Wait a second! Aren’t there still almost three months left in 2016? Not if you’re contemplating buying or selling a home — at least, if a mortgage is involved. Then, the window to complete a deal this year is rapidly closing. That’s because the typical lag time from consummated Purchase Agreement to closing is 6-8...Read More
When One Word (“PROPOSED House”) Looms Large Test your knowledge of encroachment issues, and see if you can detect a problem in the photo above. Give up? The northeast corner of the home on the pie-shaped lot clearly encroaches on the lot immediately to the east. Make that, the lot underneath the Minnetonka home my...Read More
What’s in a Word? “Imˈ- pound”: seize and take legal custody of something — especially a vehicle, goods, or documents — because of an infringement of a law or regulation. –Dictionary definition Once upon a time, the fees that lenders collected in advance from home buyers for such things as property taxes and home insurance...Read More
When Government Gives You a Free Subsidized Lunch . . . Take It! “America’s housing system was at the centre of the last crisis. It has still not been properly reformed.” —The Economist, “Nightmare on Main Street: the Horror Underlying America’s Housing Market“; August 20th -26th 2016. If you don’t want something (else) keeping you...Read More
30-Year Mortgages @ 3%?? For the moment, mortgage rates have bottomed, and may be even be climbing a bit. But, broader market forces (as they say) definitely seem to be tugging rates lower this Summer. Brexit Financial Aftermath There is now a stunning $10 billion-plus in negative-yielding government bonds globally (think, Germany, Switzerland, and — surprisingly,...Read More
(Even) Lower Interest Rates vs. Weaker Economy “It’s too soon to tell.” –Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung, when asked — in 1948(!) — about the historical significance of the French Revolution. To accurately assess the potential effect of Brexit on the housing market, one must first identify and analyze the biggest variables. Here’s my take: Positives...Read More
