True or false: if you’re buying a home, you need to have at least a 20% down payment? If you answered true, you aren’t alone—so did 62% of Americans. But in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth—and you don’t have put off your home-buying dreams just because you can’t come up with 20% […]
Category Archives: First Time Home Buyers
Your Latest Course in Homebuying: The 5 Acronyms You Need to Know
You might think that since you’ve put some distance between now and high school and college, your days of memorizing vocabulary and learning new definitions is long gone. But if you’re buying a home, then you’re going to want to dust off those skills and start studying up. Real estate comes with its own confusing […]
The Biggest Reasons Why Homeowners are Happy… and Renters Aren’t
Coffee or tea? Cake or pie? Rent or buy? Life is full of big questions—some a little harder to answer than others. But in the case of renting versus buying, there are a few big reasons why ownership still wins the battle. Thinking about making the jump from renting to owning? Here’s how your life […]
How A Daily Latte Affects Your Real Estate Goals
With summer on its way out and fall just around the corner, it’s prime latte season. Pumpkin spice, maple pecan, salted caramel—some of the best seasonal flavors make their debut! While it’s great to treat yourself to a cup of coffee every now and then, those small expenses can really add up—especially if you’re pinching […]
The Best Real Estate Advice for Millennials—from a Millionaire
If you’re a millennial, then you’re probably a little tired of hearing all the criticism towards your generation. Buying avocado toast instead of saving money, always texting instead of calling—they’re all pretty unfair generalizations. Another common criticism of millennials? That they never buy homes. But actually, that couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, […]
The 2 Biggest Buying Myths—And Why You Shouldn’t Believe Them
Buying a home is a major decision—one that you should spend plenty of time thinking about. But for many people, that thinking stage quickly becomes filled with anxieties—about money, about mortgages, about lenders—and they may decide to postpone their buying plans. At Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®, we want to break some of the negative […]
Streamline Your Raleigh Home Search with These 6 Key Tips
Buying a home can be challenging, especially when you factor in low inventory levels in top cities like Raleigh. High demand and low inventory have created something of a seller’s market, and while conditions are slowly improving for buyers, the market is still tipped favorably towards sellers. But don’t give up! While finding a home […]
Your Mortgage Matters: The Benefits to a 20% Down Payment
As the Average Rent in Raleigh Increases… It Might Be Time to Look Into Buying
While renting has a number of unique benefits, it also has one big disadvantage in the Raleigh area: it’s skyrocketing. While rent prices have gone up significantly every year since 2005, the average mortgage payment has actually decreased since then. In fact, according to Core Logic, the average rent has increased by 36% between 2005 […]