You may have heard that buying a house is stressful. From rearranging your schedule and touring properties to forking over your savings to cover the down payment, the process usually comes with its fair share of anxiety provoking moments. The truth is, getting the keys is just the beginning. As a homeowner, you’re on the hook for the upkeep of the property and strapped to a mortgage, which can both be stressors. Why would anyone voluntarily sign up for all of this?
As a homeowner, you may find that you feel more invested in the community where you’ve chosen to put down significant roots.
Owning a home can be rewarding in so many ways – both financially and personally. There’s no doubt that it comes with a few headaches, but for many people the perks make it all worthwhile.
What kind of perks am I talking about? There are a number of advantages to being a homeowner. Some of them may come as a surprise to first-time buyers.
The perks can be broken down int ...

First impressions are always important, especially when you’re house hunting. A well marketed home can make or break your experience as a potential buyer. Most of us have a hard time seeing past a cluttered property, particularly one with bad decor. On the other hand, it can be easy to fall in love with an immaculate home when the decorator’s tastes align with yours.
Savvy home sellers know to pull out all of the stops to make their houses “show ready” and most appealing to shoppers. Getting a home ready to sell for top dollar can take a lot of effort and planning. Many homeowners will freshen up paint, tackle a punch list and extensively clean to prep their properties for the market. Some take things a step further by staging the home.

96 percent of buyers agents say that staging has an effect on some buyer’s view of a home.

Staging is used to improve the appearance of a house through styling or decorating to appeal to the highest number of buy ...

Picture the following scenario: You apply for a mortgage loan but when the mortgage broker pulls your three credit reports, you learn that your credit scores are not quite high enough to qualify for the loan with the best terms. Before you have time to panic, the mortgage broker tells you that he or she may have a solution that could help you. The solution is called rapid rescoring.
What Is Rapid Rescoring?
The term "rapid rescoring" is misleading. The process actually has nothing to do with rescoring anything, either slowly or “rapidly.” Instead, rapid rescoring refers to a mortgage broker's ability to get the information on your credit report updated and/or corrected in a very short period of time, typically as little as 48 to 72 hours.
Once the credit report modifications are made, the mortgage broker can then re-pull new credit reports and hopefully your newly calculated credit scores are high enough to qualify for the desired mortgage and rate. The process should ac. ...

You have a little savings, solid income and a super-irritating landlord, so the time feels right to make your move. Buying a home will bump up your monthly housing costs, use up most of your cash and tie you down. Are you ready for all that? Here’s how to make the rent vs. buy decision.

The Money Side of the Equation
It’s pretty simple: You are ready to buy a home when you’re earning enough money to make the purchase, stash some cash in savings and cover your housing expenses and any other debt.
Ready for a little math? Let’s get it:
The Assets You Need
You can get into a home with as little as 3 percent down with a conventional loan, or even less with down payment assistance programs. If you are a veteran or buying in a rural area, you may even get in with zero percent down. But you still need enough left over for closing costs and some reserves after you close. Figure that you need the down payment, closing costs of 1 to 3 percent of th. ...

Do you think any of these things when the topic of home buying comes up?


I’ll just hang a bit longer to see how this job goes.



It’s OK here, but I still may move away next year.



I can’t buy a home until my student loans are gone.


Unless you’re one of the lucky ones who already has your dream job in your dream city, you’ve probably told yourself one or more of these things along the way. Which is all good — it means you’re being careful. But if you really do want to buy a home one day, here are a few strategies that will help you pull your plan together.

Know Your Rent vs. Buy Basics

Perhaps the best thing about renting is that it keeps all options open. If you’re in any way unsure about your city, job or relationship status, renting is a no-brainer.

Most rental agreements allow you to bail within 30 to 60 days, and you’ll typically get your security deposit cash back as long as you took care of . ...