Dividend.com: Real Estate Center

Last year, foreign firms bought $2.83 billion worth of office buildings in Houston. Thats fours times the amount of real estate purchased by real estate investment trusts (REITS) that year. For the first time, Houston now ranks in the top five worldwide cities that foreign investors are investing in joining New York City, London, San Francisco and Washington D.C. Read More »

The housing market continues to recover, but this recovery differs from recoveries in the past. This time, a large portion of buyers are investors. Many individuals as well as institutional investors have been taking advantage of well priced, foreclosed homes and using them to make profits. Read More »

With the housing crash and resulting foreclosure crisis of 2008, many people got into trouble with their mortgages and loans. The unfortunate fact when a costly catastrophe happens—be it a natural disaster or financial collapse—is that there will always be some people there to try to benefit from others’ misery and make a quick buck. With the housing crash, home loan help scams became more prevalent, and there are still many around today. If you’re struggling to keep up with your mortgage, this home-loan help can be much needed, and usually seems too good to be true – that’s because it is. We’ll look at what these home loan help scans are, how you can recognize them, what to do if you do find a fraudulent company, and the alternative routes you can take to deal with your seemingly insurmountable debt. Read More »

When you are buying a home, you will hear about mortgage and title insurances. Both of these insurances are in place to protect the bank when loaning you money for your home. With that said, these insurance types are only necessary in certain instances. We’ll look at what these types of insurance are, when you need them, and how they’ll impact you as a homeowner. Read More »

Wouldn’t it be great if you could buy a house and not have to pay any of the mortgage, and even get paid to own that house? Well, depending on how you go about it, you can do this by becoming a landlord. Of course, there’s no free lunch, and there are risks and work that have to be taken into account when you want to rent out a piece of property. We’ll go over some ways that will help you make the decision, and the steps you have to take to start renting out a house. Read More »

There are many ways that consumers can tap into the equity in their homes, but a home equity loan is often the simplest and most convenient. Reverse mortgages can also allow homeowners to use their home equity for other purposes, but these loans typically come with many more restrictions than home equity loans. However, while home equity loans can offer a convenient source of funding for homeowners who qualify, they should not be viewed as a casual source of cash for frivolous or short-term expenses. But they can also be a very effective budgeting tool in some cases as long as they are used correctly.

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If you’re looking into getting a mortgage, there are a lot of different types to choose from, and depending on the interest-rate environment you’re borrowing in, some will make more sense than others. Aside from the more standard mortgages, there are other more niche products to consider, too, including interest-only and reverse mortgages. We’ll look at all of the different mortgages that are available to homeowners and prospective homeowners in the U.S., and go over the basics of how each mortgage works, and what downside you should worry about. Read More »

The turbulence in the real estate and stock markets from 2008-2012 has substantially eroded the income that many retirees receive from their pensions and other retirement savings. A growing number of older homeowners have turned to reverse mortgages as a means of shoring up their retirement income. Although this type of mortgage has been around for decades, it has only achieved popularity in the past few years. But while this type of loan can be an ideal solution for some people, it can also pose serious disadvantages in many cases.

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Home loans constitute one of the largest types of debt carried by consumers today. The ability to own a home free and clear without a mortgage is impossible for most people, so getting the lowest rate possible on a home loan is of vital importance to most homeowners. The continued volatility and uncertainty in the stock and bond markets has also made it harder than ever to get ahead, so when interest rates drop, many people have been able to improve both their cash flows and their balance sheets by refinancing.

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Although there is nothing that quite matches the feeling that comes with owning your own home, you need to do your homework before you finalize the terms for the loan that you will take out on it. Having the right kind of mortgage will make owning your home a great deal easier and will also save you many thousands of dollars. The following is a list of the common errors that people make when they apply for a home loan.

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Congratulations! You’ve decided to buy a house, either by yourself or with a significant other. Welcome to one of the most complex decisions you’ll ever work through in your life. As you know, buying a home entails considerably more than merely determining how big your mortgage payment can be. There are several major factors that you must examine before you cough up your down payment and schedule a closing date.

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Ever since the subprime housing crash of 2008, buying a home doesn’t seem like the sure thing it once was. With real estate prices having taken a big hit and foreclosures on the rise, the debate of renting versus buying has come into focus. Read More »

If you have been a homeowner for a while, you know that every so often you will want to get some work done around the house. There are many uncomplicated things that you yourself can take care of, but there’s a lot of other upgrades and fixes that require a trained contractor. If you’ve never done any plumbing before, you don’t want to cut your teeth by putting in an entire new kitchen. If you’ve never had to hire a contractor before, the process can be quite overwhelming, as there is such a spectrum of quality, reliability and prices that you need to assess. Read More »