Distributed weekly to 90 newspapers around the country by The Washington Post Writers Group, including The Commercial Record, Ken Harney’s column was focused on unglamorous but vital issues concerning the intricacies of buying and selling property.
The long knives are out again for one of American real estate’s oldest and most controversial traditions: requiring home sellers to pay the agents who represent the buyers of their properties.
Do you want to buy a house but worry that your credit profile will disqualify you for a mortgage? Take another look: A new study suggests that you might find lenders a little friendlier and more flexible than you thought.
A new report from the New York Federal Reserve sheds a little light on a question that’s been hanging over the American real estate market: Has the massive tax overhaul adopted by Congress in late 2017 had any effect on whether consumers want to buy or sell homes?
American homeowners are doing something surprising: Despite record amounts of home equity available to them – an estimated $1.5 trillion – they are tapping into it less via home-equity credit lines and cash-out refinancings. The question is: Why?
Have we arrived at one of those rare Goldilocks moments in real estate, where the market works well for both sellers and buyers, strongly favoring neither?
Here’s some good news for anyone whose credit scores aren’t quite as high as they’d like them to be: Three new financial tools have come to market – or soon will be available – that could give your scores a shot of adrenaline when you need it most.
Mortgage company executives say they are bracing for reductions in their FHA business by anywhere from 10 percent to 30 percent as a result of the agency’s new underwriting rules, the product over concerns about worsening loan quality.
In what could be the most far-reaching antitrust lawsuit for the real estate market in decades, the National Association of Realtors and four of the largest realty companies have been accused of a conspiracy to systematically overcharge home sellers.
If you’re one of the millions of Americans who are self-employed or earn money on the side through freelance, contract or “gig” work, you may know the drill firsthand: Applying for a mortgage can be an intrusive ordeal.
Even if your home is not a dazzling palazzo on a hill, the secret is out: Though it’s highly unlikely, your Zillow page can be hacked and stolen by online troublemakers.
It’s a real estate and social barometer that doesn’t get a lot of publicity, but it’s important: More Americans are paying their mortgages on time today than they have in nearly two decades – maybe even longer.
When you type in a home’s street address to obtain an online valuation from the two biggest players in the field – Zillow’s Zestimate or Redfin’s Estimate tools – how good is what you get?
Are senior homeowners preventing Millennials from buying houses? Could the decisions of millions of older owners to “age in place” rather than sell their homes explain why Millennials are lagging behind in homeownership?
About 54,000 mortgage borrowers recently had their financial data exposed to identity thieves trolling around on the Internet. Borrowers had no hint that they were vulnerable, and many may still not know that a breach occurred.
A new statistical review conducted by Lending Tree suggests that, depending on market conditions, a “good” 700 FICO score could get you nearly as attractive a rate deal as someone with an 800-plus score.
Combined with other recent trends – growing inventories of homes available for sale, slower price inflation and even modest price reductions – the decline in mortgage rates should be encouraging for anyone seriously in the market for a home.
When done right, DIYs are great, saving you money and time. They can even be fun and give you a sense of pride in what you’ve accomplished. But they can also be rolling disasters when they go off the rails.
If agents’ disclosures aren’t clear to you, probe further. You need to know who – if anyone – has your best interests paramount.
Imagine having to save up your money to purchase your first home for more than $500,000, and the place you buy is a two-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot starter home.
