A home is a place of your own where you can raise your family, share with friends and feel safe and secure.  Other benefits for homeowners include better physical health, higher lifetime income, higher student test scores, and lower teen delinquency. Reduced prices and low interest rates have placed housing affordability at its highest but rates have started inching up in the past few weeks which will directly result in higher payments. Credit, debt ratios and income are the … [Read more...]

I was going through a drawer looking for a card when I found an airline ticket credit voucher for $100 that had expired.  What a waste!  That got me to thinking of all of the gift cards that were given this year and will get tucked away and forgotten that may end up expiring too. That led me to another thought which was the extended tax credit for members of the military, Intelligence and Foreign Service who have served outside of the U.S. for at least 90 days between January … [Read more...]

A young couple was looking at a home for the third time and had invited their parents to see it.  The dad had quickly assumed his self-appointed role as tire kicker and was talking about how expensive mortgage rates were compared to what a certificate of deposit was paying. The next thing you know, he has the kids cornered and says to them "I have a CD coming due and if you'll pay me what I'll be earning, I'll loan you the money to buy the home.  You'll save quite a bit even … [Read more...]

Equity is simply the difference in an owner's unpaid balance and the value of their home.  Amortization and appreciation contribute to the equity over time.  The equity is usually realized when the home is sold but it can also be accessed by a home equity loan or a cash out refinance. Most people think that it takes years to significantly pay down a mortgage and they're partially correct.  A five percent interest rate on a mortgage takes approximately 20 years to pay down half … [Read more...]

A man was selling a property which was currently rented but had previously been his home for over two years.  After discovering it had been rented for the last 2.5 years, it was asked if he had planned on taking the principal residences capital gain exclusion.  He said he hoped it would be possible. When asked if he was aware of the requirement that he must have owned and used the home for two out of the last five years (730 days), he said he knew about it but wasn't sure what … [Read more...]

A place you can call your own, to raise your family, share with your friends and feel safe and secure.  These are all strong motivations for securing the American Dream of owning your home. The motivation is so powerful that buyers are willing to sacrifice to make their dream come true.  According to the 2010 NARHome Buyers and Sellers Survey, 41% of first-time buyers cut spending on luxury or non-essential items.  They also cut spending on entertainment, clothes and even … [Read more...]

It's one thing to have the down payment and not qualify because of credit scores but in today's tough financial environment, it may be even more frustrating to have good credit, income and job stability without the down payment. The 2010 NAR National Housing Pulse Survey states that 79% of respondents identified the down payment and closing costs as obstacles to homeownership.  73% express a lack of confidence in getting approved based on a concern that banks have made it too hard to … [Read more...]