The housing market has gone through the roof over the past year. Home sales in hot markets often sell within the first day for prices well above the asking price. Guess what is next? Higher property taxes! Many people over the age of sixty-five don’t realize or forget that they are likely eligible for an exemption […]
On the popular social media site, Tik Tok, a recently circulated video has gained a lot of notice. Its premise is that a smart financial move is to take out a 30-year mortgage on your home instead of a 15-year mortgage and invest the difference. The video distinguishes between a 15- year mortgage and a […]
The catastrophic damage in Louisiana and throughout the Northeast caused by Hurricane Ida is an important reminder of the value of homeowners insurance. According to the Insurance Information Institute, 2019 reported that 5.1% of insured homes had a homeowner’s claim. 97% of those claims were attributed to property damage, and 3% were losses from liability […]
The eviction moratorium was established early in the Covid-19 pandemic to provide relief for those struggling to pay rent due to the impact of Covid related health and financial issues. The initial moratorium technically expired on July 31, 2021, but the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) attempted to extend it without the proper legal authority […]
Fidelity Investments recently completed a review of their 401(k) and IRA account holders and found that the number of accounts crossing above the $1 million value mark compared to 2020 rose by 74%…over 750,000 account holders. Can you use your 401(k) plan to become a millionaire? The answer is Yes, and to help you get […]
It was a blue-sky Colorado day as my clients were driving to the airport after a week of snow skiing when they hit a patch of ice, causing their car to veer into the oncoming lane. Fortunately, my clients and their children had buckled their seatbelts…unfortunately, the two ladies in the oncoming vehicle had not. […]
COVID has caused Americans to rethink what it takes to be considered ‘wealthy.’ Charles Schwab and Company recently completed its annual Modern Wealth Survey of 1,000 Americans. Their findings concluded that one needs $1.9 million in personal net worth to be considered wealthy. That number is down from the pre-COVID definition of wealthy at $2.6 […]
One of the primary ways people fall victim to financial fraud is from someone stealing their personal data and secretly opening credit in their name. The best safeguard against this is by placing a permanent credit freeze with the three primary credit bureaus TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. In order to open new credit, a review […]
In December of 2020, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest government-controlled mortgage companies, which purchase half of all mortgages in the US, applied an additional 0.5% fee to all of their conventional loan purchases. The fee, intended to reduce Covid-19 and the housing market risks, added approximately $1,400 in costs to an average […]
Wells Fargo recently announced it would no longer offer personal lines of credit. Instead, customers with account balances will be required to begin a payoff schedule. The typical open line-of-credit might be for as little as $3,000 or as much as $100,000. These accounts were used for such things as home improvements or loan consolidations. […]