Monthly Archives: March 2021
Say ‘NO’ to FSBO
To understand the reasoning behind why a homeowner should not sell their home by themselves, we need to identify the motivation. Probably, more times than not, the homeowner wants to “save” the cost of the commission. It certainly represents a significant amount of money. In 1981, homes sold For Sale by Owner represented 15% of... Read More
Homeowner Equity & Wealth Accumulation
National homeowner equity grew in the fourth quarter of 2020 by $1.5 Trillion or 16.2% year-over-year based on a CoreLogic analysis. The study was done on the six out of ten homeowners who have mortgages on their home. The fourth quarter of 2020 also saw the number of mortgaged residential homes with negative equity decrease... Read More
It Costs Less to Own
The rent to income ratio is the monthly affordable rent as a percentage of monthly income. Ideally, tenants should keep it within 30% of monthly gross income. In some markets, in may not be possible because the shortage of available rental units. In these situations, tenants are required to spend more than 30%. Let’s assume that a person/couple... Read More
Skip the Starter Home
For generations, people have begun their homeowner experience with a “starter” home. Part of the logic may be that by beginning with a smaller home, they can learn what it takes to run the home and discover some of the unexpected costs that come along with it. A slightly longer view into the future could suggest... Read More
Your Refund Could Open the Door
One of the silver linings to filing your income tax return is finding out that you are going to receive a refund that could literally open the door to owning a home. If you happen to be one of these fortunate taxpayers, your next decision is what to do with it. With the average tax... Read More