MYTH# 4: Housing Costs Stay Constant
Reality: Only your mortgage payment will remain constant. Other costs can go up every year. And if you have an adjustable rate mortgage, your monthly payment can rise too. Your mortgage payment is just...
View ArticleMYTH# 5: A House is a Safe Investment
Reality: There are very few risk-free investments and a house is certainly not one of them. House prices are not a one-way escalator going up. They can also go down. Predicting whether a specific house...
View ArticleMYTH# 6: Low Interest Rates
Reality: Low interest rates may actually serve to make buying more expensive. It sounds counterintuitive, but low interest rates can actually make housing more expensive, not more affordable. How?...
View ArticleMYTH# 7: Five Year Rule
Reality: Nearly one third of all homeowners move within five years and many end up losing money. Most people who buy a house plan to stay there for a long time, but many end up moving sooner than...
View ArticleMYTH# 8: Buying a House Helps Me Save for the Future
Reality: This is a risky and unwise investment strategy. Mortgages can work like a forced savings program. Instead of paying rent, you pay your mortgage and build up equity, assuming you stay long...
View ArticleMYTH# 9: Rent vs Buy Calculators
Reality: Most of these calculators are overly simplified and seriously flawed. An economic analysis of the leading calculators found numerous problems. Some fail to include basic costs like...
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Is the Recession Good for Rental Property?
Construction of new apartment buildings propelled a housing permits surge in the month of August, according to the US Commerce department. This will be the largest increase (10.5%) in new construction...
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RENT INCREASE WATCH: Two Roommates, One Bedroom
As rental prices continue to rise, many people are looking for roommates to help offset the high cost of living. It’s hard enough for friends or acquaintances to share a place when there’s one bedroom...
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How Much Should You Spend on Rent?
Conventional wisdom has historically limited rent to 25% of your income before taxes. Surveys suggest Americans are paying upwards of 30%, lots of times more. My friends who live in San Francisco often...
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Apartments for Rent or Houses for Rent? – Today’s Rental Market
With the U.S. economic conditions steadily showing improvements, marketing to U.S. Regional Interests via Google’s Trends data helps to answer a prevailing question – “are more people interested in...
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