Donna Hudson's (dlhudson) Blog

Recently, a homeowner had a burglary and part of the insurance claim was denied because they didn't have proof of purchase or a current inventory of their personal belongings. This is something that could happen to anyone. Even if you had an inventory but it was several years old, it could cost y...

Home prices have come down 20, 30, 40% or more in the last three years and mortgage rates are lower than they've been in 50 years and you still haven't bought a home. Really? Housing affordability is over 180, an all-time high when 100 is considered good and you're still renting. Really? Are you ...

It all seems perfectly reasonable: one person is not satisfied with what he can earn currently in the market and another wants to find the most attractive mortgage to purchase their home. It can be a good match but the IRS has specific rules that govern the transaction. The loan must be done in a...

It takes money to buy a home: yours or theirs. If you're not going to pay cash for a home, you need to find out exactly what you can borrow and what it will cost before you start looking at homes. The mortgage process is not as clear cut a path as it was a few years ago. It is certainly more comp...

Whether you rent or buy, you pay for the house you occupy. You must live somewhere and there's a price to pay for it. A simple analysis will show you whether it's cheaper to rent or buy. Some people don't have any choice but to rent because they don't have the means to qualify for a loan. But for...

In one of the best buyer markets ever, sellers are not really doing much to encourage purchasers to act now. Builders offer a variety of incentives such as upgrades, seller-paid closing costs, interest rate buy downs, washers, dryers, refrigerators or big screen TVs. Interestingly, much of the re...

One of the challenges buyers are having with financing may be their own understanding or lack thereof. In a recent survey done by research firm Ipsos for Zillow, a surprising number of incorrect answers to true or false questions were given by prospective buyers. Over 3/4 didn't realize how the m...

Donna HudsonCrye-Leikedonna.hudson@crye-leike.com   A man was selling a property which was currently rented but had previously been his home for over two years. After discovering it had been rented for the last 2.5 years, it was asked if he had planned on taking the principal residences capital ...

Many homeowners are overlooking an opportunity to lower their property taxes by not challenging their tax assessment.  Property values have decreased in the past two to three years and the assessment may not reflect the current market value. Deadlines are critical and if the challenge isn't made ...

In almost every state in the U.S., buyers have the option of being represented by their real estate agent. This relationship creates responsibilities that require the agent put their client's interests above their own. The duties a buyer or seller can expect to receive among others are honesty, a...