By Sam Wax Your parents own a house in the Tampa Bay area that has doubled in value since they bought it. They are ready to downsize, and you are trying to buy your first home in a market where...
By Gilbert Bennett You found the house. Maybe it's on the water in Tampa Bay, maybe it's a custom build in Avila, and the number attached to it has seven figures before the decimal. Then your bank...
By Stephen Arthur If single-family prices in the Tampa Bay area have pushed you out of the running, a condo probably looks like your way in. Right now that instinct is a sound one. Condo inventory...
By Eric Yoder You finally find a house in Tampa worth touring, and then the listing agent asks a question you weren't ready for: Are you pre-approved? If your stomach dropped a little, you are in...
By Eric Yoder You have been saving for a house in the Tampa Bay area for a couple of years, and the balance still does not look like enough. That gap between what you have set aside and what you...
By Sam Wax You’ve been told you’re not old enough for a reverse mortgage, or that you don’t qualify for the government-backed programs. So what can you do? If you own a home in the Tampa Bay area...
By Eric Yoder If you've been staring at your savings account wondering how you'll ever reach 20 percent, that excitement of buying a home wears thin fast. On a $400,000 home, 20 percent means...
By Gilbert Bennett You're scrolling listings in Tampa Bay and one line stops you cold: assumable VA loan, 2.75%. After years of watching rates sit well above that, it reads like a typo. It isn't....
By Eric Yoder Most first-time buyers in Tampa Bay hear about down payment assistance the same way. Someone at work mentions it, or an agent brings it up during a showing in Riverview, and it lands...
The down payment for first-time home buyers in Florida is the wall a lot of buyers hit first. That is the exact problem Florida's Hometown Heroes Program seeks to solve by offering down payment and...
By Sam Wax Finding out your mortgage broker retired can feel unsettling, especially if they helped you buy your first home in Tampa and you figured they'd be your go-to for years. Maybe you were...
By Sam Wax The moment you start searching for someone to handle your financing, it can feel overwhelming. Type "mortgage broker near me" into your phone, and you'll get a long list of names, all...