Insurance, HOA Fees on the Rise
Homeowners insurance and homeowner’s association fees are two charges most homebuyers fail to consider. For too many, those charges can come back to put a severe crimp in their budgets. If you buy a place in a community overseen by your fellow homeowners, you can’t...Geothermal Is Coming to the New-Home Market
Geothermal heating and cooling may soon be coming to a new home-building site near you as a leading alternative energy company expands its unique build-and-lease program nationwide. Geothermal is considered the most efficient and durable home heating and cooling...Search Early for Down Payment Assistance
For aspiring homeowners, saving up for a down payment on that first home can be a long slog. For the typical household, the saving process now takes about seven years. Worse, the longer you wait to buy, the less net worth you will accumulate, according to a recent...Get Your Buyers to Boost Their Credit Scores Before All Else
Homebuyers can secure financing with a credit score below 600. But they can save thousands – perhaps tens of thousands – if they can boost those all-important scores to 760. It can take time to do that – maybe three years or more. But it will be worth the effort,...Closing Delays Are Common
Once a sales contract is signed, it takes more than four weeks, on average, for the deal to finally close. But a lot can go wrong during that time period – and often does. Sometimes the problem is as simple as correcting a misspelled name on the documents, which...This Week’s Paper: Digital Edition
