Getting ready to sell your home? No matter the listing price, in today’s strong seller’s market, you may find yourself getting at least one cash offer. In March 2021, 23% of home buyers (including real estate investors) financed their purchases with cash, according to the National Association of Realtors. But are cash offers better for…
It’s a seller’s market in real estate, which means that buyers have much to feel anxious about. But sellers have reasons to lose sleep, too. What if they make an expensive mistake? It’s easy to find lists of common homebuying mistakes, but home selling errors are harder to describe. They’re subtle, often involving mindset and attitude. Here…
It’s a good time to be a home seller — homes are selling fast and for a premium — but that doesn’t mean you can jump into the market ill-prepared. Knowing what to expect can position you to make the most of this seller’s market. Roughly 1 in 6 (17%) homeowners plan on selling their…
Andy Hill discovered he was house poor soon after he bought his first home in 2004. When Hill put 10% down on the 1,200-square-foot house in Royal Oak, Michigan, a suburb outside of Detroit, he was surprised to find out he had to pay private mortgage insurance, which initially was $158 a month. Heating the poorly…
Last fall, when planning a move from North Carolina to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a new job that would start in January, Andreza Conti Patara and her husband, Marcelo Patara, decided to buy a house. But the couple wanted to avoid air travel due to COVID-19, and buyers were snapping up homes in Stillwater soon after…
After a year of spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many homeowners are looking for ways to make their homes fit their new realities. Open floor plans are out; dedicated spaces for remote work and learning are in. Yards are being transformed into entertainment spaces and walls are being repainted. At the same…
The COVID-19 recession shriveled the bank accounts of countless homeowners. If you entered mortgage forbearance last April or May because of the pandemic, you have plenty of company: Almost a million people will reach their 12-month forbearance anniversaries in those months of 2021. In total, more than 2.5 million remained in forbearance plans as of…
Shopping for their first home in New Jersey, Alyse Storzieri and her boyfriend Robert Engel faced a tough market. So when they found a house they loved last June, the couple followed their real estate agent’s advice to make their offer stand out. They went over the asking price, tripled their down payment amount and…
Real estate agents have an urgent message for homeowners: Now is the time to sell. “A lot of people are missing the best market now by waiting,” says agent Kris Lindahl. Home sellers wield formidable negotiating mojo because demand outweighs supply. Buyers outnumber sellers, as relatively few owners are putting their homes on the market….
Buying a home is a major endeavor, no matter when you do it. For those hoping to buy in 2021, an ongoing recession and global pandemic only add to the headwinds. More than 1 in 10 Americans (11%) say they plan on buying a house in the next 12 months, according to NerdWallet’s 2021 Home Buyer…
