Recent Blog Posts
Are Free Credit Score Offers Really Free?
If you spend any time online, you have surely seen the many ads offering free credit scores. I also get several pieces of junk mail in my mailbox and see a lot of commercials for these different services. It sounds like a good deal, except credit scores are never really “free”. You will pay one …
Average U.S. Households Almost Out of Financial Distress
The Consumer Distress Index, published by CredAbility, found that the average U.S. household is under less financial stress these days, most likely due to factors such as added jobs and the mild winter weather this year. Overall, U.S. households scored 69.9 out of 100 points, with a score under 70 indicating a state of financial …
Higher Home Prices Expected by Consumers in 2012
Higher home prices are expected by 33% of consumers over the next year. Fannie Mae’s monthly housing survey indicated 5% more people expect home prices to increase this month over the 27 percent surveyed last month who thought prices would increase this year. Nearly half of consumers expect higher rental prices as well, the highest …
Home Remodels That Don’t Pay
Before you jump into a major renovation project to give a house your special flare, consider how long you’re likely to live in the house. A lot of people get into trouble by moving into a home they’re only going to be in for a relatively short period of time, and they start remodeling and …
How You Can Honor “Mikey” Monsoor – Medal of Honor Recipient
We’ll never forget what he was like- how his charisma and dogged never-quit attitude continued on throughout all the hardships of battle. On September 29th, 2006 “Mikey”, made the ultimate sacrifice when he laid his life down for 2 other members of our platoon. When the grenade was tossed on the roof, it hit Mikey …
US Home-Buying Season Finally Signaling a Recovery
WASHINGTON (AP) — Five years after the U.S. housing bust sent sales and prices plunging, the spring home-buying season is pointing to a long-awaited recovery. Reduced prices, record-low mortgage rates, higher rents and an improving job market appear to be emboldening many would-be buyers. Open houses are drawing crowds. A wave of foreclosures is leading …
Survey Shows Home Prices and Rent Rates Expected to Increase
We report on Fannie Mae’s Quarterly National Housing Survey every ninety days. Fannie Mae also does a monthly survey covering different aspects of the housing market. Here are some record numbers we found interesting in Fannie Mae’s March report (emphasis added). Thirty-three percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, the highest level over the past 12 months. The percentage of respondents …
Survey Shows Americans Continue Aspiring For Homeownership
Quarterly National Housing Survey Shows that Americans of All Backgrounds Continue to Have Strong Aspirations to Own a Home Attitudes About Homeownership as an Investment, Financial Constraints, and Mortgage Accessibility May Stand in the Way of Americans’ Purchase Decisions Pete Bakel | 202-752-2034 WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae’s (FNMA/OTC) latest quarterly National Housing Survey focuses …
Mortgage Application Are Up: Here’s How to Select A Lender
I had an interesting conversation with a young professional the other day. He told me that he only had four more days to select his lender and that his dad’s business partner told him to call me. He lived outside of our market so I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to do his loan …
