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Multi-Generational Living – Is a Next Generation Home for You?

Published or updated November 23, 2014 by Melissa 8 Comments

The economy has hit many hard.

Retirees have seen their investments drop leaving them with less money to pay their living expenses and ever rising medical and prescription costs.

College students struggle to pay their college and living expenses while not going too deeply in student loan debt.

Meanwhile, the so called sandwich generation, those who have elderly parents who need support as well as children that also need support, struggle to make ends meet and take care of both generations while also saving for their own retirement.

Multi-Generational Living: Coming Back in Style

The idea of generations living together is not new. One hundred to one hundred and fifty years ago, 3 generations living together was quite common.

Yet, as our society changed and people became more independent, multi-generational living fell out of vogue. It is no longer necessary, so most people don’t do it.

However, the current economy has changed the most recent housing dynamic.
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8 Places to Research Your Potential House Before You Buy a Home

Published or updated November 23, 2014 by Miranda 7 Comments

Buying a home is a big deal.

You don’t want to go into it unprepared.

Before you buy a house, you want to make sure that you are getting the right house for you — and that it’s in the right neighborhood. The steps to buying a house start with thorough research on the topic.

As you research buying a house, here are 8 web sites that can help you narrow the field and find what works best for you:

1. Trulia

What are Real Estate Closing Costs Made Up Of

Published or updated November 5, 2012 by Glen Craig

Any time you buy or refinance a house there’s a litany of expenses that go with it.

There are many “hands” in the soup that is a real estate transaction, and each one of them demands some money to do what they do.

If you’ve ever wondered what those charges mean, here’s some inspiration…

What Real Estate Closing Costs are Made Up Of

Lender charges

Here’s a not so well-kept secret: mortgage “lenders” aren’t direct lenders, but middlemen who arrange mortgages then sell them to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Ginnie Mae. In the process, there’s a fee for nearly everything they do.

Here are the more typical ones: [Read more…] about What are Real Estate Closing Costs Made Up Of

Payoff Mortgage Faster – How Do I Do It? – Four Ways

Published or updated December 5, 2013 by Glen Craig

Who wouldn’t want to pay off their mortgage faster?

The big question is “how do I do it?”

Whether to pay off your mortgage faster, is an important personal financial decision.

But before one can answer “how do I do it,” you must first ask the questions of “can I do it” and “why should I do it.”

The can-I part reveals if one has the financial ability to put more money aside for bigger and quicker payments. The why-should-I part involves whether to use the additional money available, alternatively, for investing or consumption purposes since funds borrowed under mortgage probably have a lower interest rate than say credit card debt.

Paying off a mortgage faster also has tax implications on mortgage interest deduction.

If one has the financial means; is willing to forgo any investment opportunity; is prepared to postpone any would-be nice consumption; and has weighed on any tax savings, there are ways that one can consider to pay off a mortgage faster.
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The Pros and Cons to Refinancing Your Mortgage

Published or updated July 26, 2012 by Glen Craig

Interest rates on mortgages are at all time lows; does that mean you should refinance as soon as possible?

Maybe–and maybe not.

Interest rates may be lower than they’ve ever been, but never has the issue of refinancing been more complicated. For one thing, it’s harder than ever to qualify for a loan at the best rates, and for another, today we have to consider falling property values which is something that hasn’t existed since the Great Depression.

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Multi-Generational Living – Is a Next Generation Home for You?

Multi-Generational Living: Coming Back in Style