What you should know about financing a fixer-upper.

According to CoreLogic^®, home prices nationwide saw a year-over-year increase of 17.2% in June 2021 and a month-over-month increase of 2.3%, when comparing May 2021 to June 2021. As home prices have risen and available home inventory remains low, many existing and potential new homeowners are prioritizing geographic location with a willingness to renovate to achieve their dream home. Some homeowners may be staying put and looking to renovate their existing home, while others are considering new home purchases that may require renovation.

If this is you, consider these tips before you begin the process of renovating your current home or purchasing a new home that you plan to renovate:

Steps to make building your dream home a reality.

Your careful planning and preparation and our low mortgage rates can help make building your own home a reality. But first, you’ll want to make sure you’re really ready by following these important steps.
You can also visit LMCU.org/FinancialWellness to learn even more or use our handy calculators to see what it will take to open the door to your new address.

Spring is here and the housing market is booming! Purchasing a new home is on many people’s minds, maybe even yours. Before you jump feet-first into the home buying process, you may want to first learn about what is involved when applying and qualifying for a mortgage.

If you’re preparing to buy your first home, you can make the process easier by learning as much as you can about the mortgage process before you find your dream home. Knowing what to expect allows you to plan ahead and will help you find the loan program that best meets your financial situation.

Considering homeownership? One of the biggest expenses to save for when becoming a homeowner is saving up for the down payment. One of the many myths about the down payments is that buyers need to put at least 20% down on a home, when, in reality, that’s not always the case. In 2020, the median first-time homebuyer financed their home with less than 7% down.* And at LMCU, we’ve financed many homes for as little as 3% down. On a $250,000 home, 7% down is $17,500. It might seem like a lot, but if you start saving now, you can chip away at it little by little.

Once you’ve determined your down payment goal, it’s time to start saving using these strategies:

The last year has impacted everything from the way we work to the way we shop. Home trends saw a big impact as our homes became our office, gym and classroom. The movement has continued into 2021 with the following home makeovers trending.

Find out by asking yourself these questions first.

2020 has been a rough year, but not for the housing market. This past year ended strong and it’s only getting stronger. In Zillow’s 2021 forecast, this year is projected to have the strongest home sales growth since 1983 with 21.9%* annual growth compared to 2020 — that’s a total of 6.9 million homes sold. So if you’re thinking about buying or selling this year, keep these five trends in mind.

It’s the most wonderful time of year to buy a house. (And we don’t mean the gingerbread kind.)

With the holiday season in full swing, there are many items on your to do list and it may seem counterintuitive to add a big ticket item to that list. But if you’re thinking you may want to make a move, now may be the time to add finding your dream home to your list. Check out these four reasons why December may be the time to purchase your next house.

You've Got Questions. We've Got Answers.

Imagine this: You finally make the exciting leap to start house hunting. You meet up with your realtor, see a few houses in the perfect location… and then you quickly realize there’s an inventory shortage; houses are priced far higher than you imagined and people are getting into bidding wars on houses in your dream neighborhood.

To put it nicely, 2020 hasn’t been the best. But one good thing to come out of this year is the historically low mortgage rates. Here are four ways you can use a home’s equity to work by refinancing.