High-end homeowners love biometric tech — but should they?

Unlocking a home with only a fingerprint or facial scan can be awesome, but some experts wonder what happens to all the biometric data users upload. Continue reading

New Freddie Mac mortgage plan bundles purchases and repairs

The CHOICERenovation program offers homebuyers a single loan, with just one set of closing costs, that they can use to buy a house and then fix it up. Continue reading

Wedding Dress Reboot: When Your Daughter Wears Your Gown

If you’re a married woman over 50, your wedding dress brings back treasured memories of walking down the aisle and saying “I do.” Most likely your gown has sat untouched for years. And if you have a daughter, you might even dream of her wearing it some… Continue reading

When the Long-Term Care Insurer Refuses to Pay

My dad was a smart guy, but not so smart as to avoid being hoodwinked by those who drafted the contract for my mom’s long-term care insurance policy. When my father died in 2013, he went to his grave imagining that my mother, then an Alzheimer’s patien… Continue reading

Why discount brokerages do a disservice to sellers

How are discount or flat-fee services a good option for sellers? They aren’t. Here’s why these “savings” are depleting sellers of proper exposure and the best pool of buyers at every angle. Continue reading

7 no-brainers for keeping it civil online

It’s too easy to get distracted by a stray comment or provocation online and then get sucked into something that consumes you and your day. Like a bad one-night stand in a movie or drinking too much, you end up regretting it all, so it’s wise to practi… Continue reading

Fear being disrupted? 4 reasons this indie broker’s over it

Disruptors, iBuyers, lawsuits — what’s a traditional broker to do? Regular columnist and indie broker Erica Ramus is tired of hearing industry woes about being disrupted. It’s time to stop whining about it and do what you can do to ensure your future. … Continue reading

‘We haven’t seen much movement’: KW president on early iBuyer results

Long the frontman for the company’s technology development, Josh Team stepped into a new role this year as president of Keller Williams, answering directly to CEO Gary Keller. Continue reading

Zillow’s mortgage ambitions ramp up with office opening

Zillow cut the ribbon on its Zillow Home Loans office today, in Overland Park, Kansas. The headquarters will serve as the main hub for its nascent mortgage program, which was launched in the wake of last year’s acquisition of the Overland Park-based Mo… Continue reading