A rising market favors people who are downsizing because the higher the property value, the greater the sale of the more expensive, bigger property. This offsets the higher price of the downsized, smaller property, assuming both properties are rising at the same rate. Suppose you own a house that was worth $650,000 before the mini-bubble.
In The Two Income Trap, Ms Warren and Ms Warren Tyagi wisely advise families to prepare for emergencies ahead of time. I am thinking of copying the chapter “The Financial Fire Drill” and giving it to my clients before they start house hunting. They pose three questions: Can your family survive for six months without one
For most of our clients in eastern Massachusetts, their property taxes went up for 2018. In many towns and cities, the tax rate stayed the same, or even went down. Example: In Somerville, the tax rate for residential property went down slightly from Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 and FY2018. It was $11.67 per thousand dollars
How will the Equifax data breach in 2017 affects your house hunting? Equifax's mistakes in September, 2017 gave away the social security numbers of half of us. Are you in the lucky half, or the unlucky half? Here is the story That data will be sold and resold by criminals for years to come. If you are
Dear Boston Globe, It is February 28, 2017. Too early for your annual “scare the buyers” article. Please wait until spring. But, since you chose to publish now. I will translate for my clients. Definitions: Sales volume: the number of housing units sold in a given period. Median sales price: The middle price from a
Your credit report is a full list of who you have open credit with, and how loyal you are about repaying those debts. Your credit score is a number compiled based on how you are handling that debt. The algorithm used to determine you credit score changes, but there are some basic rules. Have open
Mortgage underwriting change. What does it mean to you? There’s a new version of credit analysis that will be part of the approval process. Changes will start having an effect when the new Fannie Mae Desktop Underwriter* launches June 25th. It will allow lenders to discern between applicants who carry balances on credit cards vs.
There's a new scam in town. It is the child of an old scam. It is very lucrative for the perpetrators, until they get caught. Here's how it goes: Unsecured emails have been tapped by the evil-doers. The perps write to the buyers, just before closing, from the email address of their agent, lender, or
Here is something for everyone who is about to sign a lease and is thinking “should I be buying?” Unlike most Realtors® my answer is not, “Hell, yes! Right now! Hurry!” The economic decision: Owning: For most people, owning a house or condo involves paying down a mortgage, but never owning outright. In previous generations,
What does buying a house cost, above and beyond the monthly mortgage payment you will be taking on? First-time house-hunters know that there is a dreaded broker fee and so-called closing costs. Add to that the fee for inspections and legal work. Do you know how much to set aside to cover these costs? Here