Blog

04
Jan
By Jim Hasek
Market Outlook, ,

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – January 04, 2016

2015 said farewell with reports on Case Shiller home prices, pending home sales, and consumer confidence. The details: Case-Shiller Home Prices Post Double Digit Gains in October According to Case-Shiller's 20 City Home Price Index, Denver, Colorado, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California tied for the highest home price gains in October with year-over-year home price gains of 10.90 percent. Lowest annual price gains were posted by Chicago, Illinois at 1.30 percent followed by Washington, D.C with a year-over-year –reading of 1.70 percent. Home prices rose at their fastest rate since August 2014 according to Case-Shiller. Month-to-month home prices showed…
Read More
31
Dec
By Jim Hasek
Home Buyer Tips, ,

Did You Know: Here’s Why Buying a New Home Grows Your Wealth Faster Than Renting

There can be many downsides to both renting and buying, depending on what side of the coin you are on, but if you're leaning towards purchasing a home it can have added benefits for your bank account that renting does not. While renting can certainly alleviate many of the costs that go along with property ownership, here's why purchasing a home can have positive monetary affects in the long run. The Good Impacts of Inflation While inflation is often seen as a dirty word, a real estate purchase can see the positive side of inflation with how your home purchase…
Read More
30
Dec
By Jim Hasek
Home Buyer Tips,

Three Things You Can Expect when Buying a Home This Winter

When you're looking into purchasing a home, there are plenty of things to watch out for at any time of the year, but there are a few things that you can expect during the winter months that may be a little different than other seasons. If you happen to be on the market for a home and are thinking of buying, here are three things you may want to consider for the winter buying months. A Little Bit Off The Top While there is significant home buying that goes on throughout the fall, it's often the case that things slow…
Read More
29
Dec
By Jim Hasek
Home Mortgage Tips, ,

Understanding Mortgage Pre-Approvals and How to Avoid Being Declined for One

The mortgage process is a long and complicated one, with a number of similar-sounding terms that can easily confuse first-time homebuyers. A pre-approval is not the same thing as a pre-qualification, and it's important to understand everything that goes into a pre-approval. Being declined during the pre-approval process means you'll have a hard time getting the funds you need to buy your home, so it's important that you know what the process is going to look like before going into it. How does a pre-approval work, and how can you make sure you won't be declined? Here's what you need…
Read More
28
Dec
By Jim Hasek
Market Outlook, , ,

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – December 28, 2015

This week's report of economic events is shortened due to the Christmas holiday. Economic news through Wednesday included Existing Home Sales, New Home Sales and Consumer Spending. The details: Existing Home Sales Dip, New Home Sales Rise According to the National Association of Realtors®, sales of previously owned homes dipped from October's seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.32 million sales to 4.76 million sales of pre-owned homes. This was considerably lower than analysts' expectations of 5.30 million sales. Factors seen as contributing to November's reading included pent-up demand caused by low inventories of available homes and affordability issues emerging as…
Read More
24
Dec
By Jim Hasek
Around The Home, ,

DIY Home Decorating: How to Use Spray Paint to Spice Up Your Home and Furniture

The idea of using spray paint to make some quick fix-ups to your home might seem uncouth, but it can be a great way to make some easy, economical upgrades that will shift the overall look of your living space. Instead of assuming that spray paint is just for graffiti, here are some simple ways to use a can of quick paint to change up your home's style. Dress Up Your Doorknobs An outdated doorknob can instantly age the look of your home, but what you might not know is that a simple douse of spray paint can instantly change…
Read More