Co-Signing a Mortgage? You'll Need These Docs Q: My daughter is buying a home. The mortgage company wants me to submit a ton of information in order to be her co-signer. They want all pages of my bank statements for the last three months and my tax returns for the last two years. They also [...]
In 2018, there were a million electric cars on the roads in the U.S. By 2025, there will be more than 18 million electric cars on U.S. roads, according to PolicyAdvice and Business Insider. Electric car owners will want to charge their cars at home, at the mall, at work or in every parking garage. [...]
Buying a house in 2021 is hard. Is building more homes the answer? We spoke with leading real estate industry economists and observers about why it is so difficult to buy a house this year, and whether rising mortgage interest rates or building more homes will solve the new housing shortage. This week, the National [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
Buying a flipped house: nightmare. This homebuyer discovered a host of expensive repairs right after moving into their new home. Buying a Flipped House: Nightmare Q: My question relates to buying a house that was flipped. I searched Ilyce’s website and only found articles for those who were flipping houses, not for buying what turns [...]
First-time home buying tips for 2020. A look at the real estate market heading into 2020 and four tips for homebuyers in the new year. In a few days, we’ll start a new decade. Rarely has a decade produced the kind of wild swings in residential real estate prices as we’ve seen over the past [...]
Gen Z home buying preferences in 2020. They want to become homeowners by 30 and they’re realistic about the housing market challenges they’ll face. Gen Z (ages 14-23) has high hopes for homeownership. According to research by Freddie Mac, Gen Z has a more positive perception of what it means to own a home than [...]
How much commission do real estate agents make? Research shows a lack of commission rate transparency and negotiability at traditional real estate firms. Please note that this story has been updated to add in additional information that shows how real estate commissions get split between brokers and the real estate agents who work for them. [...]
