Author Archives: Team Dinks

Buying a home will probably be the most expensive item you ever purchase… until you buy the next one.

Finding the right home at the right price is always a challenge. Discover how other American homebuyers searched for – and found – their homes in the following infographic above, based on the latest report from the National Association of Realtors.
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Where You Can Make the Best of a Bad Credit Situation

At least your hardships may not be as bad if you live in certain states. (more…)

It Will Cost You More to Buy a Home

Rates crossed the 4 percent threshold in the week of January 11 and they have been on a relatively steady rise since then. If this pace continues, we may hit 5 percent before the year is out.

Should rising interest rates deter you from buying a home? Not necessarily, but it may cause you to re-think your definition of an affordable home.
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New Survey Shows a Bad Combination of Skepticism and Dependence

Are you counting on Social Security for most of your retirement funds – and if so, how comfortable are you that the funds will be there at retirement?

According to the recent Transamerica Retirement Survey of Workers, you probably aren’t comfortable at all.

A surprising 76 percent of survey respondents are concerned that Social Security won’t be there when they retire – including 65 percent of baby boomers, the generation entering their retirement years.
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For the last five years, the IRS has been examining fewer and fewer returns. In calendar year 2016, 1.1 million tax returns were audited (0.5 percent of all returns), down from approximately 1.7 million returns in calendar year 2012.

Now the IRS faces a new regulatory challenge with approximately the same budget as in 2017 – a decrease of almost $1.5 billion (23 percent) from 2010 when inflation is taken into account.
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A new government report provides both good news and bad news about America’s massive consumer debt load.

The bad news: America’s total consumer debt continues to rise.

According to May’s G.19 Consumer Credit Report from the Federal Reserve, combined (revolving and nonrevolving) outstanding debt rose by $11.7 billion in March to reach $3.875 trillion – continuing a string of monthly debt increases that goes back to January 2016.

The March increase equates to a 3.6 percent annualized debt growth.
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Are you considering bypassing the hotel or resort experience for your summer vacation and opting for a summer home rental instead?

Home rental networks are on the rise and have never been easier to use, thanks to the increased web presence and sites like Vacation Home Rentals, Airbnb, VRBO, and Vacation Rentals.

However, just because travel agents and middlemen are being squeezed out does not mean that you are getting the best deal possible.

You can negotiate with a vacation rental owner to receive an even better deal by following these steps.
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Too many seniors are facing that grim scenario. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the share of families age 75 and above with debt shot up from 31.2 percent in 2007 to almost half in 2016. The average debt of these households is $36,757.

The pre-retirement crowd isn’t faring any better. According to EBRI, 77 percent of families with heads of household aged 55-64 are carrying debt.

Increasing Fastest Among Oldest

However, the percentage of debtors is increasing most rapidly among seniors aged 75 and above.
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