The Motley Fool recently featured a range of mortgage tips to help educate first-time buyers, including:Know their credit score. The credit score can be a big key to knowing how much buyers can afford and how much interest they’ll be paying. Home shoppers should be encouraged to check their credit report and FICO score before even starting the homebuying process.Estimate how much can be borrowed. Lenders generally don’t like to see a mont
Some of the biggest names in business, including Facebook, Amazon, and Walmart, are weighing in on net neutrality as the Federal Communications Commission reaches its deadline Monday to field comments on its plan to change the way the internet is regulated. Real estate brokers are also having their say; on their behalf, the National Association of REALTORS® is warning the FCC that a change to internet governance could cause unequal access to con
College towns have earned a reputation as being a great real estate investment. “In the same way that department stores serve as anchors in shopping malls, colleges and universities operate as anchors within a city,” Michael Harris, director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, told realtor.com®. “Cities with colleges receive tremendous benefits, from a better-educated workforce to improved arts
So far this year, Google searches related to buying a first home have surged to 44 percent of all homebuying-related search activity—up 11 percentage points compared to a year earlier, according to a new study by Chase Home Lending. This may mean you’ll want to increase content on your website geared toward first-time buyers.“I had assumed that we would start to see millennials come [into the market] in force in the next two years,” says
Many mortgage lenders are phasing out physical paperwork in favor of electronic documents. While that may make organization easier for consumers, they still find an element of peace of mind in physical documents, according to a new survey.Digital Risk, a mortgage outsourcing solutions firm, surveyed about 1,000 homeowners and 509 renters and found that while borrowers say they seek a more streamlined process to buy or refinance a home, they are l
Furniture, appliances, and remodeling projects are among the biggest expenses for new homeowners, who spend an average of $10,600 in the first year of homeownership, according to a recent analysis by the National Association of Home Builders. New owners spend an average of $3,778 on furnishings alone, according to NAHB’s analysis. Here are a few common expenditures recent home buyers made: Living room chairs and tables: $687 Dining room and kit
1. Window shoppers: Some clients will take you on a wild hunt for the perfect home, but they aren’t committed to purchasing and say they hope to buy “someday.” “Some home buyers want to see every single house that’s on the market,” even if the home doesn’t match their criteria, says Rae Wayne, a sales associate with the Bizzy Blondes team in Los Angeles. You may want to encourage these types of buyers to attend open houses so they
akurtz/Getty ImagesBuying a home—especially if it’s your first—can be a lot like losing weight in the sense that people end up doing, well, some pretty dumb stuff in the process. But while desperate dieters might waste money on “magical” weight-loss pills or silly exercise equipment (remember the shake weight?), misguided home buyers could be doing far more serious damage—like undermining their ability to purchase a house at all
EpicStockMedia/iStockBalancing trendy touches with classic appeal can be tricky in your home and even trickier in your outdoor spaces. After all, you can always repaint a wall, but no one wants to tear up their entire hedge every year.Luckily for you, we consulted with experts on the top landscaping trends that homeowners are loving right now—and that won't go out of style any time soon. So take a good look at your landscaping and decide whet
Dena Everman in Marietta, Ga., was about to close on the sale of her home of 11 years when she discovered that a family—not the buyers—had already moved in. Everman, who had moved out of the home weeks prior, encountered the occupants when she stopped by the property the day before closing to check on it one last time. The closing that was set to happen the next day on June 26 with the rightful buyers continues to be put off as Everman strug
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