Why Renting Really Is For Suckers (And What To Do About It)

Okay, you might expect a Real Estate Agent to have a post with that title, but I’m going to surprise the doubters by hauling out a spreadsheet and proving it with numbers. The more you have for a down payment, the better your interest rates and the lower your payments, but even so, you can …

What if Your Partner Refuses to Pay Their Share of a Loan or Mortgage (or Won’t Pay on Time)?

what happens if partner refuses to pay his half of the mortgage? The lender will hold you each responsible for payment in full. That’s the long and the short of it. You both agreed to the loan contract, and if it’s not paid in full there will be all of the consequences: Hits to your …

Variable or Range Pricing of Real Estate

About half the listings around here do not have a single number asking price, but rather a range in which offers will be considered. Even many agents have trouble understanding range pricing. I’ve seen and heard more than one agent rail against it, saying that it is essentially “repricing the home”. Range pricing began in …

Is a VA Loan a Good Deal?

Veterans Administration, or VA loans, are government guaranteed loans available to veterans and active duty members of the armed services, that enable them to purchase homes for not money down. In fact, VA loans go up to 103 percent of purchase price to allow for some closing costs as well. VA loans are a unique …

“I’ll Pay For Your Appraisal” From a Loan Provider

This is one of those commercial gambits I keep seeing that has nothing intrinsically wrong with it, and yet it is most often a tactic employed by the more costly loan providers. In short, sharks and scam artists. The basic come-on is this: Loan provider offers to pay for your appraisal if you do the …

How Soon After You Purchase A Home Can You Refinance?

Legally, immediately. With that said, there are economic reasons why it may not be a good idea for you to refinance. If you have a prepayment penalty, you’re going to have to save a lot of money to make it worth paying that penalty. Suppose you have a rate of 7 percent, and an penalty …

Cash Back From The Seller to the Buyer in Real Estate Sales

Yesterday I dealt with a very disturbing phone call from a would be client. He was very happy with the way I found bargain properties, and wanted me to find him such a property. All very well and good. But he said that a condition of the transaction had to be that he would receive …

Annuities, Fixed and Variable

One of the most discounted investments available is the annuity. An annuity can be thought of as the opposite of a life insurance policy. Instead of creating an lump sum of money, an annuity liquidates one by providing you instead with a stream of income. The original idea is simple. Suppose you get a lump …

Disasters and the Mortgage

after Katrina I am upside down with my mortgage.my house is uninhabitable. My flood insurance checkdoesn’t payoff the mortgage. How can i get a short payoffdue to financial hardship – i.e. relocation loss of jobs andsteady income? This is one of the hard truths about mortgages. They are a contract between you and the lender …