Baseball great once said about the game “Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.” The same could be said about real estate. Nearly everyone eventually becomes a homeowner, but there’s so much that people don’t understand. Here are some of the fun and serious real estate topics I’ve covered.
How Much Money Do You Need in Your Emergency Home Repair Fund?
A home repair emergency fund can save you from financial disaster. If you don’t have money set aside for repairs, you might be tempted to use your credit card. However, unless you’re able to pay them off immediately, charging costly home repairs is never a wise financial idea — it’ll accrue interest and leave you with an even larger bill later.
4 Most Common Reasons Why Your Home Insurance Company Will Drop Your Coverage
Shelling out thousands of dollars on an insurance policy may feel like a large financial burden, but did you know that your insurance company can choose to drop or not renew your policy?
Common Reasons Why Property Taxes Increase
Homeownership is one of life’s great highlights, but ask homeowners about paying property tax and they’ll tell you it’s one of their least favorite responsibilities. Here are five reasons why your property taxes may increase.
3 Reasons You Shouldn’t Wait to Refinance Your Mortgage
Refinance applications are down to 2009 levels as mortgage rates have shot up past 4 percent again. Homeowners may have been scared away by recent rate increases, but now is still a good time to see whether a refinance would work for you. Here are three reasons that you shouldn’t wait to refinance your mortgage.
Busy Streets, Speeders Seen as Major Quality of Life Issues
A home may be a person’s castle, but even a moat can’t protect you from the annoyances of your neighborhood. HSH.com conducted a survey of 1,001 Americans about their biggest annoyances regarding their neighborhoods. We gave respondents a list of possible issues and asked them to choose the top five and rank them from 1 to 5.
Noisy Neighbors Causing Headaches
Problems with neighbors can often destroy a person’s quality of life. Slamming car doors, barking dogs, overgrown trees hanging over your roof. These are all minor in the big scheme of things, but can drive you crazy. There are many instances in which people finally snap and wind up in the local police log, but usually these frustrations are suffered in silence. That doesn’t make the problems any less impactful to quality of life.
Lack of Storage Forces Many Homeowners to Find Creative Solutions
Homeownership can be one of the most fulfilling (and frustrating) endeavors in a person’s life. There are the joys of painting a room or growing vegetables in a garden. But owning a home is not all tomatoes and zucchini. There are a lot of frustrations too.
Supreme Court Decision Creates More Housing Benefits for Same-Sex Couples
The Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in June 2015 opened the way for same-sex marriage in the remaining states that did not allow it. The ruling has been met with enthusiasm by not only same-sex couples and supporters, but real estate experts who believe the decision will help spark newly married same-sex couples to enter the housing market.
Masterson Media 