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Home Sweet Home: 8 Tips for Hiring a Contractor
Key takeaways: In today’s real estate market, more homeowners are turning to remodeling, addition, and/or repair work in lieu of selling and purchasing a new house. Add in the tight labor market, and finding and hiring a contractor can be fraught with frustration, confusion and even scams. Whether you are planning an addition, getting new […]
The Federal Reserve Just Declined to Raise Rates Again. Here’s Why No One is Happy About it.
Key takeaways: The Federal Reserve concluded its September meeting Wednesday by holding interest rates steady, while suggesting that it would likely hike them again one more time in 2023. Most analysts had expected that outcome, but the central bank threw many for a loop with its comments about what the future might hold. On Wednesday, […]
Unlock Technologies Customer Success Story: Joel
Credit matters. Just ask Joel, an Unlock customer in southern California. “I was in trouble with my credit card utilization* – to the point that it was nearing 100%,” he says. Over the past few years, with living expenses rising, and dealing with an overall high cost of living in California, Joel explains that he […]
Zillow Now Thinks Home Prices Will Go Up This Year. Here’s Why Other Experts Disagree.
In August, real estate data provider Zillow made a splash by forecasting that home prices would gain 5.8% in 2023. That’s a big shift from earlier forecasts, and it makes the Zillow team much more bullish than other experts, many of whom are still calling for a decline in prices. Here’s what’s going on. The […]
What You Can Learn From Your Grandparents About Finances
Key takeaways Grandparents may be known for spoiling their grandchildren, but they can also offer valuable life lessons – particularly when it comes to finances. Some grandparents have lived a fiscally conservative life, saving for a rainy day and paying for purchases with cash, not credit. Many lived through recessions, periods of unemployment and excessive […]
What Factors Influence Home Price Appreciation?
Key takeaways: Since you’re poking around the blog pages of a company that offers an innovative way to profit from your stored up home equity, we’re guessing you already have a good idea of what home equity is. (It’s the value of your home minus any outstanding debts on it, like your mortgage.) But what […]
Want to Invest In Real Estate? Here’s Why a Home Equity Agreement May Be the Best Way to Finance It
Thinking of investing in real estate? A Home Equity Agreement (HEA) could be a good way to finance a real estate purchase.
Simple Steps to Creating the All-Important Emergency Fund
Key takeaways: You know that having an emergency fund in place is important. You understand that some unplanned expense always comes up. And you know that depending on a credit card (or worse, a payday loan) when these unexpected expenses arise is not a good idea. But with the cost of living, inflation and a […]
What to do When Your Insurance Company Drops you
Key Takeaways: What’s happening in Hawaii is not only sad and tragic, it’s creating a long road to recovery which will cost billions of dollars. And it’s been occurring more and more frequently in locations across the planet. Families have been displaced, businesses have been leveled, not to mention the horrific harm to wildlife the […]
Send Your Student Back to School Without Breaking the Bank
Key takeaways: As most parents know all too well, shopping for back-to-school clothes and supplies is an expensive proposition. According to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey, consumers are expected to hit a new record on back-to-school spending this year: Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $890.07. […]
Interest Rates Just Hit the Highest in 22 Years. Now What?
Key takeaways: The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again at its late-July meeting, after pausing in June. With ratesnow at their highest in more than two decades, the Fed says anything goes when they meet in thefuture. Besides the obvious – it’s more expensive to borrow money – what does this all mean forconsumers? Your […]
Tackling Home Improvement Projects: DIY or Hire a Professional?
Key takeaways: Taking care of your home, inside and out, is important for every homeowner. Doing so maintains and enhances the home’s value, keeps things in working order and makes the house more livable. Yet it can also be expensive, tempting many homeowners to consider tackling some projects on their own. Before diving into a […]