The spring and summer months are traditionally the busiest times of year for the residential real estate market. Weather is more cooperative and many families like to move while the kids are on their summer break. But in recent years spring, for many regions, has meant more homes on the market, but also more buyers, [...]
The younger generations have not had the pleasure of growing up with 8 track tapes, no cell phones or computers. Some are even asking the question, what is a starter home? This term is a throwback from post WWII. Not many real estate agents or lenders use this term anymore, so there are a lot [...]
The dreaded words, “bad credit” is now heard from a lot more people than it used to be. Bad credit used to have a connotation that you just didn’t pay your bills. That is not the case in today’s world, necessarily. The latest economic crisis has hit home to many very hard. It’s not because [...]
Certainly, it is a well known fact by now that the economy struck many homeowners hard in the last year or so. There are now an overabundance of foreclosed property in the Washington, DC area as well as other parts of the United States. The lenders don’t want to and can’t keep these homes on [...]
The past few years have been an absolute nightmare on many people’s finances and investments. Literally thousands of people lost their homes through foreclosure. And, as everyone knows, a foreclosure is a huge black mark on your credit scores. But, it is not as bad as it seems in today’s market. Some lenders are realizing [...]
The housing crisis have caused many homes to be available on the market in the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia areas. There are homes available in just about any price range. It is just a matter of taking the time to look for what you like and visiting a lender to get funding in place [...]
First time home buyers can often become a little confused by the terminology used. One term that actually causes real concern is when an agent tells them their home is being sent to escrow. Of course, the home is not actually going anywhere – in fact, I am sure there are some real estate agents [...]
If you listen to some commentators, the sky has fallen in on home loans and only those with AAA credit scores, good incomes, and oodles of cash as a down payment can find mortgages. At the moment, that is far from the truth. In fact, many people on low incomes are able to obtain mortgages. [...]
One of the interesting trends of late is the offer by both real estate agents and sellers to pay closing costs. Real estate agents generally offer a cash back option, however, this is no different to paying closing costs. The sting for buyers is that these offers are generally tied to buying the home at [...]
When reading newspapers, you’ll often come across statistics used to describe the current housing market. One statistic often quoted is housing affordability. Some argue that this is an important measure of society’s ability to buy homes, and is an important market trend worth noting. Others argue the opposite stating it is nothing more than a [...]
The real estate market is poised to go in a number of directions at present and every analyst seems to have a different perspective on that direction. We are in a rather unusual position nationally, one that has rarely been encountered in the past. Some areas are seeing improvements in both prices and stock reductions [...]
The fallout from the recent financial crisis is yet to reach its full potential, however, the signs are there on the horizon and for those on moderate and low incomes, the news is not good. With Congress making moves to remove Fannie May and Freddie Mac away from mortgage risk, other lenders will have to [...]
If you have been trying to obtain approval for a home loan, one of the stopping points may have been your down payment. At present, lenders are looking for borrowers to start off their mortgage by having at least a ten percent down payment. That’s not all bad news – it also means you start [...]
There’s a new wrinkle in the way people obtain home mortgages. Many new and creative financing methods are available to help people afford their dream home. But some of them include hidden risks that can make them a potential time bomb for the home owner. And this type of mortgage could be one of them. [...]
