Public Policy "NEWS"

OWNING VS. RENTING Our goals are simple -- to ensure that you're happy with the home you buy and that you get the best deal you can. This describes why owning should be less expensive than renting. OWNING SHOULD BE LESS EXPENSIVE THAN RENTING Here's a guideline that may change the way you view your seemingly cheap monthly rent. In order for you to see how expensive a home you could afford to buy while having the same approximate monthly cost as your current rent, simply do the following calculation: Take your monthly rent, multiply by 200 = purchase price of home Example: $ 750 x 200 = $150,000 So, in the preceding example, if you were paying rent of $750 per month, you would pay approximately the same amount per month to own a $150,000 home (factoring in tax savings). Now your monthly rent doesn't sound quite so cheap compared to the cost of buying a home, does it? Even more important than the cost today of buying versus renting, what about the cost in the fut...

REASONS TO SELL Our goal is to help you make the right decision about whether to sell your house. When you do, we want to make sure that you get the best possible price. People's reasons for wanting to sell their houses are almost as varied as the houses themselves. People's reasons for wanting to sell their houses are almost as varied as the houses themselves. Here are some of the common, not-so common, and downright bizarre reasons that have prompted sellers we've known over the years to put their houses on the market: School district Neighborhood Better job opportunities elsewhere Recent marriage or divorce Recent death of spouse Additional debt burden due to layoff, medical expenses, disability, or overspending Serious house defects that they don't want to fix Increased space desires for expanding family Diminished space requirements now that kids are grown Noisy neighborhood Unfriendly neighbors Neighborhood shopping Climate ...