Lew Sichelman

Special to Banker & Tradesman

Lew Sichelman can be reached at lsichelman@twg.com

Fixed-Rate Loan Payments Can Go Up

If you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your payments will always stay the same, right? Wrong. Taxes and insurance premiums invariably rise – which means your house payment does, too.

Put Your Listings to the Nose Test

Nothing turns up buyers’ noses faster than a smelly house. They walk in, stop, take a whiff and are ready to turn around and leave. Some won’t even go beyond the front door.

Which Comes First? A Buyer’s Dilemma

Young people have many options when it comes to homeownership – perhaps too many. Should they get married first or buy their first home? Buy a dream car or a house? Find a dream house or a dream mortgage rate?

Foreign Firms Make Inroads on U.S. Homebuilding

As federal and state authorities continue to clamp down on foreign investments in American businesses and real estate that could pose a risk to national security, some foreign entities are expanding into American homebuilding.

These Show Homes Take Different Paths

Two model homes being showcased at this week’s International Builders’ Show try to offer solutions to some of today’s biggest challenges: sustainability and the difficulty of “trading up” as your family changes.

No Immigrants, No New Housing

For any number of reasons, U.S.-born workers have been reluctant to join the construction workforce, leading to consistent labor shortages and rising wages – meaning the prices of new housing is going up, too.

Appraisals Fail Many Sellers

The real estate community has long complained about appraisals that lagged the market, but the report from the FHFA documents that their gripes are valid: Undervaluations spiked to 15 percent in 2021.

Recycle at Home, With Your Home

Scrap tires have been recycled for years into building products like flooring, infill decking and septic system drain fields. But they’re not the only thing. From coal ash to washed-up seaweed, our homes help reduce and reuse.

You Rarely Know All Your Agent Does

Good real estate agents go to great lengths to bring a deal to fruition. And much of what they do is behind the scenes, so you’ll never see it. And you think they don’t earn their commissions?

Too Many Agents, Too Little Training

Most brokerages tend to hire anyone who can fog a mirror, turning them loose with hardly any training other than what they learned to pass their licensing tests. And as a result, the business is overrun with too many agents chasing too few deals.

New Entrant Wades into Listings Portal War

If you’re like most house hunters these days, you started your search online. And chances are, you overlooked Homes.com entirely. But starting in the new year, the site is planning to give the two heavyweights a run for their money.

Home Listings Now an Endangered Species

It’s time to place the for-sale existing house on the endangered species list, right alongside the African forest elephant, the Yangtze finless porpoise and other critically threatened varieties.

Don’t Burn Your Mortgage

A couple of years ago, a Florida church celebrated making the final payment on the church’s mortgage by burning the document. But that century-old ritual comes with some huge risks.