Author Archive
ZERO PERCENT, OR NEGATIVE, INTEREST RATES: AN INTERESTING POSSIBILITY
Recently, President Donald Trump Tweeted “INTEREST COST COULD BE BROUGHT WAY DOWN”, in reference to his stated desire that the Fed reduce the interest rates to zero, or even negative. While this isn’t likely to occur (the Fed has consiste...
AFFORDABLE HOUSING REFORM IN THE SENATE: A GOOD SIGN FOR POTENTIAL BUYERS
On Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee received testimony from key players in the effort to modify the United States housing finance systems. It appears that the Senators generally agree that supporting the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and F...
EXCEPTIONS TO THE 5-YEAR RULE
There are two kinds of people who buy homes, and they generally evolve from one to the other as they build wealth: (1) people looking for the home they will spend the rest of their lives in, and (2) people who are looking to make a solid invest...
BUY A HOME, DON’T BE A DOOFUS: COMMON (BAD) EXCUSES FOR NOT BUYING A HOME
Owning a home is necessary precursor to accumulating “wealth” (as opposed to living paycheck to paycheck with nothing tangible to really show for it). A house is a substantial investment that builds equity over time, it’s a mechanism for ...
Drilling in Your Home: Don’t be a Dud
There are a lot of projects around the house that seem simple enough, why would you hire someone for something so simple; as simple as drilling a hole in a wall for example. Assuming you know what you’re doing, you don’t need to read this ...
A SLIGHT INCREASE IN MORTGAGE RATES: NO CAUSE FOR ALARM
For the ninth time this year, mortgage rates have increased. If you have been following our blog, you are aware that the rates have been steadily dropping which is good news for would- be purchasers, would-be sellers, and people just looking to...
Price Per Square Foot: A Useful Metric in Negotiations
There are several methods professional Realtors utilize to “value” property (as opposed to how appraisers actually value property), and the methods are not mutually exclusive; each method has a benefit for determining whether a seller has a...
It’s a Good Time to Buy!
In the most recent week, the market has given us good news and bad news. The good news is that mortgage rates have dropped yet again, while the bad news is that it is unclear whether the Fed still intends to reduce rates again this year. Ultima...