What home loan can I afford? When considering buying a home, what home loan can I afford? We get asked how much mortgage we can afford on my salary all the time! Lenders will typically look at your income, expenses, credit score, and debt-to-income ratio to determine how much house you can afford. To be […]
Is Renovating a Home Stressful?
/in Home Improvement /by Joel RichardsonIs Renovating a Home Stressful? Is renovating a home stressful. Home renovation shows make it look mostly uncomplicated. It’s easy to get swept in the idea of doing a renovation once you watch a few of these shows. Fix and flip home shows primarily focus on entertainment and often condense the entire process into a […]
What Are The Current Interest Rates?
/in Home Loans, Homeowner Tips, Mortgage Tips /by Joel RichardsonHow high will interest rates get? I can’t count how many times per week I have to address client concerns about current rates or rate direction. Then I was hit with a realization: most homebuyers today have never seen higher rates! What are the highest rates have gone? Today, over 50% of buyers are Millennials […]
What Home Loan Can I Afford?
/in Home Loans, Mortgage Tips /by Joel RichardsonWhat home loan can I afford? When considering buying a home, what home loan can I afford? We get asked how much mortgage we can afford on my salary all the time! Lenders will typically look at your income, expenses, credit score, and debt-to-income ratio to determine how much house you can afford. To be […]
SVB and The Housing Market
/in Austin Mortgage Updates, Home Loans /by Joel RichardsonSVB and The Housing Market I wasn’t going to write about this, but… There have been a lot of questions about Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Mostly, the questions are about SVB and the housing market. Therefore, I feel it’s helpful to address this. There is a lot of industry analyst betting against the housing market. […]
Mortgages: Interest Rates and Other Questions
/in Austin Mortgage Updates, Home Loans, Homeowner Tips, Mortgage Tips /by Joel RichardsonGot Mortgage Questions? We have answers! Ready to start the journey to homeownership? Great! You are likely looking for mortgages and have come to the right place. As your mortgage expert, we provide you with guidance. We have outlined some commonly asked questions and the answers to help you get started on the right foot! […]
2022 Housing Market Outlook
/in Austin Mortgage Updates /by Joel RichardsonHousing Market: Are You Feeling the House Ownership Vibe for 2022? The housing market has been a constant thread in news headlines in the past year. If you are a potential homebuyer, it is understandable that you may be sitting on the sidelines wondering what is in store for 2022. Predicting the housing market is […]
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
/in Homeowner Tips /by Joel RichardsonCybersecurity Awareness Month Tips to Keep Your Data Safe From Phishing! Regarding cybersecurity, phishing attacks are among the most common security breaches. The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Centre published a report in 2020 confirming this fact. What is phishing? Phishing is a fraudulent technique to get sensitive data through disguised emails. Additionally, the person phishing […]
Government Shutdown and Home Loans
/in Austin Mortgage Updates, Home Loans /by Joel RichardsonHow Does A Government Shutdown Impacts Home Loan? That Depends… Though there are some areas of our lives that a government shutdown could impact, many home buyers will experience minimal impact on an existing mortgage application. The answer is dependent on the type of loan in question. Here is a quick reference to help understand […]
Hot Housing Market Tips
/in Austin Mortgage Updates, Home Loans, Mortgage Tips /by Joel RichardsonHot Housing Market Tips for Homebuyers Recently, I was interviewed about Austin’s hot housing market by Sarah Wheeler, Editor in Chief of Housing Wire. We talked specifically about what homebuyers need to know as we look at Austin and surrounding areas. Here are some tips from that interview. Prepare your finances. A hot housing market means […]
Should I Buy a Fixer-Upper or Move-In Ready Home?
/in Home Improvement, Home Loans, Homeowner Tips, Mortgage Tips /by Joel RichardsonFixer-Upper or Move-In Ready? When deciding to buy a home, many people ask, “Should buy a fixer-upper or a move-in ready home?” There are a few factors one needs to consider when making this decision. Move-In Ready Homes If you have been following the Austin housing market, you may not be surprised to learn Austin-Round […]