How to Negotiate When Buying a House (And When to Lowball)

Somewhere along the way, buyers got told that a low offer is an insult. Here's what a low offer actually is: an argument. And arguments are won or lost on the receipts behind them, not on how polite the number looks. How Do You Negotiate When Buying a House? You negotiate from what the property's si

Marry the House, Date the Rate? An Honest Look

You have heard the line. It is on every real estate social feed, it shows up in listing presentations, and the average agent has used it at least once to coax somebody off the porch and into the buyer pool: marry the house, date the rate. Commit to the home, treat the rate as temporary, refinance wh

How Interest Rate Buydowns Actually Work (2-1 vs Permanent)

When we bought our new construction home, the builder advertised a rate that looked fantastic. Then we found out the catch: that rate only applied to their existing inventory, not the home we actually wanted to build. The billboard rate was real, just not for us. So we changed the play. I ran the lo

How to Avoid Being House Poor (Even When Everyone Says You Can Afford It)

I was talking with a client about his situation. Good income, nice house, and every month still felt tight. Savings never grew. Every repair went on a card. Vacations kept getting pushed to next year. A friend listened to me describe it and said, "You know you're describing being house poor, right?"