Showing Procedures During Covid-19

During these unsettling times, sellers and buyers are concerned about staying healthy and virus-free as we all are. To keep all parties safe, new procedures should be considered regarding the procedure for showing houses. Agents are reporting that they are selling homes where the buyers have not physically been in the home and base their …

Why have a mortgage during retirement?

You don’t have to watch TV for long before Tom Selleck, Henry Winkler or Robert Wagner will tell you why seniors should consider a reverse mortgage. However, there are a seniors who are resisting the conventional wisdom of having their home paid for and opting for a mortgage with payments on their home. In some …

Get Ready to Garage Sale

A well-planned garage or yard sale can give you extra space in your home, get rid of unused items and make some money but it needs some of the same considerations that any business needs to be successful. Start early to research and plan Promotion is key Display items attractively Price items right Organize checkout …

What kind of properties are these?

It is the way the property is used that determines the type of property it is, not what it looks like. Based on the intent of the owner, the property could be a principal residence, income property, investment property or dealer property. A principal residence is a home that a person lives in. There can …

Financing Home Improvements

Home improvement loans provide a source of funds for owners to finance the improvements they want to make. These are usually, personal installment loans that are not collateralized by the home itself. Since there is more risk for the lender with this type of loan, the interest rate is higher than a normal mortgage loan. …

House-Hacking Rental Property

House-hacking refers to buying a multifamily property on an owner-occupied mortgage, living in one unit and renting the others. If you’re thinking about becoming a rental mogul, starting early is an advantage. Not only will you have longer to accumulate a larger portfolio, you can increase the leverage on the first acquisitions if they are …

Take the Standard Deduction & the Home

Now that the standard deduction is increased to $12,200 for single taxpayers and $24,400 for married ones, many homeowners are better off with the standard deduction than itemizing their deductions to write off their mortgage interest and property taxes. There was some speculation that without the tax advantages, homeownership is not the investment it once …

Understanding Reverse Mortgages

Reverse mortgage loans are like traditional mortgages that permits homeowners to borrow money using their home as collateral while retaining title to the property. Reverse mortgage loans don’t require monthly payments. The loan is due and payable when the borrower no longer lives in the home or dies, whichever comes first. Since no payments are …