware of crooked lenders who mislead customers about the terms and conditions of their financing.
Listing a Home? Get the Sellers to ‘Edit’
Price, location and condition all play a part in whether or not someone decides to buy your house. But a homeowner can only control one of them, and it’s not price or location.
Overpriced Listings Become Stale
Right now, according to Redfin, more houses have been on the market for 30 days or more than any other time in recent memory
Casual Chitchat Can Cost You a Real Estate Deal
Loose lips can not only sink ships, they can also scuttle real estate transactions. That applies to what home sellers say on social media as well as during a showing.
Spotting Design Flaws
No newly constructed house is perfect. That’s why builders employ customer service teams to go back after customers move in and rectify whatever issues have popped up.
Spotting Design Flaws
Flaws in a home’s floor plan won’t cause the house to fall down – but unlike minor repairs, you’re stuck with them unless they were addressed during construction.
Rejected for a Home Loan? Don’t Give Up Yet
Nothing is more devastating to homebuyers than to search for months and finally find the place they want, only to be rejected by their chosen lender. But it happens to 1 in 10 applicants.
How to Get a One-of-a-Kind Home, The Easy Way
Even though I live in a custom-designed house, I don’t recommend designing your own place from scratch. It’s not for everyone.
Door Opens to Flip a House for Yourself, Not Profit
High mortgage rates, soaring house prices and rising construction costs have driven many flippers out of the market. And with their exit comes a great opportunity for people eager to buy a fixer-upper of their own.
Fixed-Rate Loan Payments Can Go Up
If you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your payments will always stay the same, right? Wrong. Taxes and insurance premiums invariably rise – which means your house payment does, too.
Setting the Record Straight on the NAR Settlement
The reporting on the recent $418 million settlement with the National Association of Realtors and several large national brokerage companies has been so atrocious that I must jump in.
