Scratching together a down payment is probably the most daunting hurdle to buying a home. Yeah, you already know that Rome wasn't built in a day. Well, the same holds true for building a down payment. It takes time! Still, as long as you grease the gears early (like now), you'll barely notice you're saving until—boom!—one day in the foreseeable future you'll be sitting on a pile of money that could pave the way to homeownership. Sound good? Good. Here's how to get started. Tr

When you buy or sell a home, you get used to hearing words you've never heard before. The mortgage lenders and insurance agents who help you through the process will throw around so much real estate jargon, somewhere along the way you might wish you had brought a dictionary—or maybe a translator. Two rather vague but very important terms for buyer and seller alike are "earnest money deposit" and "down payment." Both have to do with cold, hard cash, but what's the difference?

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Unless you're Kylie Jenner, it takes a long time to save for a down payment on a house, let alone the closing costs. The rest of us sacrifice our gourmet coffee for the lukewarm in-office drip in the hope that setting aside a few dollars a day will magically compound into enough to buy our piece of the American Dream. And just when we think we have the necessary funds to make even the minimum 3% down payment, we're slapped with another round of expenses: closing costs. Like m

How much are typical closing costs for a buyer? These are the fees paid to third parties that help facilitate the sale of a home, and they vary widely by location. But as a rule, you can estimate that they typically total 2% to 7% of the home's purchase price. So on a $250,000 home, your closing costs would amount to anywhere from $5,000 to $17,500. Yep that's one heck of a wide range. More on that below. Both buyers and sellers typically pitch in on closing costs, but buyers

In the real estate market, the earnest money check is one of the essential ways buyers prove they're serious to sellers. It's a substantial chunk of change that will be included with your offer to the seller to further prove that you are really serious about buying the seller's house. But once an offer is accepted, what happens with said earnest money? Does it sit in limbo as you wait for the sale to close, or will your check be cashed while the transaction proceeds? What is

The financial side of home buying can sometimes feel like a nightmare in which you're stuck in a calculus final that never ends—and you've forgotten the meaning of everything. PITI (or principal, interest, taxes, insurance)? Prepayment penalties? Contingencies? “Confusing” is an understatement. We're the first to admit that looking for a house is lots of fun—but paying for one? Not so much. But if you have a solid mortgage broker to help tutor you through the process, you're

Getting a mortgage is a daunting prospect, which explains why so many people seem eager to pat your hand and say, “Let me give you a little advice.” Sure, those pearls of wisdom may come from an ocean of good intentions, but the suggestions might not necessarily be right for you. In fact, they could be dead wrong. So before you take some friendly outside counsel as gospel, be sure to check it against our list of the worst mortgage advice people often give. ‘Don't bother getti

It's a classic conundrum: Staging a home increases its value on the open market, but the whole process can be expensive. You have to shell out to hire a stager and rent furniture and art. If professional staging isn't in your budget, never fear—it's entirely possible to do a little DIY staging that won't break the bank. Here are some budget-friendly tips and tricks from stagers and Realtors® that will make over your home for next to nothing—or even for free! Golden's basic ad

Homes for sale by owner, or FSBO, transactions are commonly seen in seller's markets or whenever homeowners want to maximize their profits by not having to pay commission. A home sale by owner option sounds like it could be a pretty sweet deal for the seller. After all, if you're doing the work, you'll walk away with the most money, right? Well, maybe not ... Statistics show that selling your home with the assistance of a professional real estate agent will garner you a highe