The market is changing quickly, as the Fed raises rates again. What to do: focus on Affordability, don’t panic, know your options.
mortgage
The ABCs of ARMs: How Adjustable-Rate Mortgages Work
Call it a 2000s comeback: We have bucket hats, Bennifer and … adjustable-rate mortgages? We’re currently seeing a huge surge in adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) – the highest since the Great Recession in 2007-2009, after which they all but disappeared. But why now? What’s changed? “Pre-crisis, a range of other variable-rate loan products were all being […]
Contingent vs. Pending: What’s the Difference?
While strolling through your neighborhood (or scrolling through online listings), you might see signs on homes that read “pending” or “contingent.” When a home you’ve been eyeing finds itself in either status, you may wonder if it’s now too late to buy. The two concepts can stir up a lot of confusion: What exactly do […]
More Loan Options, In More Places
From day one, we’ve strived to give homebuyers a single point of access to the mortgage market. So we’re excited to share significant progress toward that vision with the expansion of Morty’s product offerings and coverage area! Homebuyers can now find jumbo loan options and loans for investment properties in our online marketplace. Additionally, Morty […]
The Morty Report: Welcome Aboard
March 25, 2022. I’ll share my take on what’s happening in homebuying. My goal is to cut through the noise and share takeaways to help you to make informed decisions.
These Paint Colors Can Add Thousands to a Home’s Pricetag
Hoping to add a few dollars to the selling price of your current home? Then it might be time to break out the rollers, brushes, and painter’s tape. According to a recent study by the folks at Zillow, painting your front door a particular color can increase your home’s selling price by more than $6,000. […]
8 Home Amenities Buyers Should Look For In 2022
If you are considering purchasing a home in 2022, you are undoubtedly dreaming of features that are important to you. As more Millennial buyers move into the market and seek out their first space, the housing market is experiencing a shift in demands and expectations in home features. From buyers focusing on green and energy-efficient […]
Do Millennials Value Homeownership Over Other Life Events?
Some people think that Millennials—the generation born roughly from 1981 to 1997—are destined to live at home with their parents forever, or at least, llong after graduating from college and securing full-time jobs. As recently as 2015, Millennials were making 20% less than the generation preceding them. Economic setbacks stemming from the great recession have […]
Think Millennials Homebuyers Are Buying in Big Cities? Think Again.
In the popular imagination, Millennials live in big city apartments or occupy their parents’ basements rent-free. But in fact, members of the Millennial cohort—that generation of young adults born roughly between 1980 and 1998—bought more homes last year than people in any other age bracket. And where exactly are Millennials buying homes? You just might […]
What Is the Morty Pre-Approval? How Is It Different?
A mortgage pre-approval letter in-hand takes the stress out of house hunting. Instead of wasting your time looking at homes out of your price range—or worrying about whether you qualify for a mortgage at all—being pre-approved for a mortgage means you can conduct your home search, and eventual purchase, confidently. But not all mortgage pre-approvals are created equal. Morty’s […]
Buying a Home as a Freelancer
More than 57 million Americans earned at least some of their income freelancing last year, including 47% of Millennial workers. If you’re one of the millions of workers who won’t be getting a W-2 from a traditional employer next year, we’ve got good news. Getting a mortgage and buying a home without a traditional salaried […]
4 Tips to Balance Your Mortgage With Student Loans
Balancing any household budget can be a juggling act. Adding a mortgage loan on top of everything else can make it seem almost impossible. In fact, Millennials have put off big investments like purchasing a home, often citing the large amount of student loan debt they carry. But putting your life on hold forever is […]
Buying a Home Together as an Unmarried Couple
While most homebuyers are married couples, about 15% of young homebuyers in the United States are unmarried couples purchasing a home together. In metro areas with hot housing markets like Tampa, Portland, and Washington, D.C, that number is even higher. With housing prices on the high side and mortgage interest rates at record lows, it […]
3 Things You Shouldn’t Do Before Getting a Mortgage
You’ve decided that you’re ready to be a homeowner. Now, you need to convince a lender to give you a mortgage. As you might imagine, lenders aren’t keen to give tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to just anyone. To qualify for a mortgage, you’ll need to show potential lenders that you’ve got a […]
Don’t Even Think About Getting a Mortgage Until You Do These Three Things
The house-hunting shows on television make it look so simple: decide to buy a home. Stroll through a few open houses, fall in love with the perfect place, sign some papers, and pop open the champagne. Congratulations, you’re now a homeowner. But as with most things, television shows only the most glamorous parts of the […]
What Is a Rate Lock?
Mortgage interest rates fluctuate daily, sometimes even from hour to hour. Market factors can send rates up one day and then back down the next. There’s no sure-fire way to know when rates will change – though there are plenty of finance professionals who dedicate their entire careers to trying to master the art of […]