Month: March 2022

Paul Bradbury | OJO Images | Getty Images First-time home buyers have a steep learning curve, from understanding true affordability and how to qualify for a mortgage to managing their cash flow after their purchase. “When buying your first home, you need to consider that what a lender will let you borrow is not necessarily
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Beatrix Farrand, one of America’s greatest landscape architects, was born 150 years ago. The anniversary comes at a good time to celebrate her work: several of her important gardens are undergoing extensive restoration, a previously private garden is now open to the public, and a lavishly-illustrated biography is heading for publication. Beatrix Farrand Beatrix Farrand
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The Biden administration has established a task force to tackle the decades-old problem of home appraisals undervaluing properties in Black communities. The property appraisal and valuation equity action plan (PAVE) is aimed squarely at dismantling racial bias in the home lending and appraisal process and promoting generational wealth creation through homeownership. When enacted, PAVE represents
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The stats are increasingly well reported and – in this era of swift climate change — ever more alarming. Some 39% of all the world’s carbon emissions are generated by the built environment and construction, according to the World Green Building Council. What’s more, the average American home emits 8.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide
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Getty Images Interest rates are almost undoubtedly going up this month, for the first time in three years. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% next week to curb inflation, which is running at a 40-year high. Additional hikes are likely later this year. American households will feel that
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A single family home is shown for sale in Encinitas, California. Mike Blake | Reuters After rising steadily for months, mortgage rates made a U-turn last week, and borrowers jumped to take advantage. The crisis in Ukraine rattled financial markets and caused a run on the relatively safer bond market. Yields fell and mortgage rates
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