Should a Seller Get a Pre-Inspection for their Home?
Reverse Mortgages: New Rules Make Them Safer for Homeowners
The promises of a reverse mortgage -- never having to pay a mortgage bill again and using your home's equity to finance retirement -- can sound too good to be true. It almost was too good to be true during the Great Recession, when more borrowers were withdrawing most of their home equity at closing [...]
Don’t Let Winter Put a Chill on Your Home Sale
While spring is traditionally thought to be the prime season for home buying, people buy and sell homes throughout the year. The need to relocate for a new career, health reasons or the urge for new life experiences can happen at any time. Selling a home can be stressful. Add in harsh weather conditions and [...]
Want to Sell Your Home? The Spring Selling Season May Be Coming Early This Year
If you're considering selling your home, now is the time to get ready. Not next month, not next week, not tomorrow. Right now. Why? Because buyers are already on the hunt. The Internet is the new curb appeal Last month will likely be remembered for polar vortexes, widespread snow, and historic traffic jams. Lost in [...]
Why We Fall in Love—With Houses
Falling in love can be wonderful—and finding the perfect house can make a house-hunter weak in the knees. As Valentine’s Day approaches, a survey by Realtor.com shows that falling head-over-heels for a house is fairly common—69% of respondents reported that they have had a home crush. House-hunters with a “home crush,” as defined in the [...]
A Garage Addition Can Solve Your Storage Problems
For many Jacksonville residents, the garage is far more than a spot to park the car — it’s become more of a catchall for every outdoor item the family owns. Floridians spend a ton of time outside, so they often have to store their surfboards and windsurfers in addition to the normal gardening and lawn [...]
Mortgage Rates to Rise
The Federal Reserve's announcement Wednesday that it would reduce its bond-buying by $10 billion a month was seen generally as a moderate start to the highly anticipated taper. As such, mortgage rates, which follow bond yields, did not rise dramatically, as some had predicted. "I was relieved by how the market has reacted so far [...]
Fed Keeps Interest Rates, Bond-Buying Program Unchanged
To the surprise of virtually no one, the Federal Reserve kept its cheap-money policy in place, but markets interpreted language in the decision to mean that the end may come sooner than expected. Wall Street had expected the Fed to refrain from tapering its so-called money printing operation. Economic data, particularly in employment and consumer confidence, has [...]
U.S. Average on 30-Year Mortgage Rises to 4.29%
WASHINGTON -- Average U.S. mortgage rates rose modestly this week, a move that makes home-buying a bit less affordable. Still, rates remain near historically low levels. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year loan increased to 4.29 percent from 4.22 percent last week. The average on the 15-year fixed ticked [...]
Mortgage Lenders Reportedly Accepting Lower Down Payments
The average down payment for 30-year fixed rate mortgages dropped to 15.73 percent of the home's value in the third quarter this year, down 2.74 percent from the second quarter, according to a report from LendingTree. A news release about report, which detailed the average down payment percentages by state, highlighted the relationship between down [...]