Let’s face it, there are some very real advantages of renting instead of owning. Most of those advantages are related to a change of scenery. When renting, you have a choice of where you want to live, what you want to pay each month for rent and how long you want your lease for. For […]
5 Questions First Time Buyers Need to Ask
Buying a first home is probably the biggest financial decision someone can make. For those who already own their own homes they can relate. It’s a process that can be explained upfront but until someone goes through it, experience is the ultimate teacher. Finding, buying and financing a home can be a rather drawn out […]
3 Signs You Know It’s Time to Buy
For those who occasionally wonder whether or not it’s time to stop being a renter and start owning, it can be difficult to ultimately lead to the decision to drop the landlord and own a home. There won’t be any midnight revelation that says, “Buy Now” or anything remotely similar. Even if the math works […]
Is the Fed Changing Its Tune?
It appears that, while not backtracking, the Federal Reserve has indeed changed its tune regarding interest rate policy. The Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, wrapped up its most recent two-day meetings this past January 30. The FOMC meets about every six weeks to review the current state of the economy, review recent past and […]
Should You buy Now or Wait? Q1 and Q2 Mortgage Rate Forecast
It’s now closer to the time when holidays and days off are further in the rear view mirror and it’s back to the standard routine. Investors are back in the markets packing their portfolios with stocks, mutual funds and bonds and analysts are moving back in the guessing game as to the state of the […]
Comparing the Three Government-Backed Mortgage Loans
Financing a primary residence means having the most financing options available in today’s marketplace. For those wanting to buy and finance investment real estate there are fewer albeit very competitive choices. But with a primary residence, there are plenty and are divided into two basic categories- conventional and government-backed. A conventional loan is one where […]
How to Calculate a Jumbo VA Loan Amount
If you’re eligible for a VA loan and want to come to the closing table with as little money as possible, a VA loan is going to be hard to beat and for several reasons. The most popular is probably not requiring a down payment. That is at least up to the maximum VA loan […]
Mortgages and Divorce: What You Need to Know
Couples don’t enter into a marriage expecting it to soon end. Quite the opposite in fact, when they get married they do so “until death do us part” and are so much in love they couldn’t imagine being separated much less getting a divorce. Unfortunately however divorce is a real thing and too often marriages […]
Rent or Buy, Part 2: Pros & Cons of Renting
Depending on your age and the decade you grew up in, “conventional wisdom” on the topic of renting vs. buying a home could have varied tremendously. If for example you grew up in the 90s, you may have been brought up to believe that renting is just throwing money down a drain, and buying is […]
Rent or Buy, Part 1: Pros and Cons of Buying
When it comes to the topic of renting vs. buying, one thing is likely—if you ask around, most of your friends and family are bound to have pretty strong opinions on it. You may know people who say, “Don’t take out a mortgage; you will just get trapped and find yourself underwater in a few […]
