By LISA PREVOSTJUNE 17, 2016 Coming up with a winning bid requires foresight. Here are some tips for navigating a fast-moving market. Get preapproved for a mortgage. Not to be confused with a prequalification, preapproval from a lender is a pretty strong indicator of your ability to obtain financing. Without that assurance, sellers may discard
Read more %1$sFollow first steps to ‘sprint’ into home-buying process
By Dana Dratch, Bankrate.com Homeownership is a marathon, but home buying is a sprint. Maybe you came up short in previous attempts. Maybe you just weren’t “ready.” But if you’ve decided that now is the time, here are ways to get a lead right off the starting block. 1. Gather financial information Too many potential
Read more %1$s4 first steps to sprint into homebuying
4 first steps to sprint into homebuying By Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com
Read more %1$sTo Buy or Rent a Home? Weighing Which Is Better
April 1, 2016 New York Times By Tara Siegel Bernard Rob Austin and his wife, Natalia, have a 10-month-old son, healthy incomes and plenty of cash in the bank for a down payment on a house. But they are happily renting a townhouse in Pasadena, Calif., with no plans to buy for now, given
Read more %1$sWhat’s the square footage of your home? Are you sure?
Overstating the size of a home or condo is common. Make sure it does not happen to you. by Romana King March 14, 2016 Would you be surprised to learn that your 2,500 square-foot home was missing a room? That’s essentially what happened to Calgary, Alta., homeowner, Pam Whelan. And it may have cost her
Read more %1$sWhy May Is a Magic Month for Home Sellers
May is the best month to put a home on the market in all but seven of the country’s 25 biggest metro areas. These properties sell faster and for more money than the national average. By Leigh Kamping-Carder Wall Street Journal March 2, 2016 May the force be with you, in May. According to real-estate
Read more %1$sIn Real-Estate, ‘Love’ Hurts and ‘Sexy’ Sells
Homes for sale with ‘sexy’ and ‘seductive’ in the property description have higher listing prices than homes with ‘love’ and ‘loving,’ an analysis finds. By Stefanos Chen In luxury real estate, love is cheap and sex sells. An analysis of roughly 1.6 million home listings found that lower-priced homes were most likely to have the
Read more %1$sThe ABCs of FIRPTA
COMMERCIAL OBSERVER The ABCs of FIRPTA BY LAUREN ELKIES SCHRAM JAN. 20, 2016, 11:15 A.M. We all know that foreigners have been snapping up real estate in the United States for a while, but are they taxed the same way? Since the introduction of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, called FIRPTA, in
Read more %1$sTips for Tax-Savvy Homeowners
By Anya Martin October 7th, 2015 With nearly three months left in 2015, jumbo-mortgage borrowers can make tweaks to cut their tax bill in April Illustration: Chris Gash Autumn chores: raking leaves, weatherproofing, storing the patio furniture and preparing for next year’s tax returns. With nearly three months left in the year, jumbo-mortgage borrowers still
Read more %1$sWhat to Know About the New Mortgage Forms
New rules help borrowers compare home loans and see the total cost before closing Illustration: Chris Gash By: Anya Martin September 30th, 2015 Mortgage borrowers should find it easier to compare different loan products and understand the total cost of their loan under new rules that take effect Saturday. The changes are part of the
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