Marc Edelstein

A Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC, for short) is a line of credit which is secured against the equity in your house. Different banking institutions offer different rates and terms based upon the percentage of equity you have available in your home. These lines of credit sit behind your mortgage, allowing you to […]

It’s my favorite holiday again, and I want to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July. I’m taking the day off from my blog to observe the holiday and spend time with my family, as I hope you are, too. I’d love to hear what my faithful readers are doing this year, so […]

Though the true refinance boom of the last few years is starting to wane, there are still many homeowners finding real value in a refinance for a number of reasons. For some, the value comes by lowering the monthly cost of the mortgage. For others, they like the idea of saving tens, or even hundreds, […]

On Tuesday, I discussed buying new construction homes, and the things to consider in relation to them. Today, I would like to look at the other end of the spectrum; “fixer uppers.” Fixer uppers are those houses that have great potential to be the home of your dreams, but need some love to get there. […]

New home construction is on the rise again this year, marking a drastic turnaround in the last few years from where we were for half a decade prior. But as more communities go up, many of my clients find themselves asking the same question: is it worth it for that new construction home? Many people […]

If you have the cash reserves to buy your next house, it might be tempting to forego the mortgage process and use your savings, instead. You won’t have to worry about going through the mortgage process, you can generally close faster, and you avoid all of the interest paid on the mortgage. For the right […]

Many loan programs come with the option for home buyers to buy down an interest rate. What this means is the borrower can pay a certain amount in closing costs to have their interest rate reduced. The upfront cost is usually measured in points, where 1 point is 1% of the overall loan amount, and […]

My Pay it Forward Promise is something I am very proud of. It is a way all of my clients get to give back to the local community here in Michigan, without paying a penny out of pocket. And while I explain the program to all of my clients up front, I find a lot […]

I know there are dozens of these lists available online, but I think it is important to discuss some of the most common problems I have seen first time home buyers run into, so that you can try to avoid them. There is nothing worse than getting a week to closing and having to drop […]

This is a really common question I get during initial consultations with clients, and it is a very hard one to answer. In a perfect world, you would put down at least 20% and that would create the perfect payment that you are comfortable with. In reality, that’s not usually the case; sometimes it makes […]