Raising the Roof: Here Are the 10 Cities Building the Most Homes for Buyers
As we enter Year Two of the coronavirus pandemic, home buyers seeking more space or a sanctuary of their own are struggling to find properties for sale. The number of listings for available homes is about half of what it was a year ago—and pickings were slim even then. Like it or not, it’s the…
Read MoreForbes: Reverse Mortgages Can Help Seniors Pay Down Debt in Retirement
One often overlooked tactic that seniors can employ when seeking to pay down outstanding debt in retirement is the strategic use of a reverse mortgage loan, one of several options that an older American can use when examining their finances during their post-working years. This is according to contributor Bob Sullivan and editor John Schmidt…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Completely Transformed the Way We Buy Homes—but Will It Stick?
Remember lazy Sunday afternoons when home buyers could leisurely hop from open house to open house, partaking of wine and cheese laid out to reel in more foot traffic—the more the merrier. Much can change in a year. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, triggering a wave of lockdowns…
Read MoreHalf of U.S. Households Face Retirement Risk
Based on the recent release of the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), as much as half of today’s current American households are at serious risk of not having enough resources in retirement. Some of these risks can be mitigated with financial products including reverse mortgages, but more action is needed to fix…
Read MoreShould You Buy a Home or Keep Renting? How To Decide in 7 Steps
It’s a big question with no easy answer: Should you keep renting, or is it time to think about buying a home? One of the major benefits of being a homeowner is building equity with each mortgage payment, instead of putting money into your landlord’s pocket. But that doesn’t mean buying is always the best…
Read MoreU.S. News: Social Security Retirement Age Hits 66 and 10 Months in 2021
While a retiree can begin claiming his or her Social Security benefits at age 62, payments at that age will be reduced for anyone seeking them before full retirement age. As of January 1, for many Americans full retirement age does not begin until someone reaches age 66, but also not right at the birthday,…
Read More4 Crucial Questions To Ask Your Partner Before Buying a House Together
If you’re hoping to buy a house with your significant other, it can be easy to get caught up in the fun stuff, like deciding the style of home you’d love (Victorian, midcentury modern, Cape Cod?) and finding the perfect neighborhood (downtown or middle of the woods?). Still, don’t be fooled: The home-buying process is…
Read MoreDeciding if a Reverse Mortgage Makes Sense for You
A reverse mortgage, specifically a federal government-sponsored Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), has a lot of moving parts that may make the product concept intimidating for some people. For those who are looking for alternative ways to try and create more cash flow in retirement, there are clear benefits as well as some inherent complexities…
Read MoreOwn a Rental Property? Why Filing Your Taxes This Year Rules
My husband and I recently purchased our first rental property. Over the past few months, we’ve repaired and renovated the 1930s-era home, and are starting to look for tenants. And it turns out, our timing couldn’t be better: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made several changes for rental property owners that portend a more…
Read MoreHome Prices Are Falling in These Cities—While They’re Rising Just About Everywhere Else
Everyone by now has some familiarity with America’s daunting pandemic-era real estate math: Take an all-consuming demand for new homes and bigger spaces, add in low mortgage rates and historically paltry inventory levels, and it all equals home prices that are skyrocketing to unheard of heights. And it seems to be happening just about everywhere.…
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