Monthly Archives: October 2018

Start Early and Live Happily Ever-after

As storybooks go, the character is introduced, they meet their love interest, a villain thwarts their intentions, true love overcomes, they marry and live happily ever-after. It’s a very familiar formula. Similarly, there is a formula that couples follow in real life. They go to college, get a good job, rent a home, fall in … Continue reading Start Early and Live Happily Ever-after →

It’s Not Just the Tax Benefits

When the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly was increased from $12,700 to $24,000 for 2018, there was some speculation that the bloom was off the rose of homeownership. The thought was that if the tax benefits from being able to deduct the property taxes and interest was less than the standard deduction, that … Continue reading It’s Not Just the Tax Benefits →

HELOCs Becoming More Expensive

In September, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time in 2018 and they’re expected to go up one more time this year and three times next year. If you have a Home Equity Line of Credit, HELOC, you’re paying more to use that money and it is going to become more expensive. … Continue reading HELOCs Becoming More Expensive →

Fast Track Rental Property

FHA allows owner-occupants to purchase up to a four-unit property with a minimum 3.5% down payment. The rent collected on three units could be used to make the payment and the owners’ pro-rata share would be less than ¼ of the payment itself. The owner-occupied unit would be considered their principal residence. The other three … Continue reading Fast Track Rental Property →

Mortgage Free

It may be an all too common belief that a person will have a house payment and a car payment for the rest of their lives. However, with a plan and some determination, you can be mortgage free. Planning for retirement is obviously important and many times, an activity plagued by procrastination. Some homeowners’ goal … Continue reading Mortgage Free →