It's March, and home buyers are coming out of their winter cocoons,
wanting to upgrade their nests (to mix my metaphors). Set up a listing interview with me right away if you plan to sell, so I can present you with a price analysis and selling plan. If you plan to buy, let's prepare you to make offers that get accepted. ~Scott
The bickering...real or not? Couples melt down over
paint color, or bicker about bath size. Apparently some of that's real.
The show isn't scripted, but producers urge people to exaggerate
dislikes and disagreements. People like hamming it up.
The home purchase...real or not? The show involves
looking at three homes and picking one. However, the buyers have already
purchased their home before filming begins. The other two houses often
aren't for sale, and might even be Airbnbs.
So...how does it look "real?" At the end of an episode,
the show jumps several months into the future to see the couple in
their new home. However, the show records the future update at the same
time as the house-hunt scenes. According to one participant, "They moved
all our stuff out to a moving van, filmed the home vacant, then moved
all our stuff back in and filmed it like we just moved in."
The compensation...good or not? The pay to the house-hunting couple is about $500, which is OK cash. The Realtors, however, are unpaid.
Want to get on the show? It's hard work. Applicants
have to answer essay questions about their house search, do a phone
interview, and submit a video audition. Many buyers are turned down for
not having an interesting story line. It's a lot of work, but apparently
people who appear on the show have only good things to say about their
experience.
March Quiz Question
(in honor of St. Patrick's Day)
What is the national symbol of Ireland? This one's trickier than you think!
Send your answer for a chance to win a $5 COFFEE CARD. Last month's Q&A: Cupid is the son of which two mythological beings?The love goddess Venus and the winged messenger, Mercury.Congratulations to last month's winner!
Laughter Really Is Good Medicine
You've heard that laughter is the best medicine? It's not just an idiom. There are these very real health benefits to laughter:
The body doesn't care why you're laughing.
No matter the source, the same endorphins are released into the blood
stream, acting as natural pain relievers that promote relaxation and a
sense of well-being.
Deep belly laughter improves circulation and heart health. I don't know about you, but when I laugh so hard it hurts, I feel great afterwards.
Laughing makes you more attractive and energetic.
Laughing encourages smile muscles, which makes our faces brighter, more
welcoming...which in turn makes us more social and approachable. The
increased blood flow gives us more energy.
So, there you go. Legitimate reasons to watch puppy videos or stream a
good comedy. Personally, I like having a good laugh with friends. It's
all good.
Mardin'S ADVICE
What happens to the mortgage when the owner passes?
When a person dies with a mortgage on their house, whether or not they
had a will or trust, someone will have to pay that mortgage. It doesn't
just 'go away.' It can be paid off entirely by selling the
property, by paying it off from other assets in the estate, or your own
cash or new mortgage.
However, if you don't want to pay off the mortgage completely, and still
want to keep the house, there's a good chance the original mortgage can
be converted to you, especially if you're a family member. You'll need
to contact the lender and be ready to provide a death certificate and
other documentation related to inheritance.
While you're working out the details of this conversion with the lender,
you should continue making on-time payments in your relative's
name. This demonstrates good faith to the lender, and avoids
triggering foreclosure actions. But it's not recommended to make
payments forever in your relative's name without notifying the mortgage
company, as this can cause you tax and other potential legal problems
down the road. Make sure you get financial advice from a qualified source before making any financial decisions related to inheritance.
Call me right away if you -- or someone you know needs
to sell a loved one's home to satisfy a mortgage or terms of the
will. Mardin (408) 210-2073
Need a Better Credit Score?
There's no instant way to improve credit, but it's better to start now,
because your score won't magically change by waiting longer. To improve
your score in the next 60 to 90 days, keep your payments current, and do these 2 things:
Remove errors.
There are often more errors than you might think, such as old debts
that you paid off. You have to physically check it yourself, then
contact the credit reporting bureaus to have it removed.
Improve credit utilization rate, which is the percentage of available credit used. Use less, ideally under 10% to 20%. Don't open any new credit.
The Fantastic World of WORDLE (Bulls & Cows)
Like
playing Wordle? You're not alone. Since Josh Wardle created Wordle (you
read that right) in October 2021, Wordle has exploded in
popularity...so much so that the New York Times purchased the rights to
the game in early February, making Wardle an instant
millionaire. This created a storm of worry that the Times would put
the puzzle behind a paywall.
Still Free?
As of this writing, you can still play the game for free once a day on
the New York Times website, or unlimited on the website WordleUnlimted.com. You can also download the entire game and play it free
on your computer forever, just by right-clicking on the game page for
wordleunlimited.com, then choosing "save as," and saving the page as HTML-complete. Then you can open that saved file and play as usual offline.
This trick doesn't work with the NYT web page, only wordleunlimited. If
wordleunlimited is not available by the time you read this, then you'll
need to visit the NYT's wordle page.
Or Just Use Pen & Paper
Wordle is not a new game...just new online. A woman told me she used to
play this on dates 30 years ago, with a pen and a napkin. One person
comes up with a hidden 5-letter word, then the other person writes down
their own 5-letter words, trying to guess the hidden word. The
first person says how many letters are correct with each guess...but not
which letters or what location. The other person keeps track by
crossing out eliminated letters and circling letters in the correct spot
in each guess. And unlike in the online version, in the pen & paper
version no two letters can be the same in the hidden word or the guess.
But you get unlimited guesses, not just six.
Like
playing Wordle? You're not alone. Since Josh Wardle created Wordle (you
read that right) in October 2021, Wordle has exploded in
popularity...so much so that the New York Times purchased the rights to
the game in early February, making Wardle an instant
millionaire. This created a storm of worry that the Times would put
the puzzle behind a paywall.
