246 articles and videos on mortgage rates, the housing market and smart home financing, in plain English.
▶ VideoShould you take cash out of your house? Does it make any sense right now? Cash-out refinances are generally a case-by-case basis. Recently, we helped someone who built a bunch of debt (revolving and other things). They had backed themselves into a corner and could see that they needed to make changes. What we were…
▶ VideoDo you know that there is a connection between oil and the mortgage business? Most people would never make this association, which is why I wanted to talk about it. What Did OPEC Decide? OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) basically oversees the multi-national price-fixing of our oil. They control the output of…
▶ Video2/1 buy downs is a topic that has been trending lately, but I still have a lot of people who are wondering what it is and why they would do it. Here’s what you need to know: What is a 2/1 Buy Down? A 2/1 buy down is what it sounds like: it means you…
▶ VideoToday is Fed Day: as expected the Fed increased rates by three-quarters of a percent. The mortgage/bonds market is having a muted response. So far there isn’t too much movement. If you’ve been watching the trends, it’s been an ugly ride for interest rates in the last month and a half. For now, at least…
▶ VideoToday, we’re continuing with the topic of investment properties. It continues to be a relevant topic, especially with the things that are currently happening with other types of investments. A few days ago, the stock market lost over 1000 points, which made me stop to consider where people are investing their money. Real estate is…
▶ VideoI’m seeing a bunch of investor activity over the last few months, and it’s worth pointing out. Investors are looking at their current rental properties, and they are seeing that maybe they have hit the peak for now. So they are taking the cash off the table, and now they are using this big chunk…
Let’s talk about how you can use rent from ADUs to qualify as a buyer. When you are qualifying for a mortgage, it’s smart to utilize all of the income sources that are available. What is an ADU? An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is a big thing in California, especially because most places in the…
It’s no surprise that real estate volumes are slowing down, and there are less buyers in the market. Recent housing data is showing that existing homes sales are down by almost 30%. What’s interesting is that some of the price appreciation numbers speak to the level of buyers vs sellers (the inventory problem): we are…
▶ VideoWe’ve been talking about the real estate market a lot lately, and we are seeing the market shift quite a bit right now. There is significantly more inventory in areas, which is giving the opportunity for buyers. Finally! Is It Finally a Buyer’s Market? We always have back-and-forth trends regarding whether it’s a buyer’s market…
To start on a much lighter note: did you know that you can buy real estate in the Metaverse already? I recently saw an interview with Mark Cuban and they were talking about how there is a piece of land next to Snoop Dog’s property that you can buy for $458,000 in the Metaverse. I’m…
I wanted to follow up about what I discussed in last week’s video: the GDP number that came out on Thursday. It showed another quarter of negative growth, which leads to ongoing conversation that the recession has started. I wanted to add my thoughts and give you a few bits of perspective. Economic Slowdown is…
There are big updates today that a lot of people are paying attention to: it was established that the Fed increased rates by 3/4 of a point. If you look at the charts behind me, you’ll see the green numbers which show positive movement for mortgage rates. Fed Fund Rate Doesn’t Correlate to Mortgage Rates…
