29 May 2020
By Mortgage Blog Content

4 Surprising Things That Might Increase Your Home’s Value

Mortagage Tips
You've probably heard that living near excellent schools or having curb appeal can boost the value of your home. However, a home's value is dependent upon a lot of different factors. Some of these things are more obvious than others. Things that might seem insignificant can have an impact on your home's worth. Here are some surprising things that can affect the existing value of your home or how much a buyer is willing to pay for it. #1 A Blue Kitchen or Bathroom Painting your home is an easy and cost-effective way to update your home. Just make sure that you select the right colors. Based on recent research, walls…
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07 May 2020
By Mortgage Blog Content

What Is Pooled-Funds Investing?

Real Estate
Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on April 5, 2012, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) relaxed the rules about advertising investments. This allowed the trend of crowdfunding to expand dramatically giving real estate investors more opportunities for pooled-funds investing. What Is Polled-Funds Investing? A pooled investment fund takes in money from a group of investors to use to acquire real estate for larger amounts than each investor's money would support. Prior to the passage of the JOBS Act, these pooled investment funds were only accessible by large investors through private placements and private real estate investment trusts (REITs). The minimum investment…
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01 May 2020
By Mortgage Blog Content

What Is House Hacking?

Real Estate
Some clever millennials are teaching the older boomers a new way to invest in real estate, which goes by the name of "house hacking." What Is House Hacking? House hacking has nothing to do with computers, although you may go on the Internet to find candidates for real estate investments suitable for hacking. The goal of house hacking is to acquire a multifamily rental property, live in one part of it and rent out the other parts for enough rental income to cover most, if not all, of the expenses of owning the property. Live Rent-Free As the on-site manager of a property that you own, you do not have to…
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30 Apr 2020
By Mortgage Blog Content

Case-Shiller: February Home Prices Gained Before Coronavirus Outbreak

Market Outlook
Home prices continued to grow in February according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. National home prices grew at a seasonally-adjusted annual pace of 4.20 percent as compared to national home price growth of 3.90 percent in January. Case-Shiller's 20-City Home Price Index showed higher home price growth rates in February with average annual home price growth of 3.50 percent. January home prices grew by 3.10 percent for cities included in the 20-City Index. The lowest year-over-year home price growth rates were posted by Chicago, Illinois with 0.70 percent; New York City posted 1.50 percent growth, and Dallas, Texas with 2.50 percent home price growth. Phoenix, Arizona home prices grew by…
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28 Apr 2020
By Mortgage Blog Content

The ‘Golden Girls’ Strategy? Elderly Adults Share Home Ownership

Real Estate
The "Golden Girls" trend got its name from the popular television sitcom about four elderly women who live together to share expenses. It is becoming a popular way in real life for elderly adults to share homeownership and it has many benefits. The cost of assisted living is quite high. The median cost in the United States for assisted living is $4,051 per month. In many parts of America, that amount makes a substantial mortgage payment. Rather than pay that high price to live in an adult assisted-living community, many able-bodied elderly are choosing to pool their resources and live together in a large home that they own together. Buying A…
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22 Apr 2020
By Mortgage Blog Content

Disruptive Technology And The Real Estate Market

Real Estate
Recent advancements in technology continue to disrupt the real estate market. This includes the use of "Big Data" for data mining, artificial intelligence combined with machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, use of drones, blockchain technology, and the ongoing deployment of 5G. The Use Of Big Data Consumers have access to more information about real estate market conditions because of the collection and online presentation of the results of data mining "Big Data." For example, it is easy to learn if a market is a buyer's or a seller's market by searching for the median number of days a house will be on the market before it sells in a certain…
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