Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips - iPro Real Estate

Fannie to Loosen Mortgage Requirements

Government-sponsored financing giant Fannie Mae will ease its requirements next month, raising its debt-to-income ceiling from 45 percent to 50 percent on July 29. The move could pave the way for a larger number of new buyers to qualify for a mortgage, particularly millennials who may be saddled with student loan debt.The debt-to-income ratio compares a person’s gross monthly income with his or her monthly payment on all debt accounts, includin

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More Seniors Opt Not to Pay Off Mortgage

Many retirees are preferring to keep a mortgage, even if they have the means to pay it off. They say they want to take advantage of low mortgage rates and tax rates and free up their savings for other uses, The New York Times reports.But without a full-time job, are they able to still qualify for a home loan? Banks say they are still willing to lend to retirees, as long as they have regular monthly income coming in, like a pension and Social Secu

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Utilities Add 25% to Homeownership Costs

There’s a reason utility bills feel like they’re taking a bigger bite out of households’ budgets. On average, utility costs—electricity natural gas, water, and sewer—add 25 percent to monthly housing costs for homeowners and 21 percent to housing costs for renters, according to a newly released white paper by ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm, and UtilityScore, a software provider for solar and other home improvement compan

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Americans Place High Priority on Ownership

More than two-thirds of Americans believe that owning a home is an essential part of the American dream, according to a new survey released by the National Association of Home Builders of more than 11,300 registered voters.“Americans continue to place a high priority on homeownership and work hard to achieve this goal for their families,” says NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald.Other recent surveys also have shown a high desire for homeownership

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REALTORS: The Top Way to Boost Your Search Traffic

If you want to generate more online search traffic for your business, surveys are increasingly showing the number one tactic you need to focus more on: blogging.“It’s not necessarily the most popular tactic among small businesses,” writes Forbes columnist Brian Sutter, in referencing the WASP Barcode 2017 “State of Small Business Report.”Indeed, according to the 2017 Small Business Survey, the most effective means to garner more search

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MUSIC: Enjoy this song "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen

"Hallelujah" is a song written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984). Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a recording by John Cale, which inspired a recording by Jeff Buckley.Following its increased popularity after being featured in the film Shrek (2001), many other arrangements have been performed by many and various singers, both in recordings a

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6.9M Homes at Risk of Hurricane Storm Surge

Homes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are most in danger of damage from storms and hurricanes, but the risk spreads beyond typically affected states such as Florida and Louisiana, according to real estate data company CoreLogic.Nearly 6.9 million homes are at risk from hurricane storm surge damage, which carries a potential reconstruction value of more than $1.5 trillion, CoreLogic says in its 2017 Storm Surge Risk Report. A weaker-category hu

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Homes Show Decades of Upsizing

Despite growing consumer interest in tiny homes, most homeowners still opt for bigger properties. Over the past few decades, home owners have been adding bedrooms, bathrooms, and extra square footage to their homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 Characteristics of New Housing report.In 1980, 64 percent of new single-family homes had three bedrooms, and the median sales price was $64,600. In 2016, 50 percent had four or more bedroo

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Most Expensive Bills Home Buyers Face

Here are some of the heftiest costs of homeownership to be aware of:Property taxes. This is often the largest home expense after a mortgage, and some of the highest property-tax rates are in the Northeast. Buyers there might need to take extra financial measures to make sure they can afford their home. Homeowners in Buffalo, N.Y., for example, pay 2.9 percent of their home’s value in property taxes. In Rochester, N.Y., they pay 2.8 percent. Nat

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REALTORS: 5 steps to building a following on Facebook and LinkedIn

Key Takeaways Be conversational, personal, educational and inspirational on social media. If you don’t believe you have something to offer, what you say will be shallow and meaningless.Keeping up with social media can be overwhelming, so I’ve developed what I call the “Holy Grail” of Facebook and LinkedIn, specifically, to make it easier for you.Whether you use these platforms sparingly or on a regular basis, these five tips will get your

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