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10 Things to Ask When Listing a Condo

Condos are an appealing option for potential buyers today for various reasons, but they can be a precarious form of collateral for lenders to lend against. When homebuyers look for financing on their condo, their lender is confronted with considerably more stringent guidelines than a single-family home, and they’ll often require a lot more documentation.

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How to Get the Lowest Rate on Your HELOC

Interest rates on home equity lines of credit are based on the prime lending rate plus a margin (think “add on”). The prime is 3% more than the Federal funds rate. If you’re looking to get the lowest interest rate, you need to get the smallest margin on your home equity line.

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How Escrow Holdbacks Resolve Title V Issues

When you sell a home to someone outside your immediate family in Massachusetts, a Title V septic inspection must be done on the property.   If a property fails this inspection, it can stop your transaction in its tracks. Today I want to share how an escrow holdback can help you resolve this issue and get on with your transaction.

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Can You Use Rent To Pay Your Mortgage?

So your goal is to keep your current home and rent it out after you move into a new one. The question I frequently receive about that is whether you can use your tenant’s rent to pay the mortgage on the rental property. The short answer is yes! How rental income can be used is sometimes confusing, so today I’ll explain how most mortgage lenders treat income derived from a departure residence.

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A Few Ways You Can Make a Down Payment

Today I want to share 20 things you can do to make a down payment on your home:

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Waiving Appraisals When Making a Home Offer

Have you heard about buyers waiving their appraisal contingencies? It’s becoming increasingly common in our tough market, and many industry experts say it can make or break your offer. Today I want to tell you what you need to know about appraisal contingencies before you decide to waive yours.

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Mortgage Recasts Explained

You want to buy a home, but you can’t put as much down as you’d like because your equity is tied up in your old property. If you’re in this situation, don’t worry—you aren’t alone. This can be a frustrating problem, but you have options. Today I’ll share a method you can use to lower your monthly payment after closing without putting more money down up front.: a mortgage recast. 

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Handling Items To Be Left by the Seller

When you're buying or selling a home, you need to know how to structure a contract when personal property is being left behind by the seller. What we're talking about today are called interested party contributions in a real estate contract, and they can come in two forms.

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