Everyone should have some kind of financial plan.  For many people, this does not become clear until they get married and start a family.  Once there is more than one person to think about supporting, it becomes fairly obvious that a plan must be in place in order to avoid bad consequences for spouses and kids.
Most financial planning instruments were devised before America embraced marriage equality.  As a result, these devices and mechanisms make assumptions about families that, in many cases, no longer suit the real world.  As a result, it is a good idea to make sure that…
Continue Reading Financial Planning In The Era of Marriage Equality

Everyone should have some kind of financial plan.  For many people, this does not become clear until they get married and start a family.  Once there is more than one person to think about supporting, it becomes fairly obvious that a plan must be in place in order to avoid bad consequences for spouses and kids.
Most financial planning instruments were devised before America embraced marriage equality.  As a result, these devices and mechanisms make assumptions about families that, in many cases, no longer suit the real world.  As a result, it is a good idea to make sure that…
Continue Reading Financial Planning In The Era of Marriage Equality

I came across an interesting article on Yahoo about “Homebuying Myths” (click here to see the article).  The article has some interesting information, but there are some things that I think could be added to make the article more helpful.  Here is what I would add —
Myth 1 – You don’t need a 20% down payment to buy a home.
This is true.  In fact, most of my clients do not put down 20% of the purchase price when they buy a home.  FHA insured loans require only a 3.5% downpayment, and there are other loan products that require…
Continue Reading 6 Myths About Homebuying — Translated

I came across an interesting article on Yahoo about “Homebuying Myths” (click here to see the article).  The article has some interesting information, but there are some things that I think could be added to make the article more helpful.  Here is what I would add —
Myth 1 – You don’t need a 20% down payment to buy a home.
This is true.  In fact, most of my clients do not put down 20% of the purchase price when they buy a home.  FHA insured loans require only a 3.5% downpayment, and there are other loan products that require…
Continue Reading 6 Myths About Homebuying — Translated

This is a follow up to my post last week about some of the controversies surrounding the real estate website Zillow.  To bring yourself up to speed, click here…
Welcome back to the post!  At the time of publication a lawsuit was pending against Zillow accusing the website of violating Illinois law by conducting appraisals without a license.  The Plaintiff in the lawsuit sought an injunction stopping Zillow from publishing its Zestimates in Illinois, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
In what could be called a big win for Zillow, Judge Amy St. Eve held today that…
Continue Reading Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing Zillow of Conducting Appraisal Without License

This is a follow up to my post last week about some of the controversies surrounding the real estate website Zillow.  To bring yourself up to speed, click here…
Welcome back to the post!  At the time of publication a lawsuit was pending against Zillow accusing the website of violating Illinois law by conducting appraisals without a license.  The Plaintiff in the lawsuit sought an injunction stopping Zillow from publishing its Zestimates in Illinois, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
In what could be called a big win for Zillow, Judge Amy St. Eve held today that…
Continue Reading Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing Zillow of Conducting Appraisal Without License