Posts from: Fiscal Smarts

If you’re considering making your home a rental property, this can be done, but there are some business and household aspects of the change that must be attended to first. The property will need to be in good repair, adequately insured, thoroughly cleaned, and freshly…

If you had trouble paying your home loan in 2020, you were most likely offered forbearance by your lender. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act allowed borrowers who have federally- or GSE-backed or funded mortgages (that’s most of us) to stop…

A credit score is a three-digit code that is generated by the three credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Lots of companies use that score to make decisions about you. Many also take the information provided by the credit bureaus and use it to create a code with…

We’ve all heard how important it is to have money set aside, that we should reduce expenses and invest for the long term but man – have these people seen how much things cost? Do they understand student loan debt, credit card debt and car loans? It’s all well and good…

When you own a home, the need for an expensive repair will arise — often when you least expect it. It’s best to be prepared so that you can cover the costs and move on. Even if you can’t do that, there are ways to finance the repairs without racking up a ton of debt.…

To find out why Boston real estate is so expensive, we just have to look at Economics 101: Supply and Demand. When dozens of people want to buy one house, what’s the seller to do? She can either keep raising the price until only one buyer is left or let the buyers fight…

Calculating the cap rate on investment properties is easy once you know how and it's a great tool for comparing seemingly similar investments.

If you’re able to reduce your expenses, you can minimize the distance between you and your goals. Keep a spending diary for a month. Find every item on the list that could possibly be eliminated. Add up those items and multiply by 12. That’s how much you can save in one…

As you are most likely aware, in December 2017 President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. This new law is effective primarily for years beginning after December 31, 2017. There are certain changes with an earlier effective date. This memo will…

There are several major advantages to buying a solar system with cash. Besides the obvious benefit of avoiding interest payments, you immediately own the system outright.

If you've recently bought a house, you may have paid for a Homestead Declaration to be filed along with the deed. Ever wondered about that?

Mortgage Payment Strategies Best ways to pay down your mortgage if you happen to get some extra money. Recasting your mortgage with a lump sum payment Applying a lump sum payment without recasting Paying extra principal each month or moving to bi-monthly payments