A second home/vacation home: the ability to have a place you can escape to for relaxation from work and a place to make memories with family and friends. How do you know you are ready financially? You ...

The Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP) offers a special loan product called HomeAbility, and it’s designed to assist Maryland homebuyers with disabilities finance their home purchase. This is a Conventional ...

Effective this week, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac backed loans will begin to require additional information as part of the condominium review process. At the direction of the Federal Housing FinanceAgency ...

In the past two week’s article, we reviewed the Maryland General Assembly new legislation requiring all condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives to undertake regular ...

The Maryland General Assembly has passed new legislation effective October 1, 2022, requiring all condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives to undertake regular reserve ...

In mid-January, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)announced further changes to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) single-family pricing framework by introducing redesigned and ...

Governor Larry Hogan announced last weeknearly $32 million in project awards through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) 2022 application round for federal Low Income ...

In 2022, the Maryland State Legislature convened on January 12th and adjourned on April 11th. Maryland REALTORS® issues a report each year on the Maryland Legislative session ...

The month of April this year celebrated the 54th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, the landmark civil rights law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968, that made discrimination ...

You know the old tune by Tennessee Ernie Ford: You load sixteen tons, what do you get; Another day older and deeper in debt; Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go; I owe my soul ...

Maryland REALTORS® just released real estate statistics information from the October 2021 housing market analysis. The market continued its monthly trend of a decrease in units sold, down 8,665 in 2021, ...

Second home mortgage requirements are a bit stricter than first home loans, and a bit stricter than in years past with some new guidelines coming into effect this year. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ...

Most people are familiar with the VA Loan, which is a loan program through the Department of Veterans Affairs.These loans are available to veterans and active-duty military members and they offer no down ...

Earlier this month, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced plans to impose a new 0.5 percent adverse-market fee on mortgage refinances starting Sept. 1.In most cases, this would cost homeowners thousands ...

The appraisal of a home is an important step in the real estate process, one that can certainly make or break a deal.An appraisal is a valuation of a property done by a professional, licensed individual ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and FreddieMac in 2018. In most of the U.S., the 2018 maximum ...

Purchasing a condominium differs from buying a single-family home in more ways than the obvious. Of course, condo ownership offers buyers the convenienceof maintenance free living since you don’t have ...

The U.S. House and Senate approved a package of tax extensions that include an important provision that helps distressed homeowners through extending theMortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act for all of ...

Some proposed changes in credit scoring may have a big impact on how many Americans will qualify for home loans. Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), the most widely used credit score, recently announced that ...

The Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP) is a home loan program that can open up the door to homeownership for many Marylanders who wouldn’t otherwise beable to afford to buy their first home. This program, ...

Real Estate Report: Important first steps to buying a home With affordability on the rise, and interest rates at all time lows, more people are asking the question—should I rent or buy? The most ...

$20 billion in relief for homeowners The federal government and 49 state attorneys general have settled a lawsuit for $25 billion against the country's five biggest banks for foreclosureprocessing and ...

Buyers looking to purchase a home with an FHA backed loan will continue to have more leeway to purchase directly from banks or investors with a recentdecision by the Federal Housing Administration to ...

Real Estate Report: The Ins and Outs of a Short Sale You've probably heard the term "short sale" by now—a short sale is the phrase used when a homeowner is selling their home, but the list price ...