Here in Las Vegas (Why did the Dalai Lama go to Las Vegas? Because he loves Tibet) the population is about 650,000 with all manners of housing, subdivisions, and lifestyles. But around the nation and world, there are numerous ways and places to live. Here’s a story about a former NFL star who says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium. What do Stowe, Vermont, Whitefish, Montana, and Lake Placid, New York have in common? The three U.S. towns made Travel & Leisure’s 25 Most Beautiful Small Towns. If you only want a house for part of the year, with elevated mortgage rates and home prices having risen considerably, the solution might be buying 1/6 of a house. Or sharing equity, which is what some of your borrowers and homeowner clients consider. “An Unlock HEA gives you cash in exchange for a portion of your home’s future value.” Or one can live underwater. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s i
Mortgage rates dropped after mid-June. Momentarily switching gears, given their role in cakes, breakfasts, custards, and breads, if eggs didn’t exist, would a food scientist have to had invented them? I mention this because the benchmark price of eggs in the U.S. was down to $2.16 a dozen two weeks ago, down 37 percent from the record high $3.38 a dozen in mid-July. These lower prices should be reflected at grocery stores with prices dropping by a dollar a dozen or so. The cause for the spike in the price of eggs was an avian flu that ravaged the U.S. population, killing 30 million commercial and wild birds, and the successful recent moves to repopulate the hens. The downward trend in prices is expected to continue. Homeowners and real estate agents don’t mind a return to “normal” inventory in markets and historical price appreciation rates. But this sensationalist headline will grab some readers: “Home prices plunging in ‘pandemic boomtowns&#x
The VA recently published Circular 26-22-13 (the Circular) clarifying when alternative valuation methods may be used for VA-guaranteed loans. The Circular, which went into effect on.
English grammar… what a hassle. Is it "lay" or "lie"? - Are you sure you're using them correctly? “Than” versus “then?” One should use “than” only with a comparative adjective, like taller than, faster than, as in, Apocalypse Now is better than The Deer Hunter. “Then” is used for time, like at that moment, or after. Or “I lost $100 at blackjack, and then lost another $100 in craps.” Speaking of gambling losses, ever heard of loss aversion, a theory which behavioral economists will tell you drives many of our financial decisions? People feel the pain of losses much more than they feel the pleasure of gains. Empirical studies suggest that losing is twice as painful as winning is enjoyable. So people will go to great lengths to avoid losses, and to recover what they’ve lost. Politicians often play on this (voters have lost the good old days and want them back, an