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Rebuilding Costs: Rethinking How Much Homeowners Insurance You Really Need

Buying a home comes with numerous financial planning obligations. It's far from a turn-key operation and one of the significant challenges involves developing a working knowledge about things often outside your area of expertise. For example, working as an educator, police officer, investment banker or office staffer does not necessarily make you an expert about home repairs or insurance coverage. Yet, the average homeowner is tasked with carrying a certain level of homeowners insurance coverage without a strong working knowledge. Many homeowners just purchase enough insurance to cover the purchase price or take the advice of others. Both of those…
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Working From Home: 5 Best Tips To Make It Work

Carving out space for a home office isn't always easy, but if you have the option to work from home even part of the time, it's essential to have a space that works for you. Here are 5 great ways to meet those needs: Adapt A Closet A guest room closet with bi-fold doors can become a perfect workspace with the addition of a shelf at the proper height to hold a computer or calculator and proper task lighting. Hang a bulletin board or add open shelving on the back wall. Multiply the functionality with a small cabinet or a…
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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – July 9th, 2018

Last week's economic releases included monthly readings on construction spending, public and private sector job growth and June's national unemployment rate. Weekly readings included Freddie Mac mortgage rates and new jobless claims. Construction Spending Rises in May According to the Commerce, construction spending rose 0.40 percent in May; public sector construction spending rose 0.70 percent and private sector spending rose by 0.30 percent. Residential construction rose by o.80 percent, which analysts regarded as a good sign for the economy. Building more homes has long been identified as the only solution for persistent housing shortages that cause high demand for homes…
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Top Uses Of A HELOC

Homeowners who have equity built up in their homes can tap into that equity using a home equity line of credit, or HELOC. This financial tool can be a great way to accomplish a number of financial goals. Here are four excellent uses of a HELOC for homeowners to consider. Consolidating Costly Debts Credit card debt and other types of consumer loans are costly, unless a debtor is lucky enough to have a no-interest card. Borrowers can consolidate that debt into a HELOC, which is much more affordable because it is a secured debt. This advantage only works if the…
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Seller-Paid Closing Costs In A Seller’s Market? Yes, It’s Still Possible

For first-time home buyers, closing costs are a major hurdle for home ownership. Coming up with a down payment and several thousand dollars for closing costs can be hard without home equity to tap. To help, buyers often ask sellers to cover all or some of these costs. In markets favoring buyers, this is a common habit, but when the market switches to favoring sellers it becomes harder. Sellers who know they may get multiple offers are less likely to say "yes" to this request. Yet even when the market favors sellers, buyers can still ask for this help. It…
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