Category Archives: Real Estate
A Farewell to Real Estate Love Letters
When you were young, older people probably told you that the best thing about being old is that you no longer care as much about what other people think, and therefore, you no longer have to try so hard to impress people. In your own life, you can probably be grateful for the ways… Read More »
Maryland’s New Rules About the Visibility of Eviction-Related Documents
Dating apps have never made anyone feel less lonely or more self-confident. An algorithm chooses someone that its robotic level of interpersonal intelligence thinks would be a good match for you. Both partners get their hopes up over the course of a text message, but when they meet in person, the only vibe that… Read More »
Tenant Screening Dos and Don’ts for Landlords
Housing discrimination is illegal, and landlords can protect themselves from liability simply by informing themselves about current legal protections for prospective tenants. For example, as of 2024, it is no longer legal for landlords to find out whether a prospective tenant has ever been party to eviction proceedings unless the proceedings resulted in an… Read More »
What the Foster House Settlement Means for D.C. Landlords
Comfortable, affordable housing is hard to find in almost all urban areas in the United States, but Washington, D.C. is one of the country’s most notoriously expensive housing markets, both for buyers and for tenants. Most of the rental units in the District are neither comfortable nor affordable. The desirable units are out of… Read More »
The Changing Face of Platonic Co-Ownership of Real Estate
Anyone with a successful marriage will tell you that one of the key ingredients is to treat each other as business partners with regard to financial matters, even if you agree that each spouse also has a separate bank account for fun splurges or for financially supporting his or her own blood relatives and… Read More »
Earnest Money in Real Estate Transactions
Earnest means serious or sincere; earnestness is a desirable but rare quality in the parties to discussions about financial transactions. How many entrepreneurs strike up a conversation at happy hour in which they plan to join forces to buy the moon and stars and turn them into luxury condos or a mixed-use district but… Read More »
Real Estate Sellers’ Disclosure Forms
Before buying a residential real estate property, buyers must go through a rigorous screening process to ensure that they are truly fit to buy the property they want. If you are planning on financing your house with a home mortgage loan, then you must submit documents to the loan officer to determine the amount… Read More »
Zero Down Payment Mortgages Are Here Again
Mortgage loans are prohibitively expensive; this is hardly breaking news. Housing prices are so far outside people’s budgets that the only way to lower your mortgage payment to something that you can qualify for is to make a sizable down payment, but rent is so expensive that no one can save for a down… Read More »
Short Refinances
You can tell that trouble is brewing in the housing market because people have started resorting to unconventional methods in order to obtain and keep home mortgage loans. For example, it is so difficult to qualify for a home mortgage loan, given the astronomical interest rates, that assumable mortgages are experiencing a resurgence in… Read More »
The 5 Ds of Real Estate Purchases
Economists have described the current generation of first-time home buyers as “nepo babies.” This means that house purchases are so expensive that no one below the age of 40 can afford to buy a house or condo unless their parents contribute to the down payment. In other words, the young generation cannot reasonably aspire… Read More »
