How To Buy a Home With No Money Down (You Really Can!)
By Daniel Bortz Dec 21, 2023 (Getty Images) Drumming up money for a down payment on a home can feel like a lost cause: After you’ve shelled out money for rent, gas, groceries, and other expenses, you might have little or nothing left over. Which may have you fantasizing: Is there some [...]
What Is a Tax Basis? A Number Every Savvy Homeowner Needs To Know
By Jillian Pretzel Dec 19, 2023 (Realtor.com/Getty Images) Something about the word “tax” makes even the most ardent financial wizard’s eyes glaze over. We get it: It’s no fun to think about the money you have to hand over to Uncle Sam. Yet, when it comes [...]
5 Things Your Mortgage Broker Wishes You Knew
By Jamie Wiebe Dec 19, 2023 (Getty Images) The financial side of home buying can sometimes feel like a nightmare in which you’re stuck in a calculus final that never ends—and you’ve forgotten the meaning of everything. PITI (or principal, interest, taxes, insurance)? Prepayment penalties? Contingencies? “Confusing” is an understatement. We’re the first [...]
The Top Home-Selling Advice From 2023 To Help Your Property Fly Off the Market in 2024
By Margaret Heidenry Dec 7, 2023 (Realtor.com/Getty Images) Were you one of the many sellers sidelined in 2023, sitting out the entire housing market? Maybe you felt “locked in” by the low mortgage rate you snagged a few years ago. Or perhaps even though you knew [...]
Is ‘Just Right’ Sizing the Key to Buying a Home These Days?
By Lisa Marie Conklin Dec 11, 2023 (Realtor.com/Getty Images) If you’re trying to buy a home these days, you know how challenging—if not downright impossible—it can be. Rising interest rates, sky-high prices, and low inventory have turned an otherwise exciting home shopping experience into a seemingly hopeless [...]
What Is an Underwriter: The Unseen Approver of Your Mortgage
By Angela Colley Dec 12, 2023 (iStock/UberImages) Once you have found a house you like, made an offer and been pre-approved for a mortgage, you might think you are home free. However, you still have an important hurdle to clear: working with an underwriter and getting through [...]
