real estate

a family of three sitting in front of a home

Building Long-Term Wealth with Your Home

Real estate is one of the largest assets people own. Real estate tends to appreciate over time, so with care, home equity can be the foundation for your family’s fortunes, resulting in profits that can affect your children’s and grandchildren’s wealth. Owning real estate can put you on a path to growing generational assets. […]

a small toy house next to stacks of coins of various sizes

How Much Home Can You Realistically Afford?

If you are like many Americans, your home will be the most expensive thing you own. It will be a key part of your estate as you plan for the long term. So, you need to think strategically from the outset. To start with, if you want to know how much of a mortgage a […]

a piggy bank sitting next to a jar that says "down payment" filled with cash

Should You Make a Large Home Downpayment?

Depending on the loan type, you can qualify for a mortgage with a downpayment that is as low as 3% of your home’s final purchase price. And for some loans — such as a VA loan or USDA mortgage — you don’t need any downpayment at all. But what if you can afford a larger […]

a small model house sitting on fanned out dollar bills

Take Control of Your Homeowner’s Property Insurance Bill

Congratulations, you are a homeowner! If you financed the purchase of your home with a mortgage loan, you must carry homeowners’ insurance. Lenders won’t approve you for a mortgage loan if you don’t have an active insurance policy. The cost of your homeowners’ insurance policy will vary, depending on your home’s location, size, age and other […]

Nervous About Signing for a New Mortgage?

Taking on a mortgage is a major life event and a significant financial step. People often enter into their lenders at closing without really knowing what to expect. Unfortunately, after signing dozens of documents, they are left unclear and slightly confused about what they have signed and why they signed it. In an effort to […]

papers are on a table and being signed with another pair of hands off to the right

Considering Co-Signing a Family Member’s Mortgage?

When you agree to co-sign on a mortgage, you are essentially lending a portion of your future income and credit score to help your family member get a mortgage loan. Before you ever sign on the dotted line, you should consider every detail of the terms and your potential exit strategy. Take a look at […]

a small paper house with coins stacked in front of it

Your Home’s Equity Matters

Every time you make a mortgage payment or if your home’s value rises, you build your equity. But what is equity? It’s the difference between what you owe on your mortgage and what your home is currently worth. An equity example: If you owe $250,000 on your mortgage and your home is worth $350,000. You now […]

How to Prepare for a Smooth Home Closing

Whether you are in the process of selling your home or you are thinking about selling, it is important to know that sellers have an important role in the process. It’s far more than just picking the right listing price and marketing the property to the widest audience. There are certain steps in the process […]

Out-of-State Properties Can Be a Probate Headache

Probating a will can turn into a drawn-out process, and unfortunately, you can’t always avoid multiple probate processes. When a person dies and leaves property in one state to someone in a different state, it is typically necessary to obtain probate for each jurisdiction. On the other hand, if you plan ahead and take care […]

Homeowners’ Deductions for Property Taxes on Personal Residences

Deductible levies for itemizers include their payments for income taxes, sales taxes, real estate taxes and personal property taxes. But those write-offs come with strings attached as to which ones qualify, when they’re deductible and how much is allowable. You should be aware that the IRS sets traps for unwary homeowners. While the IRS says […]