What Should You Know about Refinancing?

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Owning a home you love shouldn’t come at the expense of paying too much money each month to maintain your mortgage. This is why the option of refinancing is available. If you’re ready to lower your monthly payments, here’s what you should know.

What Exactly Does It Mean to Refinance?

Refinancing is essentially a second mortgage application process. Rather than sticking with the terms of your initial mortgage, you have the ability to apply for a new mortgage loan on new terms. This involves a new home appraisal, verification of employment and income, proof of ongoing debts, and more. Many people consider this option if interest rates have decreased since they obtained their first mortgage or if they now have a better credit score to secure an even better interest rate. Read more

When Real Estate and Technology Collide

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There are few aspects of daily life that modern technology has not transformed, and real estate is no exception. Though it has long been commonplace for real estate agents to support home sales by listing properties online with pictures and descriptions, the technology utilized in real estate is quickly becoming even more sophisticated.

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Have Sellers Finally Gained Enough Equity to Upsize or Downsize?

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Every adult in America distinctly remembers the recession of 2008 that led to a weak economy and housing crisis. Home prices plummeted between 2006 and 2012, and in 2008 the Case-Shiller home price index reported its single largest price drop on record. Despite the government’s $900 billion in special funding to the housing market, more and more homeowners found themselves living in homes suddenly worth less than what they owed.

This prospect of being “upside down” in a mortgage loan and devoid of equity sent many homeowners into foreclosure. Others had no choice but to continue making monthly payments in the hopes that their home values would recover in the future. According to real estate experts, homeowners looking to sell have finally found relief. Attom Data Solutions recently released a report that homeowners who sold in the first three months of 2017 achieved the highest average gains seen since 2007. Read more

Is It Possible to Simultaneously Sell Your Home and Buy Another?

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Buying a house is an enormous undertaking,and so is selling your existing home. What happens when you find yourself needing to do both at once? Believe it or, it is possible to simultaneously sell your home, buy another, and keep your sanity in the process. Here is what you need to know!

First, Study Your Local Market

The 2017 housing market is expected to continue to become stronger, but it’s still important to investigate your own local market before deciding it’s time to sell your home and buy another. It could be that your market is specifically geared toward buyers or sellers for the time being, and that knowledge will help you strategize. Read more

Top Tricks for Enjoying a Smooth Home Closing

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The process of purchasing a home involves a vast number of steps that finally culminate on closing day. Closing, also known as settlement, is a meeting between the home sellers, buyers, and any agents and representatives in order to sign documents that transfer property ownership. It is also the time to pay closing costs and escrow payments. As the very last requirement before your dream home is finally yours, closing day should be handled with the utmost attention-to-detail to ensure that everything runs smoothly. These tips will help you enjoy a simple and stress-free closing on your new home. Read more

Important Home Ownership Tax Implications You Don’t Want to Ignore

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Is there a word in the English language that inspires more stress than “taxes”? Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean that taxes need to overwhelm you! If you are selling your home, chances are you won’t even need to consider paying taxes on your profit. But if you are one of the few who do, these tricks will help you maximize the amount of money you keep in your pocket.

You’ll Know You’re Exempt From Paying Taxes If… Read more

A Simple Guide to Buying Your First Home

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Owning your very own home is an integral piece of the American Dream, a goal that people young and old alike strive to achieve. However, despite its excitement, the actual process of buying a home can feel rather daunting. Terms like credit score, preapproval, down payment, and mortgage might leave you with a sense of being overwhelmed, but it doesn’t have to be that way. This simple guide will walk you through the basic steps of buying your first home so you know what to expect. Read more

The Nightmare Situation that Proves You Need Title Insurance

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Title insurance may not be as widely understood as health insurance or car insurance, but it is equally as important for homeowners to secure. Far too many homeowners have found themselves navigating tricky and potentially disastrous situations that only title insurance can resolve.

Title Insurance: Protection For Your Purchase

Unlike health insurance that requires a monthly fee in order to maintain coverage for potential future problems, title insurance involves a single charge, usually around $1,000, to ensure the legitimacy of your home before you buy. A title company will complete thorough research to ensure that the title to your future property can rightfully become yours and that no conflicts exist that would prevent the sale from going through. Common problems that occur include unpaid taxes, judgements, and ownership disputes that place the title of the home into question. Assuming the title company finds that the title is valid, you will receive a legal document stating the validity of the title you are purchasing. This document protects you from any financial loss in the future if an unrealized title conflict arises. Read more

Simple Ways to Boost the Value of Your Home

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Whether you have owned your home for two, five, or 20 years, you want to earn as much on its sale as you possibly can. Many elements like the climate of your local real estate market and amount of remaining mortgage debt will impact how much you profit from the sale of your home, but there are many simple strategies you can adopt to boost the value of your home before putting it on the market.

Whip Out the Paint

Paint is one of the most cost efficient ways to improve the appearance of your home. A freshly painted room has the ability to completely transform a potential buyer’s perspective of the quality of your home, and that positive perspective can translate to a rather large sum of money! Considering that a gallon of paint only costs $20 to $30, it’s well worth the investment. Stick to neutral colors that will appeal to a wide range of people, and don’t forget to touch up the baseboards and crown molding as well. Read more

3 Reasons We’ll See a Strong Housing Market in 2017

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After the Great Recession hit in 2008, many people wondered if they would ever be able to recover. Now, nearly ten years later, the housing market is looking stronger than it has in a long time. While buyers suffered in 2016 from a sharp rise in home prices, experts expect price growth to decline in 2017. Such a decline would be a welcome relief for potential home buyers who aren’t looking to spend a fortune on their dream home. Read more