First American Blog - The First Word

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage involves having a lender evaluate your financial data to determine whether you qualify for a loan, as well as the maximum amount. This is done by having a loan officer review your income, savings, credit report and debt-to-income ratio. Getting pre-approved can provide mortgage borrowers with numerous benefits...

Despite a slight dip in existing home sales in June of this year, prices continue to go up and overall sales remain near a three-and-a-half-year high, according to the National Association of Realtors. While purchases of existing homes fell 1.2 percent to a 5.08 million annualized rate, a lot of that drop appears tied to smaller inventory and...

A new housing and retail development on Detroit's riverbank could encourage future homebuyers to get off the sidelines and into the homeownership game, as the units are geared toward young professionals. The $60 million project, which the developer hopes will be finished by early 2016, will include three- and four-story town houses, apartment...

Recent reports in the media showing that the U.S. housing market is increasing in multiple facets may inspire some future homeowners to get off the sidelines and into the action sooner rather than later.

When you agree to purchase a home and begin the closing process, you'll be issued an HUD-1 Settlement Statement. The HUD-1 will detail the costs associated with the purchase of the property and will identify which party is responsible for which cost. On this form, however, some charges are aggregated together so that only the total is shown, thus...

Although the property you just purchased is new to you, it has a history, and sometimes, these histories can include unwanted baggage. During a real estate transaction's closing process, a title search on the property is completed to determine whetherthere are title defects that can have an effect on the purchase.