Articles

FHA reduces cash-out refinancing limits

The Trump administration is limiting the amount of cash borrowers can withdraw from their homes under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing program. As of September, the FHA now limits cash-out refinancing to 80 percent of the home value. Previously, borrowers could take out up to 85 percent of their property’s equity. The new FHA rule brings the limits in line with standards already in place at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Veterans Administration (VA) loans

Will home equity affect financial aid for your college student?

With home values rising and college application time upon us, you may want to look at how home equity could impact financial aid decisions at your son or daughter’s school of choice. Nearly every school requires families to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which asks for basic income and asset information. However, more than 200 institutions nationwide also require the College Scholarship Service (CSS) profile to determine aid. The CSS questionnaire includes

Home-flipping seminars under scrutiny

Have you heard those radio ads for house-flipping seminars endorsed by HGTV stars? Did the sales pitch sound too good to be true? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) thinks so. The FTC filed a complaint against Zurixx, a company that hosts real estate seminars endorsed by “Flip or Flop” stars such as Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead and “Love It or List It” host Hilary Farr, and others. According to the FTC complaint, Zurixx makes

Challenging a quitclaim deed

The next-door neighbors convinced your aunt to sign over the deed to her house. Your stepfather’s long-lost son came to visit and walked away with a quitclaim deed to the family cottage. What do you do when you suspect someone did something “fishy” to get his or her name on a deed? A quitclaim deed is a legal tool that allows one person to release the interest they have in a piece of property. In most

How home selling has shifted in the past decade

If you haven’t sold a home in the last 10 years, you might be surprised by how much trends and expectations have changed over the years. Here are some leading factors changing the home sale market today: Real estate sites: More than 90 percent of homebuyers use the internet as one of the primary ways to find a home, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). With the popularity of online tools like Zillow and

Raising grandchildren? EITC may be an option

Working grandparents who support their grandchildren may qualify for the earned income tax credit, which could reduce the amount they pay in taxes by thousands of dollars, or allow them to receive a refund. The earned income tax credit is a benefit for working people with low to moderate incomes who have dependents, a category that includes grandparents. (Taxpayers without a dependent may also qualify, but it is more difficult.) To be able to claim the credit,

Most are taking Social Security at the wrong time

A recent report found that almost no retirees are making financially optimal decisions about when to take Social Security and are losing out on more than $100,000 per household as a result. The average Social Security recipient would receive 9 percent more income in retirement if he or she made a financially optimal decision. When claiming Social Security, you have three options: you may begin taking benefits between age 62 and your full retirement age, you

Medicare launches app to help determine coverage

Do you need to know if a procedure is covered by Medicare? There’s an app for that. Medicare has launched a free app, called “What’s Covered,” that gives beneficiaries a quick way of determining if the program covers a medical item or service. The app offers information on what is covered under Medicare Parts A and B and provides details on basic costs. It includes a list of covered preventive services. It does not, however, provide information

How gifts can affect Medicaid eligibility

We’ve all heard that it’s better to give than to receive, but if you think you might someday want to apply for Medicaid long-term care benefits, you need to be careful, because giving away money or property can interfere with your eligibility. If you transfer certain assets within five years before applying for Medicaid, you will be ineligible for a period of time under federal Medicaid law, depending on how much money you transferred. This is

Is it better to use joint ownership or a trust to pass down a home?

When leaving a home to your children, it is possible to avoid probate by using either joint ownership or a revocable trust, but which is the better method? If you add your child as a joint tenant on your house, you will both have an equal ownership interest in the property. If one joint tenant dies, his or her interest immediately ceases to exist and the other joint tenant owns the entire property. This has the advantage of

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