Author: Lee Riley

Better Homeowners Live the Dream  Consumers are more easily living the American Dream of owning a home because of the incredibly low mortgage rates. Today, most buyers can get a much lower rate than their parents or grandparents got on their first home. In a recent housing survey, FNMA released information about consumers’ thoughts on […]

Spring has sprung. The grass is green, the bulbs are blooming, and all the trees are sprouting new leaves. We’ve received more rain the past couple days than we’ve seen in the past two months. It rained most of last night and through the morning. This is great news, after we had one of the […]

Better Homeowners Amortization  The word describes the process of accounting that will repay a loan over time. Residential buyers will most commonly be required to have an amortized mortgage. When amortizing a fixed rate mortgage, the payment remains constant for the entire term but the allocation of what goes to principal and interest changes with […]

Better Homeowners Pay More or Less  Paying more for your house payment does not make your home more valuable. It does mean that the mortgage rate may be higher than it has to be. Even though fixed rates may never again be as low as they are currently, an adjustable rate mortgage may provide the […]

Better Homeowners Basic Legal Documents  Many times, young adults feel “bullet-proof” and don’t consider the urgency to get involved or spend the money to take care of certain legal aspects of their lives because they think they’re going to live forever.  Since no one is guaranteed longevity of life, if you want to be in […]

Better Homeowners Are You Ready?  For whatever reason you’ve delayed buying a home, it may be time to reconsider that decision based on today’s conditions and what is expected to happen in the future. Rents are continuing to increase to the point that in most markets, it is significantly less expensive to own than to rent.  […]

The big news from Pagosa is real estate. The market is the strongest I’ve seen in several years. It feels like August and it’s only April. This is not an April Fools joke! March activity was up across the board. I have been writing lots of contracts, three of which are in the multi-million dollar […]

Better Homeowners Rent Again?  After you take the training wheels off your bike and learn to ride it, you’d never consider putting them back on again.  Similarly, once you’ve owned a home, you might think you’ll own a home from now on but there may be some situations where it might make sense to rent […]

Better Homeowners Home Too Big Now?  Once the kids are grown, have careers, relationships and get a place of their own, parents find that they may not need their “big” home like they did before. Their lifestyle may have changed and the house just doesn’t “fit” anymore. Benefits of a smaller home: Easier to maintain  […]

Better Homeowners FHA or Conventional?  Buyers with a minimum down payment are generally faced with the decision of whether to get a FHA or a conventional loan.  With the new 3% down payment program on conventional loans, it may become more confusing which loan to pursue. The two loan programs have mortgage fees that can […]