Buying a house in cash: closing costs and fees. The expenses are slightly different when you buy a house in cash instead of taking out a mortgage. Q: Thanks for your recent article in my local paper titled "Is it better to buy for cash or take out a mortgage." You imply, if not suggest [...]
Coronavirus 2020: home buying, selling and the real estate market. Answering reader questions about how COVID-19 will impact the housing market. In the past few weeks, we have begun to receive questions about COVID-19 and how the coronavirus pandemic has affected local real estate markets. Many buyers and sellers are worried about making a [...]
How will the coronavirus impact the real estate market? How will COVID-19 impact home buying, selling, real estate closings and the housing market? We’re only getting one question this week although it comes in many forms: How will the coronavirus, COVID-19, impact the real estate market? At this point, buyers are still buying homes and [...]
Will mortgage rates continue to drop in 2020? Should you refinance your mortgage now or wait and see what happens with the real estate market next? The coronavirus is wreaking havoc on the global economy, but there is one bright spot here in America. Thirty-year mortgage rates in the U.S. dipped to 3.29 percent earlier [...]
Should I pay cash or get a mortgage? This home buyer wants to know if it’s better to pay in cash or get a mortgage to take advantage of low rates. Q: We are considering purchasing a new home in a national home builder’s development. We could go through their loan people or pay cash. [...]
Are pocket listings unethical? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has a new rule regulating how and when properties are listed. Our recent article on pocket listings and “coming soon” listings elicited quite a number of comments. Here is one take: Comment: I think you did your readers a disservice by not informing them that [...]
Cannabis legalization and real estate: what happens to property values? How has recreational cannabis legalization impacted the real estate market? This year, Illinois joined 10 other states and Washington, D.C., in legalizing recreational cannabis use. Nearly $3.2 million of marijuana and cannabis products were sold on January 1st in Illinois, and there are still dispensaries [...]
Buying vs renting a home in 2020. Insights from Rick Sharga answer whether it is better to rent or buy a home in 50 U.S. metropolitan areas. This article has been updated to clarify that median home prices and median home payments listed are for homes in the 25th quartile. More than 80 percent of [...]
How to contest property taxes. How the value of your home is determined and how to contest property taxes if the assessment on file is inaccurate. Q: I recently watched one of Ilyce’s video on YouTube on contesting real estate taxes. It really got me thinking, and I'm doing more research on my property taxes. [...]
What you should know about pocket listings. Who does this real estate market trend benefit most and why is this reader annoyed by it? Q: I’m annoyed with some of the things I see going on in the real estate market, including pocket listings. Sellers should avoid brokerages that list properties internally before they are [...]
