What you need to know about student loans and mortgage pre-approval. Your loans and credit history play a large role in how much you’ll be approved for. Q: I have been enjoying your videos on YouTube and had a question about a pre-approval. My wife and I intend to try and get pre-approved for a [...]
Is Black Friday shopping worth it this year? Your Thanksgiving night might be better spent with loved ones thanks to Cyber Monday, pre-holiday sales and post-holiday extended sales. Between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, U.S. consumers will spend well over $20 billion, predicted by Adobe Analytics in their holiday sales forecast. That makes up a huge [...]
What’s the best way to divide inherited property? A little property value homework can help you decide the best option for your family. Q: How do I divide a real estate inheritance? An uncle died and named me the executor of his estate. I didn’t think he had much in the way or money or [...]
Speeding up the short sale process: Is it possible? The answer depends on the lender, the seller, and the real estate market. Q: I’ve been reading a lot of your columns about short sales. Why do short sales take so long to complete? How can I make the short sale process go faster? A: Short [...]
On Stress Awareness Day, we take a look at the pain points causing Millennials to stress about their money. A new Bank of America report, which analyzed the financial habits of over 1,000 Millennials, found that the majority of respondents felt they weren’t saving enough for future expenses like home buying and retirement. Best Money [...]
Will buying a house hurt your credit? Research on how taking out a mortgage impacts your credit score is finally here to answer this age-old question. Your credit score will fall an average of 15 points over a period of four months after buying a house, according to consumer analysis by LendingTree. More specifically, your [...]
How long do you need to keep a property purchased with a 1031 exchange? Timing is everything when navigating this type of sale. Q: Several years ago you gave me valuable information on a 1031 exchange. Now I need information on how long I have to keep the properties I purchased with my 1031 exchange [...]
You may wonder why you need to get a land survey when buying property. The answer is simple: You should always get what you pay for. A few weeks ago, a reader asked if he was entitled to extra compensation from the seller because he found out that the seller had sold a piece of [...]
How can you save money on holiday travel? Strategic planning can spare you from financial stress over the holiday season. A vast number of Americans will travel this upcoming holiday season, if last year’s number of holiday travelers are any indication. In 2017, a record 107 million Americans left their homes to travel over the [...]
This reader wants to know how condo assessments are determined because they don’t think their building developer got the ownership percentage split right. Q: Our building has six units, all the same size and layout. It is located in Illinois. The assessment percentage was designated by the builder and laid out in the declaration of [...]
