Many homeowners show a reluctance toward refinancing, believing that some offers from banks may be “too good to be true.” But their suspicions may be costing them thousands of dollars in savings, according to a new study in the February Issue of The Review of Financial Studies from Columbia Business School researchers.Fifty-one percent of 550,000 borrowers who were sent preapproval applications through the Home Affordable Refinance
Spacious areas can sometimes feel cold and unwelcoming. How can you make a large living room with high ceilings feel more inviting? Houzz, a home remodeling website resource, provides some of the following tips:Leverage tall potted plants.For a room with tall ceilings, incorporate tall plants. It’ll help fill in vertical height gaps while also drawing the eyes up to help accentuate the high ceilings.Paint two-tone walls.To make the ceiling feel
Home inspections have been uncovering much-needed property repairs. More than 1 million repairs needed more than $11,000 in costs, according to a February review of 50,000 home inspection reports by Repair Pricer, a home repair estimating resource.Nearly 55 percent of homes analyzed across the country had doors that needed adjusting, which could be an indicator of foundation issues, the report showed. More than half—or 54 percent
Google's appetite for real estate is growing. The tech giant’s CEO announced this week that the company is building new data centers and offices and plans to expand to several key locations across the country this year. It plans to spend $13 billion this year in real estate.“With this new investment, Google will now have a home in 24 total states, including data centers in 13 communities,” wrote Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, in a blog post
Amazon announced Thursday that it has halted plans to build a second headquarters in Long Island City, N.Y., blaming political and community opposition for its decision.The reversal comes three months after Amazon picked two cities as homes for its HQ2 project—Long Island City and Crystal City, Va.—promising to bring 25,000 new, high-paying jobs to each area. A booming housing market in those areas was expected to follow.Indeed, in the time s
Cooling inflation and slower global economic growth prompted mortgage rates to drift down to the lowest levels in a year, Freddie Mac reports.“While housing activity has clearly softened over the last nine months and the lingering effects of higher rates from last year are still being felt, lower mortgage rates and a strong job market should rekindle demand for the spring home buying season,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.F
If automated text messaging is part of your marketing strategy, you could be setting yourself up as a tempting target for plaintiff’s lawyers. A growing number of class action lawsuits are claiming that automated text messages fall under the restrictions imposed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a 1991 law that was enacted to curb unsolicited sales calls.In the class action lawsuits, lawyers say the marketing texts, if th
Nearly 60 percent of millennial singles say that homeownership makes a potential mate a lot more attractive, according to a new survey conducted by realtor.com®. Women were more likely than men to find homeownership attractive (48 percent versus 43 percent).“Attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder, and this survey data suggests that many beholders find homeownership attractive, perhaps using it as a signal for financial savviness and succ
Couples may be eager to find their perfect home. But house hunting can be stressful, and finding a property that both parties agree on can pose a challenge.A common spat that many real estate pros see? Not being able to agree on where to live. Elizabeth Gigler, broker for John Greene Realty in Naperville, Ill., told realtor.com® in a 2018 article that she once had one partner who really desired a home in a prime location while the othe
Valentine’s Day is a time to express your love for family and friends. But why not spread the love to your clients, too? Take this holiday as an opportunity to thank them for being your customers, according to trainer and customer service expert Shep Hyken.While flowers are appropriate for your spouse, expressing your appreciation can be achieved in many other ways. “It can be something as simple as a thank-you note or as elaborate as a custo
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