If you’ve served in the military, a mortgage backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs may be your ticket to home ownership. VA loans don’t require a minimum down payment or mortgage insurance, and they often have lower interest rates than other mortgages. But applying for and using a VA loan involves steps other mortgages don’t,…
When house hunting, the price of homeowners insurance probably isn’t top of mind. But homes with hidden risks can make getting coverage difficult, expensive or both. Learning how to identify them could save you a bundle. This could be a particularly important concern for first-time homebuyers and those moving from cities to suburban or rural…
Shopping for your first house is stressful enough, but when you’re finally ready to be a homeowner and the pickings are slim, the process can become a roller-coaster ride of hope and fear. “Buyers walk in a home and say, ‘This is it!’ Then, they see all the business cards [from other agents] on the…
Summer is the priciest time to buy a home, but cost isn’t the only challenge home buyers are facing in 2020. An uncertain economy and social distancing measures, both the result of the pandemic, have upended homebuying plans for some and changed the process for everyone. “Demand for homes was high before the COVID crisis,…
As you browse homes for sale online, digital slideshows dish out equal helpings of information and frustration. Every photo frames what the seller wants you to see. Want to shift your gaze to the right and inspect that shower head? Tough. But now you can virtually walk inside a home and look up, down, left…
Homes in major metropolitan areas were difficult to find and largely priced out of reach for first-time buyers in the first quarter of 2020. In 20 of the 50 largest U.S. metros, list prices were more than five times the median first-time home buyer income in January through March. Moreover, the number of active listings…
May mortgage rates forecast Mortgage rates are likely to stay near historical lows in May and for a long time after, if the Federal Reserve gets its way. The Fed has succeeded so far in what it set out to do at the start of the COVID-19 crisis: push mortgage rates down and keep them…
A traditional real-estate closing begins with a bunch of people passing pens and papers around a table. It ends with a round of amiable handshakes. During the coronavirus pandemic, however, the customary mortgage closing seems hazardous. Electronic closings, or e-closings, may be a partial solution as buyers and sellers attempt to navigate social-distancing guidelines. Most…
As spring homebuying season approached this year, Mike and Tammy York of Lompoc, California, listed their house for sale and started looking for a home to buy in Bakersfield, California, where they want to retire. But then the coronavirus outbreak called everything into question. When the governor of California issued a statewide stay-at-home order March 19, the…
With a limited supply of entry-level housing for sale, getting your foot in the door you want could be a challenge if you’re looking to buy your first home soon. Nearly a third of Americans who’ve never previously bought a home say they plan to in the next five years, according to a survey commissioned by…
