Wednesday, April 16, 2025 / by Vic Markarian
If you’ve been dreaming of owning a home in Los Angeles, you’re not alone — and if you're expecting a tax refund this year, you may be closer to getting those keys than you think.
As Freddie Mac explains:
“Your tax refund from the IRS can be a useful supplement to your homebuying budget.”
Whether you're saving up for your first home or trying to cover those last few upfront costs, your tax refund could give your plans a real boost.
Tax Refunds Are Up This Year — Here's Why That Matters
This year, the average tax refund is up by 3.9% compared to last year, according to the latest data from the IRS.
While refund amounts vary depending on your personal tax situation, even a small boost in your refund could help you take meaningful steps toward homeownership in LA's competitive market.
Smart Ways to Use Your Tax Refund to Buy a Home in LA
Here’s how you can make your refund work harder for your homebuying goals:
1. Boost Your Down Pa ...
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Thursday, March 27, 2025 / by Vic Markarian
Spring is here, and so is the busiest season in real estate. More buyers are out looking for homes, which means more competition for you. If you want to put yourself in the best position to buy, there’s one step you can’t afford to skip, and that’s getting pre-approved for a mortgage.
Some buyers think they can wait until they’ve found a home they love before talking to a lender. But in a season where homes can sell fast, that’s a risky move. Getting pre-approved before you start your search is a much better bet.
Here’s what you need to know about this early step in the buying process.
What Is Pre-Approval?
Pre-approval gives you a sense of how much a lender is willing to let you borrow for your home loan. To determine that number, a lender starts by looking at your financial history. Here are some of the things that can have an impact, according to Yahoo Finance:
Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio: This is how much money you owe divided by how ...
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Thursday, February 20, 2025 / by Vic Markarian
After years of suburban and rural migration during the pandemic, cities have been making a comeback in the past couple of years. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the percentage of people moving to cities has risen to 16%. While that may not sound like a big number to you, it is the highest level in a decade – and that’s a big deal (see graph below):
And data from BrightMLS seems to confirm this trend. In a recent survey, 1 in 5 (20.6%) people looking to buy say they want to live in the city.
So, what’s behind this ongoing shift back to urban living? Let’s break down the top three reasons why people are trading quiet suburbs for bustling cityscapes. You may find out you want to sell your house with a big yard and move to an urban oasis, too.
1. Vibrant Culture
Cities have always been hubs of culture, entertainment, and community. They’re packed with energy and there are always endles ...
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Thursday, February 13, 2025 / by Vic Markarian
If you’re like a lot of aspiring homebuyers, there’s a major hurdle standing in your way — the cost of living. From groceries to gas, eggs, and just about everything else, prices have gone up. And that rings true for home prices, too.
But even when everything feels expensive, there are still ways to make homeownership more than an item on your wish list. You may just need to think about where you plan to buy a bit differently.
Think of Your First Home as a Stepping Stone
One of the biggest misconceptions among buyers is that their first home has to be their forever home – or that it has to check all the boxes of what they want right out of the gate. In reality, it’s just a starting point.
Once you own a home, you start to build equity, which grows over time as home prices rise. Down the road, if you want to move — whether to a larger space, a better location, or both — the equity you’ve gained can ...
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Thursday, November 7, 2024 / by Vic Markarian
Trying to decide between renting or buying a home? One key factor that could help you choose is just how much homeownership can grow your net worth.
Every three years, the Federal Reserve Board shares a report called the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). It shows how much wealth homeowners and renters have – and the difference is significant.
On average, a homeowner’s net worth is nearly 40 times higher than a renter’s. Check out the graph below to see the difference for yourself:
Why Homeowner Wealth Is So High
In the previous version of that report, the average homeowner’s net worth was about $255,000, while the average renter’s was just $6,300. That’s still a big gap. But in the most recent update, the spread got even bigger as homeowner wealth grew even more (see graph below):
As the SCF report says:
“. . . the 2019-2022 growth in median net worth was the largest three-year increase over the histo ...
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