Summit Realtors – Homeowner’s Blog

For many people, their home is their largest asset and their best performing investment. The equity in a home is the difference in what it is worth and what is owed. Two dynamics, appreciation and unpaid balance, work in concert to make homeowner's equity grow. It can...

It has been said that more money has been lost due to indecisions than ever was due to making the wrong decisions. Many times, the larger the decision, the more likely procrastination comes into play and doing nothing will cost something. Buying a home is certainly...

Stepped-up basis is an incredible benefit to people who inherit property. Not only do they receive the property itself, the basis or cost value of the property becomes the fair market value at the time of the decedent's death. This avoids recognizing the gain between...

The question is "financially speaking, are you better off owning than renting in the long term?" Renting a home has advantages. It is usually a short-term commitment from year to year and the landlord is responsible for the repairs. Owning a home with today's low...

A home warranty is a service contract that protects your home's appliances and some systems from repairs or possible replacements. A convenient benefit of a home warranty is that when you report an item, they will assign a service provider to evaluate whether it...

Credit plays a huge role in getting a mortgage because it is a variable that helps the lender determine the likelihood that the loan will be repaid on a timely basis. Credit bureaus evaluate people's credit worthiness using a FICO score. The higher the score the...

There is a story of a real estate agent's prayer: "Dear Lord, if I can't be someone's first love, or second wife, at least, please let me be their third REALTOR®." In a normal market with a balanced supply of sellers and buyers, this describes the preference that...

Looking for a simple way to determine if a rental property will give you the rate of return you want? This modified annual property operating data may be just what you've been looking for. There are many different rates of return that investor's consider to determine...

Most homeowners have insurance on their home that additionally, gives them coverage on their personal property. That is the first level of peace of mind to know that it is available to you if there is an unfortunate need for it from a burglary, fire, or some other...

Some homeowners feel like they may as well throw a dart against the wall to decide whether to move or not. Other people might invoke a process attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Supposedly, to evaluate the options and bring clarity to the choice, this American founding...