27 Feb 2025
By Tawnya King

The Key Details About Home Appraisals That You Might Not Know

Home Mortgages
A home appraisal is a critical step in the buying, selling, or refinancing process, yet many people don’t fully understand how it works or what factors influence it. Whether you're a buyer, seller, or homeowner looking to refinance, here are some key details about home appraisals that you might not know. 1. Appraisals Are Different from Home Inspections Many people confuse appraisals with home inspections. While both assess the condition of a home, an appraisal determines the home's fair market value, whereas an inspection focuses on identifying potential issues or necessary repairs. Lenders require appraisals to ensure the loan amount…
Read More
26 Feb 2025
By Tawnya King

Creative Ways to Use Home Equity Loans for Investment

Investment Properties
For homeowners looking to build wealth, a home equity loan can be a powerful financial tool. With the equity in your home, you can access funds at relatively low interest rates and put that money to work in smart, strategic ways. If you’re wondering how to leverage your home’s value for investment, here are some creative options to consider. 1. Real Estate Investments One of the most popular ways to use a home equity loan is to invest in additional real estate. Whether you're purchasing a rental property, flipping a home, or buying land for development, using your home’s equity…
Read More
24 Feb 2025
By Tawnya King

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – February 24th, 2025

Financial Reports
The most impactful report released last week was the regular Consumer Sentiment reports, which have indicated the more recent concerns rising food costs have soured the view on the current state of the economy for the U.S. The talks between the Federal Reserve members have also slanted in a negative direction as they feel they still do not have a strong grip on inflation. With the Trump administration also shaking things up in the office with their views on Tariffs, the land lending and broader markets have seen a lot of turmoil and uncertainty about the future. There should be…
Read More
21 Feb 2025
By Tawnya King

How Do Mortgage Lenders Decide How Much You Can Borrow?

Home Mortgages
When buying a home, one of the most critical factors is determining how much you can borrow through a mortgage. Lenders evaluate multiple financial aspects to assess your borrowing capacity. Here’s what they consider: 1. Income and Debt-to-Income (DTI) RatioLenders assess your income to ensure you can afford monthly mortgage payments. A common guideline is that your total housing costs (including principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income. Additionally, your total debt-to-income (DTI) ratio—including credit cards, student loans, car loans, and other debts—typically should not exceed 43% for most conventional loans. A lower…
Read More
20 Feb 2025
By Tawnya King

To Finance Or Not To Finance

Home Buying Tips
Deciding to finance a new home can be exciting, and because of that buyers tend to want to jump right in. Not so fast! Before you start searching for your dream home, you need to get pre-approved and that means applying for a loan. You will need to get things in order by deciding how much home you can afford, mapping out your expenses, gathering all of your documents and then start looking for a lender that can help you decide what loan is best for you. Some Pros of financing a home are: ?       Buyer builds equity in the…
Read More
19 Feb 2025
By Tawnya King

Common Places to Find Tax Deductions in Your Home

Taxes
Paying your income taxes each year leaves your wallet a bit thin? There may be money hiding in your home that lessens your tax burden. Here are four places to look: Home-Office Deduction If you work from home, you could qualify for a home-office deduction. Taking the deduction can be a bit complicated; so many people who qualify don't claim the exemption. An estimated 26 million Americans have home offices, but only 3.4 million claim them on their tax return. Perhaps that's why the Internal Revenue Service attempted to simplify the process in 2013. The write-off takes into account depreciation,…
Read More