The main travel months of summer have passed and with schools back in session the buyer activity is picking up in some areas.  Depending on location some locations are seeing price reductions.  These reductions are needed in order to help buyers afford homes in light of higher mortgage interest rates.  Check out the articles in this month’s round up to learn more about buying or selling real estate.

Federal Reserve Rate Hike and Mortgages

The Federal Reserve has been slowly bumping up interest rates that they pay to member banks.  This is raising interest rates for credit cards, auto loans, savings accounts and more.  Raising the federal funds rate does not have a direct correlation with mortgage interest rates as Kevin Vitali explores.  The federal funds rate does have a psychological impact on mortgage interest rates and there are other ways the Federal Reserve can cause rates to go up as this article explores.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying With Cash

Buying a home or investment real estate with cash has both pros and cons as Bill Gassett explores.  Cash offers can be made with fewer contingencies like no appraisal contingency, no financing contingency and more depending on what the buyer wants to do.  There can be downsides to buying a home with cash as well as upsides as Bill explains.  Before buying with cash the buyer should understand the various positives and negatives and then make a decision based on that.

Reasons Why A Home Will Not Sell

When listing a home for sale there are certain steps that need to be taken in order to make sure the most buyers see and appreciate the property.  Miss any of these steps and buyers may not be interested or worse buyers will dislike the home and not give it a second thought.  Vicki Moore covers six common reasons why a home failed to sell and how home sellers can fix those issues.  Most home buyers are looking for move in ready homes and by making sure your home is ready for today’s buyer the chances of selling it improve greatly.

Refusing an FHA Loan

An FHA mortgage is a mortgage sponsored and backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) which is a government organization.  With the FHA mortgage home buyers can buy a home with a lower down payment as compared to a traditional mortgage that may require 20% down payment.  Home sellers can reject an offer with a FHA mortgage though it may not be in their best interest to do so as Eric Jeanette explains.  While the FHA mortgage does have a slightly different appraisal process compared to other loans that does not make them a bad deal for home sellers and buyers.

When Should You Reduce the Price of Your Home

When selling a home getting the price right is important.  Pricing too high and buyers will pass on that home since there are other homes available for sale that are properly priced.  In this article from Paul Sian he explores some of the common signs that point to a need for the home seller to reduce the price of their home.  Some things like buyer feedback, lack of buyers coming to visit the home, lack of offers and more can definitely let a home seller know it is time to cut the price in order to get it sold.

Home Decorating Ideas on a Budget

Now that you bought a home, next comes the fun part of decorating the home according to your wants and needs.  In this article by Luke Skar he provides some great tips on how to decorate your home on a budget. Some of the tips don’t require the homeowner to spend money and is more of reorganizing the home.  Other tips include fresh paint, new hardware and more.  Be sure to check out the tips as they are great for new and existing homeowners alike.

Adverse Possession vs Prescriptive Easement

Some real estate investors and homeowners may have come across the term adverse possession and prescriptive easement.  Both of those conditions happen through the actions of another and impact the property rights of the real estate owner as Joe Boylan explains.  Understanding the differences between the two and knowing how to prevent those conditions from happening are important for land owners everywhere.

Pricing a Home In A Softening Market

As the real estate market shifts from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market getting the price right for a home listed for sale can require some additional thought.  Tom Horn, a real estate appraiser by profession, provides some tips for pricing a home for sale in a shifting market.  Getting the price wrong means a home will sit on the market without buyer interest and no offers.  The longer a home sits the more a much deeper price drop will be needed in order to find the right buyer.

Final Thoughts

What articles did you find to be helpful and informative in this month’s round up?  Are there any other articles you found helpful?  Feel free to share in the comments below.