Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and its related stay-at-home orders, almost everything is going virtual: business meetings, holiday celebrations, even home buying. Buyers now rely on what they can see on-screen as much or more than what their real estate agents tell them. If your home is on the market during these uncertain times, consider… Continue Reading Make the Most of Your Online Property Listing

Despite the significant age difference, a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors shows that Millennials are breaking with past home-buying trends and aligning their preferences with their grandparents’ generation. This development could alter your house-hunting approach, no matter the year you were born.  If you’ve been shopping for a home, but have yet… Continue Reading Seniors and Millennials Share Real Estate Priorities

Home affordability may be a problem for some Gen X’ers and Millennials. These two generations in particular are facing an added responsibility: their children are young and still living at home, or just returning from college, while their parents are aging quickly and in need of medical attention. But home ownership doesn’t have to be… Continue Reading The Rise of Multigenerational Homes

Reverse mortgages are often stigmatized as a last resort financial option for retirees. This couldn’t be farther from reality. These types of loans could be a proactive way to explore your retirement plans—one in which you’re able to use home equity as an emergency lifeline for cash in your daily life, especially during periods of… Continue Reading Consider a Reverse Mortgage Sooner Rather than Later

The answer might not surprise you: it all depends on whether your budget can stretch beyond making a larger down payment. While falling interest rates allow for added purchasing power, it remains critical that you understand the true cost of any home—that’s especially the case if the property you’re now eying is a greater financial… Continue Reading Should You Spend More on a Home when Interest Rates are Falling?

Recent social distancing efforts have given millions of Americans their first experience with the growing trend of working remotely. The coronavirus pandemic, and an eagerness to avoid similar outbreaks in the future, are likely to create even more opportunities to work from home most of the time, if not entirely. As advances in technology and… Continue Reading Where to Start Your House Hunt when Location isn’t First

Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, emergency rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have brought the federal funds rate to nearly zero. While not directly influenced by those cuts, mortgage rates for home buyers have followed a similar, downward trend and hover near historic lows.  As applications for new mortgages and refinancing grow in response, homeowners with… Continue Reading How Interest Rates Impact Your Reverse Mortgage Options

Since early March, the Federal Reserve has made two emergency rate cuts to the federal funds rate. The moves came in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its potential to dramatically slow economic growth in the United States and abroad. The action brings the borrowing rate to between 0 and .25 percent.  But with social-distancing… Continue Reading Making Sense of Recent Interest Rate Cuts