Online Homebuyer Education Course
Making Dreams Come True
Our Most Recent Articles
Should You Rent-to-Own a Home?
Rent-to-own is exactly what it sounds like – you rent a home with a contract that allows you to eventually buy it. There are benefits and disadvantages to rent-to-own, and whether it’s a good idea ...
What Is the Minimum Credit Score to Buy a House in 2022
“It's tough to overstate the importance of credit scores to a mortgage loan application -- they're one of the top things lenders consider,” Tabitha Mazzara, director of operations at mortgage lender MBANC, said. A credit ...
Good Neighbor Next Door Program Helps Teachers, Law Enforcement, Firefighters & EMTs Buy Homes
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development instituted the Good Neighbor Next Door (GNND) sales program in 2010. The idea remains the same a decade later: spark community revitalization by offering a 50% discount ...
How Startup Companies Are Helping Home Buyers Win Bidding Wars
In today’s ultra-competitive housing market, a number of startup companies are addressing new realities in home buying with a strategy based on an age-old truth – Cash is king. For first-time home buyers. For existing ...
How to Buy a House with Little to No Money Down
The belief that you need a 20% down payment to secure a mortgage on a home is largely a misconception. At one point it was true, but these days not so much. Before 1956, when ...
Credit Scores and the First-Time Homebuyer
For first-time homebuyers, the second most important factor (behind location) is: (A) Number of bathrooms. (B) Composition of the kitchen counters. (C) Storage space. (D) Terms of the mortgage. If you ...
What Programs are Available to Help African Americans Become Homeowners
If home is where the heart is, it’s also where wealth building frequently happens in America. That’s not a coincidence. “Homeownership has historically helped families create a legacy and build long-term wealth,” said AJ Barkley, ...
Tech Companies Provide Housing Assistance in California and Washington
What started as a housing squeeze 30 years ago is now a full-blown crisis in Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area. The median home price in San Francisco increased 90% between April 2009 and ...
First-Time Homebuyer Trends for 2022
If you turned on the news at any point last year, you've heard the housing market was wild in 2021, but what will it bring in 2022? Home prices grew fast to start 2021 and ...
Should I Tap My 401(k) to Buy a Home?
First-time home buyers are often young and financially stressed, struggling with student loan debts, car payments and the costs of raising young children. Even for couples with two incomes, the task of saving for a ...
How to Save a Down Payment for a Home in 1 Year
Would you believe me if I told you that one year from today you could be unlocking the door to your first home? As they say, the proof is in the pudding and we’ve got ...
Co-Buying A Home Can: Pros and Cons
You don’t have to be married to live out the American dream of owning a home. Co-buying is a way for unmarried individuals to get out of the cycle of renting and begin building equity ...
Single Women Homebuyers: What You Need to Know
A young Nashville teacher I know, let’s call her Mary, is changing the world. Mary is good at her job. She’s financially independent. She has long-term career plans, and is working nights and weekends toward ...
How to Buy an Affordable Home: Tips for First-Time Home Buyers
Nearly a third of homes sales go to first-time buyers, a group as enthusiastic as it is inexperienced and whose dreams are as big as its bank accounts are small. There were 2.1 million first-time ...
Biggest Home Buyer Mistakes: What First Time Buyers Need to Know
Few things are more exciting, or terrifying, than buying your first house. You’re joining forces with a spouse or partner, or bravely going alone, on one of life’s great adventures and biggest investments. “The ache ...
CFPB Reports Complaints About Mortgages
Mortgages remain one of the most complained about financial products, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mortgage provider complaints fall into four main categories: Complaints about the foreclosure and loan modification. Consumers complain that the loan ...
HomeReady Program to Debut in December
Fannie Mae's new program, HomeReady, will help middle and low income Americans achieve their dream of homeownership. HomeReady will consider income provided by extended family members and non-family members as qualifiers for a mortgage. Additionally, ...
Do You Live Near a Party House?
With the growth in online rent-by-the-night and week services like Airbnb, many residential homes are becoming party homes. Nobody wants to live next to a party house. The effect on neighbors and property values can ...
The New Mortgage Rules
New mortgage rules are in place that should make it easier for home buyers to compare lending terms. Learn more about the forms and their purposes here. New Mortgage rules and How to Make the Most ...
First-Time Homebuyer Tips and Trends
Are you a first-time homebuyer? We’ve got everything you need to know from how to save a downpayment to creative ways to becoming a homeowner in a heated-up housing market. Start your HomeTrek by taking our self-paced online homebuyer course or by digging in to our library of inspiring, thought-provoking articles on how to buy a home.
Learn about Florida Down Payment Assistance
Florida offers programs through the State Housing Initiative Partnership Program (SHIP). The funds from this program are distributed to Florida’s 62 counties as block grants. Learn more about the Florida Down Payment Assistance