Your home is likely to be one of your biggest assets during your lifetime, as such, it is included here.
This section also covers the broad area of renting, real estate investing, homeownership, home buying and selling, home renovation, and mortgages.
Additionally, check out related articles in these sections: banking, financial planning, investing, and risk management
A 15 or 30 year mortgage is a long time to be paying on the same bill. Even with interest rates at historic lows, a 30 year mortgage will charge you almost 100% of the home’s cost in interest over the life of the loan. For example, a $175,000 mortgage at 4% for 30 years … Read more 4 Ways to Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster
Imagine you’ve been saving money for the down payment on your first home. You and your significant other have been watching the listings like anxious hawks. Your real estate agent has begrudgingly put up with showing you house after house after house for months on end. Then you find the one. It’s beautiful. It has the … Read more What to do When Your Home Appraisal Comes in Low
Can mortgage rates get any lower? How long will homebuyers and refinancing homeowners be able to enjoy these low rates? And if you’ve got a low rate, how should you treat it? Mortgage rates have been bouncing off of historical lows for quite sometime. You’ve heard about it in the news… low rates, foreclosure crisis, … Read more Using Your Mortgage as an Inflation Hedge or Pay It Off Early
Home prices have been in decline since the housing bubble burst several years ago. Yet the tax assessed values of homes hasn’t moved as drastically. The truth is if you’ve been living in your home for a significant amount of time and your neighborhood or city has been hit hard with tanking real estate values, … Read more How to Lower Your Property Taxes
You’ve undoubtedly noticed that real estate prices are ridiculously low (in some areas of the United States) as are interest rates. On top of that, people have lost their homes in record numbers. That has been tough on a lot people unfortunately. But it has helped drive prices lower and create a great demand for … Read more Top 5 Tips to Investing in Rental Property for Fun and Profit
With the housing market in the United States leaning in favor of the buyers, sellers are offering a variety of incentives to sell their homes. One popular incentive is a home warranty. Having a home warranty offered to you is definitely a positive. When one is not offered, you will need to consider whether a … Read more Is a Home Warranty a Smart Home Expense?
Inflation and hyperinflation are concerns on the minds of the economists in the United States. With the amount of money that is being pumped into our financial system it is inevitable that prices will begin to rise at some point in the future. Many investors believe that real estate makes an excellent hedge against inflation. … Read more How Your Mortgage Acts as a Hedge Against Inflation
Despite the housing market still being in shambles after the housing boom and bust this decade, many people are drawn to home ownership as part of the American dream. While owning a home has a lot of great benefits, it isn’t all sunshine and roses. There are many significant reasons you shouldn’t buy a home. … Read more 8 Reasons Why You Should Not Buy a Home
Buying a house is a big undertaking with a lot of legal paperwork filled with fine print. It can be overwhelming to understand exactly what you are signing and what you are actually paying for. One big piece of buying a home is paying the closing costs. But what exactly are closing costs? What is … Read more What Do Closing Costs Include When Buying a Home
In the current housing market, being a seller can be a tough proposition. As my husband finishes his Ph.D., and we start to consider what might happen in the next 12 months, it is becoming apparent that the housing market may not recover by the time we are in a position where selling our home … Read more Do I Get a Tax Deduction on Home Sale Loss?