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What Is Escrow and How Does It Work?

No matter where you’re buying a home, at some point you’re going to find yourself deep in escrow. (Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it sounds.) What is escrow? In real estate, it has several meanings, but they all boil down to your house and your money being in a kind of limbo.

Escrow is when an impartial third party holds on to something of value during a transaction.

Escrow and offers

When you make an offer on a home, you will write an earnest money check that will be placed in “escrow.” That means it isn’t going directly to the seller but is being held by an impartial third party until you and the seller negotiate a contract and close the deal. You can’t touch it and the seller can’t touch it. It’s in escrow.

That’s important because it protects both parties. Say you put down earnest money that went directly to the seller and then couldn’t reach a final purchase and sale agreement. You don’t want the seller holding your earnest money hostage as a negotiating ploy. Likewise, the seller won’t want to sign over the deed to the home until you’ve paid for it. And you won’t want to hand over cash without the deed being signed. Escrow ensures everyone gets what they are due at essentially the same time.

Escrow and lenders

When you are talking with your mortgage lender, you’ll hear about escrow again. They might talk about an “escrow” or “impound” account or “reserves.” They may use these terms interchangeably, and that’s OK because they all mean the same thing. They are funds held by the lender to make payments for your homeowners insurance and property taxes. Lenders will collect them monthly along with your loan payment and then pay the tax and insurance bills when they are due. That’s because your lender has a vested interest in making sure those payments are made. You may hear the term “prepaids” as well. That’s money collected in advance for those bills to ensure they’ve got enough on hand to pay them when they are due.

Escrow and closing

Finally, you may hear someone refer to the “closing of escrow.” That’s when your purchase is completed. A closing or “escrow officer” will oversee the final paperwork and handle the exchange of funds and recording of deeds. This person, sometimes an attorney, will ensure that all the money is properly disbursed, that the documents are signed and recorded, and that all necessary conditions are met before closing the escrow.

What is a hold-back of funds?

Sometimes the sale may be completed and ownership transferred while funds are still held in escrow. For instance, if you’ve agreed to let the seller’s family stay in the house for an extra week until their new home is ready, you would sign a “rent-back” agreement requiring the seller to pay you a daily rate for the length of their stay. In the case of such a rent-back, your real estate agent will likely advise you to have the escrow agent hold back a portion of the seller’s proceeds until they’ve moved out and left the house in the condition specified in your contract.

Or perhaps you found something wrong during your final walkthrough of the house. Maybe the seller agreed to make the repair, but the work couldn’t be completed by closing day. Money can be held in escrow to cover the cost.

If you’re purchasing new construction, you may have funds held in escrow until all work is complete and you’ve signed off on it.

Once escrow is closed and all funds have been disbursed, you and the seller will receive a final closing statement and other documents in the mail. Check the statement carefully and call the closing agent immediately if you spot an error. File the statement with your most important papers. You’ll need it when you file your next income tax return.

Source: zillow.com

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What Type of Mortgage Is Best for You?

Just as homes come in different styles and price ranges, so do the ways you can finance them. While it may be easy to tell if you prefer a rambler to a split-level or a craftsman to a colonial, figuring out what kind of mortgage works best for you requires a little more research. There are many different loan types to choose from, and a great lender can walk you through all of your options, but you can start by understanding these three main categories.

Fixed-rate loan or adjustable-rate loan

When deciding on a loan type, one of the main factors to consider is the type of interest rate you are comfortable with: fixed or adjustable. Here’s a look at each of these loan types, with pros and cons to consider.

Fixed-rate mortgages

This is the traditional workhorse mortgage. It gets paid off over a set amount of time (10, 15, 20 or 30 years) at a specific interest rate. A 30-year fixed is the most common. Market rates may rise and fall, but your interest rate won’t budge.

Why would you want a fixed-rate loan? One word: security. You won’t have to worry about a rising interest rate. Your monthly payments may fluctuate a bit with property tax and insurance rates, but they’ll be fairly stable. If rates drop significantly, you can always refinance. The shorter the loan term, the lower the interest rate. For example, a 15-year fixed will have a lower interest rate than a 30-year fixed.

Why wouldn’t you want a fixed rate? If you plan on moving in five or even 10 years, you may be better off with a lower adjustable rate. It’s the conservative choice for the long term, which means you will pay for the security it promises.

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs)

You’ll get a lower initial interest rate compared to a fixed-rate mortgage but it won’t necessarily stay there. The interest rate fluctuates with an indexed rate plus a set margin. But don’t worry — you won’t be faced with huge monthly fluctuations. Adjustment intervals are predetermined and there are minimum and maximum rate caps to limit the size of the adjustment.

Why would you want an ARM? Lower rates are an immediate appeal. If you aren’t planning on staying in your home for long, or if you plan to refinance in the near term, an ARM is something you should consider. You can qualify for a higher loan amount with an ARM (due to the lower initial interest rate). Annual ARMs have historically outperformed fixed rate loans.

Why wouldn’t you want an ARM? You have to assume worst-case scenario here. Rates may increase after the adjustment period. If you don’t think you’ll save enough upfront to offset the future rate increase, or if you don’t want to risk having to refinance, think twice.

What should I look for? Look carefully at the frequency of adjustments. You’ll get a lower starting rate with more frequent adjustments but also more uncertainty. Check the payments at the upper limit of your cap and make sure you can afford them. Relying on a refinance to bail you out is a big risk.

Here are the types of ARMs offered:

  • 3/1 ARM: Your interest rate is set for 3 years then adjusts annually for 27 years.
  • 5/1 ARM: Your interest rate is set for 5 years then adjusts annually  for 25 years.
  • 7/1 ARM: Your interest rate is set for 7 years then adjusts annually for 23 years.
  • 10/1 ARM: Your interest rate is set for 10 years then adjusts annually for 20 years.

2. Conventional loan or government-backed loan

You’ll also want to consider whether you want — or qualify for — a government-backed loan. Any loan that’s not backed by the government is called a conventional loan. Here’s a look at the loan types backed by the government.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans

FHA loans are mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration. These loans are designed for borrowers who can’t come up with a large down payment or have less-than-perfect credit, which makes it a popular choice for first-time home buyers. FHA loans allow for down payments as low as 3.5 percent and credit scores of 580 or higher. A credit score as low as 500 may be accepted with 10 percent down. You can search for FHA loans on Zillow.

Because of the fees associated with FHA loans, you may be better off with a conventional loan, if you can qualify for it. The FHA requires an upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) as well as an annual mortgage insurance premium paid monthly. If you put less than 10 percent down, the MIP must be paid until the loan is paid in full or until you refinance into a non-FHA loan. Conventional loans, on the other hand, do not have the upfront fee, and the private mortgage insurance (PMI) required for loans with less than 20 percent down automatically falls off the loan when your loan-to-value reaches 78 percent.

Veterans Administration (VA) loans

This is a zero-down loan offered to qualifying veterans, active military and military families. The VA guarantees the loan for the lender, and the loan comes with benefits not seen with any other loan type. In most cases, you pay nothing down and you will never have to pay mortgage insurance. If you qualify for a VA loan, this is almost always the best choice. You can learn more about qualifying guidelines for VA loans or look for VA lenders on Zillow.

USDA loans

USDA loans are backed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and are designed to help low- or moderate-income people buy, repair or renovate a home in rural areas. Some suburban areas qualify, too. If you are eligible for a a USDA loan, you can purchase a home with no down payment and get below-market mortgage rates.

3. Jumbo loan or conforming loan

The last thing to consider is whether you want a jumbo loan or conforming loan. Let’s take a look at the difference between the two.

A conforming loan is any home loan that follows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conforming  guidelines. These guidelines include credit, income, assets requirements and loan amount. Currently the limit in most parts of the country is $417,000, but in certain designated high-price markets it can be as high as $938,250. Wondering if you’re in a high-cost county? Here is the entire list of conforming loan limits for high-cost counties in certain states.

Loans that exceed this amount are called jumbo loans. They’re also referred to as non-conforming mortgages. Why would you want a jumbo loan? The easiest answer is because it allows you to buy a higher-priced home, if you can afford it. But these loans have flexibility that conforming loans don’t have, such as not always requiring mortgage insurance when the down payment is less than 20 percent. Why wouldn’t you want a jumbo loan? Compared to conforming loans, interest rates will be higher. And they often require higher down payments and excellent credit, which can make them more difficult to qualify for.

You can read more about these and other programs here. It’s also a good idea to talk to a local lender to hear more about their options — get prepared by familiarizing yourself with mortgage-related terms using our handy glossary.

Source: zillow.com

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FHA and VA Loans Might Put Ownership in Reach

Buying a home might be a pretty conventional act, but financing one doesn’t have to be. Loans backed by federal agencies can be a big help if you’re low on cash or your credit score isn’t where you or a conventional lender would like it to be. There’s even a loan that can help you buy a genuine fixer-upper that many lenders won’t touch. So who qualifies, and what are the benefits of these special programs? One thing to note is that the following mortgages are only for the purchase of owner-occupied homes, not investment or rental properties. Beyond that, the requirements vary depending upon the program. Here are some answers to non-conventional mortgage questions.

FHA loans

Despite the name, an FHA loan isn’t issued by the Federal Housing Authority, but it is backed by the federal government. Because your lender knows that the government is guaranteeing the loan, the credit requirements aren’t quite as strict as with a conventional loan. Rates are as good or better than with conventional loans, and you can get an FHA loan with as little as 3.5 percent down. Not every lender offers FHA loans, but you can find several on Zillow by simply getting a rate quote for a mortgage with less than 20 percent down. How much can you borrow with an FHA loan? That varies by state and county, but it’s easy to check the limit for your location.

So why doesn’t everyone get an FHA loan? Because there are some costs. You won’t have to pay for private mortgage insurance as you would with a conventional loan when you put less than 20 percent down, but you will be paying in other ways. FHA loans require an upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) of 1.75 percent of the loan. Despite the name, you can roll that into your monthly payments. In addition, your annual MIP is paid each month, and the rate for that varies.

If you pay less than 10 percent down, and your loan was originated on or after June 3, 2013, that monthly MIP never goes away. To stop paying it, you’ll have to refinance to a conventional loan. If you put more than 10 percent down, your are required to pay the MIP for 11 years. You can check out the schedule here.

VA loans

One way to get a zero-down mortgage is through a VA loan. So what is a VA loan? Like the FHA, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs doesn’t actually make loans, but it does guarantee them. To get a VA-backed loan, you need qualify for the benefit and to go to an approved lender. You can find a VA lender easily here.

Although eligibility is determined by the VA, you may qualify if you are an honorably discharged veteran or an active member of any branch of the U.S. armed service, or if you are the spouse of either a veteran killed in the line of duty or an active duty member who is listed as MIA or POW.

The service thresholds vary, particularly for those who served in the National Guard or Reserves. You can find them on the Zillow VA loan FAQ page. You will also need a Certificate of Eligibility. You can either ask your lender to obtain your COE or you can get it for yourself from the VA’s ebenefits portal online.

How much house can you buy with a VA loan? In most areas, the VA puts a limit of $417,000 on its loans. But in certain high-cost parts of the country the limit is higher. You can find the limit in your county here.

In addition to the zero-down option, VA loans do not require you to pay any kind of mortgage insurance, even when borrowing 100 percent of your home’s value. As with many things, there is a catch — but it’s relatively small. In addition to the closing costs associated with every home loan, there is a VA funding fee. However, that can be financed or rolled into your monthly payment, and some veterans may even be exempt.

FHA 203k (fixer-upper loans)

Buying a fixer-upper that’s seen better days and turning it into your dream home can become a nightmare if you don’t have a good chunk of cash for repairs stashed away. That’s where the FHA 203k loan can help. You have to meet the usual FHA requirements, but with this loan you can get extra cash upfront to finance everything from new floors to a new roof.

You can get a loan for either the as-is value of the property plus repair costs or 110 percent of the estimated value of the home once repairs are complete, whichever is less. If your fixer-upper needs more modest repairs, you can get a streamlined 203k. This loan will get you the purchase price plus up to $35,000 for things like new appliances or carpets. But don’t get too fancy. You can’t use it to add luxuries like a swimming pool.

The catch? Not all properties will qualify and the application process isn’t as easy as slapping on a fresh coat of paint. You can find more details on the HUD site.

USDA loans

The other zero-down option is a loan backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These loans are for low- to moderate-income buyers looking to purchase a home in rural area. The applicant may not exceed income limits and the dwelling must be “modest, decent, safe and sanitary.”

Also, as always, you must demonstrate an adequate ability to repay the loan. The USDA website will help you determine if you or the area you want to purchase will qualify.

Source: zillow.com

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What Can Go Wrong on Closing Day – and How to Prevent It

Some surprises are great. An unexpected bonus or a hotel upgrade can make your day. But when it comes to closing on a home, a surprise is almost never a good thing.

Paperwork tedium will give way to terror if there’s an unexpected delay in financing or error in a title document. But you can avoid closing problems and delays, or at lease minimize them, by understanding what might go wrong and monitoring it well ahead of your closing date.

What happens at closing is the culmination of more than a month of gathering and preparing documents. For closing to go off without a glitch, your closing officer, your lender or loan officer and your real estate agent have to work together to get everything in order and processed correctly. These folks are professionals and they absolutely should know what they are doing. But they are also human beings working on a lot of files, not just yours.

If your closing gets pushed back a day, that just means they do it on Tuesday instead of Monday. It really isn’t an emergency in their world. You, however, have a moving truck scheduled and deadline to vacate your current home. Your loan commitment has an expiration date and so does your escrow. All of this means it’s more critical to you than it is to anyone else to get the deal completed on time, so it’s wise for you to stay on top of things.

With that in mind, here are a few common closing problems as well as ways to prevent them.

Problem: Errors in documents

One of the most common closing problems is an error in documents. It could be as simple as a misspelled name or transposed address number or as serious as an incorrect loan amount or missing pages. Either way, it could cause a delay of hours or even days.

Prevention: Preview everything
Go ahead and ask to see every piece of paperwork as far in advance as possible. Pay special attention to loan documents. By law, you will get your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms three days before closing. Look at them carefully and immediately. The sooner you spot a problem the faster you can get it fixed and keep your closing on track. If something seems odd or you just don’t understand it, this is the time to ask questions. Double-check the loan and down payment amounts, interest rates, spellings and all personal information.

Problem: Mortgage delays and last-minute requests

When you set a closing date and communicate that with your lender, you probably assume they will let you know in plenty of time if there are problems with meeting that deadline. You would be wrong. Understand that in a hot real estate buying or refinancing market, lenders can be inundated. Without periodic calls from you and your real estate agent, who also has a vested interest in closing the deal on time, your file could easily fall to the bottom of the pile while the loan officer deals with more urgent loans. By the time your loan is at the top of the priority list, it might be too late to get that missing document in time. Lenders sometimes ask for more information at the last minute – copies of a rental agreement, a canceled deposit check, the original hazard insurance payment – that can leave you scrambling and lead to closing delays.

Prevention: Check in with everyone
Early on, find out exactly what documents the lender needs to complete your file and write you loan. Between bank statements, tax returns and other documents, there are ample opportunities for items to go missing or be forgotten about until the last minute. Once you know what they need to write your loan, call or email periodically to make sure they have everything. (Your real estate agent may also be doing this so check with them as well.) How often? That depends on how much is missing from your file. But a weekly check-in isn’t out of hand until they confirm your file is complete. If there are problems or several missing documents, check in more often. Always make sure they are aware of your anticipated closing date.

Several days before closing, check in with your closing agent to make sure they are in communication with your lender and that they have everything they need. If there is something you think they might possibly need but no one has mentioned it, bring it to the closing meeting.

Problem: Cash flow

You go to the bank the day before closing and arrange to have your down payment transferred directly to the closing agent. You’re good to go. Unless the transfer falls through due to some bug in the bank’s system and the money either doesn’t get there in time or what comes through is less than the amount you need.

Prevention: Bring it

You can avoid this issue entirely by bringing your down payment in the form of a certified or cashier’s check. (You can’t use a personal check, so don’t even try that.) Or, simply arrange the wire or bank transfer of funds so it reaches the closing agent a couple of days early. If you don’t yet know the exact amount needed at closing, have more than enough money transferred. You’ll get a refund later.

Problem: Title isn’t exactly clear

Maybe the title company discovers that the seller never paid the contractor for the backyard fence or hasn’t paid property taxes for five years and there is a lien on the property. Or perhaps the home is the subject of a lawsuit between bickering relatives. Interesting as that may be, the bottom line is that you, the buyer, have a problem. You need to insist on a clear, unclouded, problem-free title before closing. Your lender will insist on it, too.

Prevention: Read the title report

Shortly after escrow opened, the title company completed a preliminary title report. That often goes directly to your lender, but you can get a copy either from the title company or your lender. Get it as soon as possible and read it carefully. At closing you’ll buy title insurance to protect yourself in case the title company missed anything in its search, but that policy is only effective from the day of closing forward.

Problem: Something’s amiss at your walk-through

It’s the day before closing and you’re doing a final walk-through of what is almost your home. The seller has punched a hole in the wall and ripped down the fixtures they were supposed to leave.

Prevention: Jump on it right now

Your agent should work with the seller’s agent to solve the problems. First, figure out what’s acceptable, how much it might cost and how to make the seller pay. One way would be to negotiate a credit on your closing fees, meaning the seller pays more at closing. Another would be to have the appropriate amount from the seller’s proceeds placed in escrow until the problems are fixed.

The point is, don’t wait until closing to bring up any issues. Get them resolved beforehand. If you can’t, you’ll have to postpone the closing while you work it out. In some cases, you may prefer to just accept responsibility for the problems rather than delay closing, but that’s up to you.

Source: zillow.com

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Now is the best time to secure a mortgage, study finds

Home buyers should move quickly if they want to lock in the best possible terms on their mortgage, as the winter months typically see lenders providing much better deals on their loans.

A new study by home finance startup Haus found that lenders typically offer discounts of up to 20 basis points in January compared to the period from June to October, when rates are at their highest. The study looked at seasonality, loan sizes, credit scores and other factors used to determine mortgage rates, analyzing loan data from Freddie Mac for more than 8.5 million mortgages that originated between 2018 and 2021.

After January, December and February are the next cheapest months to obtain a mortgage, the study found.

“While we can’t say for exact certainty why rates are lower in January than in the summer months, we can speculate that competition for customers matters,” Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at Haus, told Market Watch. “Since home buying and refinancing is seasonal, there is less mortgage origination in winter months, so it could be that lenders must lower their rates to stay competitive and attract business.”

That said, the housing market is different this year as sales have been booming throughout winter. That’s partly because mortgage rates have been hovering at an all-time low for months now. In addition, some economists say that rates could increase in the coming months, though it depends on the overall trajectory of the economy.

The problem for many buyers is they don’t have a lot of control over the timing of their loans. The study notes the importance of having a good credit rating to obtain the best possible deal. Borrowers with a credit score of 800+ tend to get mortgages with rates of 42 basis points less than those borrowers whose credit scores are below 650.

Buyers can make savings by shopping around too. The study found a discrepancy of 75 basis points between the most and least expensive large mortgage lenders in the U.S.

“This means that, all else equal, the same borrower would get a 5% rate with the most expensive lender and a 4.25% rate with the least expensive lender,” McLaughlin said.

Source: realtybiznews.com

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6 Things Your Mortgage Lender Wants You To Know About Getting a Home Loan During COVID-19

Getting a mortgage, paying your mortgage, refinancing your mortgage: These are all major undertakings, but during a pandemic, all of it becomes more complicated. Sometimes a lot more complicated.

But make no mistake, home buyers are still taking out and paying down mortgages during the current global health crisis. There have, in fact, been some silver linings amid the economic uncertainty—hello, record-low interest rates—but also plenty of changes to keep up with. Mortgage lending looks much different now than at the start of the year.

Whether you’re applying for a new mortgage, struggling to pay your current mortgage, or curious about refinancing, here’s what mortgage lenders from around the country want you to know.

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1. Rates have dropped, but getting a mortgage has gotten more complicated

First, the good news about mortgage interest rates: “Rates have been very low in recent weeks, and have come back down to their absolute lowest levels in a long time,” says Yuri Umanski, senior mortgage consultant at Premia Relocation Mortgage in Troy, MI.

That means this could be a great time to take out a mortgage and lock in a low rate. But getting a mortgage is more difficult during a pandemic.

“Across the industry, underwriting a mortgage has become an even more complex process,” says Steve Kaminski, head of U.S. residential lending at TD Bank. “Many of the third-party partners that lenders rely on—county offices, appraisal firms, and title companies—have closed or taken steps to mitigate their exposure to COVID-19.”

Even if you can file your mortgage application online, Kaminski says many steps in the process traditionally happen in person, like getting notarization, conducting a home appraisal, and signing closing documents.

As social distancing makes these steps more difficult, you might have to settle for a “drive-by appraisal” instead of a thorough, more traditional appraisal inside the home.

“And curbside closings with masks and gloves started to pop up all over the country,” Umanski adds.

2. Be ready to prove (many times) that you can pay a mortgage

If you’ve lost your job or been furloughed, you might not be able to buy your dream house (or any house) right now.

“Whether you are buying a home or refinancing your current mortgage, you must be employed and on the job,” says Tim Ross, CEO of Ross Mortgage Corp. in Troy, MI. “If someone has a loan in process and becomes unemployed, their mortgage closing would have to wait until they have returned to work and received their first paycheck.”

Lenders are also taking extra steps to verify each borrower’s employment status, which means more red tape before you can get a loan.

Normally, lenders run two or three employment verifications before approving a new loan or refinancing, but “I am now seeing employment verification needed seven to 10 times—sometimes even every three days,” says Tiffany Wolf, regional director and senior loan officer at Cabrillo Mortgage in Palm Springs, CA. “Today’s borrowers need to be patient and readily available with additional documents during this difficult and uncharted time in history.”

3. Your credit score might not make the cut anymore

Economic uncertainty means lenders are just as nervous as borrowers, and some lenders are raising their requirements for borrowers’ credit scores.

“Many lenders who were previously able to approve FHA loans with credit scores as low as 580 are now requiring at least a 620 score to qualify,” says Randall Yates, founder and CEO of The Lenders Network.

Even if you aren’t in the market for a new home today, now is a good time to work on improving your credit score if you plan to buy in the future.

“These changes are temporary, but I would expect them to stay in place until the entire country is opened back up and the unemployment numbers drop considerably,” Yates says.

4. Forbearance isn’t forgiveness—you’ll eventually need to pay up

The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act requires loan servicers to provide forbearance (aka deferment) to homeowners with federally backed mortgages. That means if you’ve lost your job and are struggling to make your mortgage payments, you could go months without owing a payment. But forbearance isn’t a given, and it isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be.

“The CARES Act is not designed to create a freedom from the obligation, and the forbearance is not forgiveness,” Ross says. “Missed payments will have to be made up.”

You’ll still be on the hook for the payments you missed after your forbearance period ends, so if you can afford to keep paying your mortgage now, you should.

To determine if you’re eligible for forbearance, call your loan servicer—don’t just stop making payments.

If your deferment period is ending and you’re still unable to make payments, you can request delaying payments for additional months, says Mark O’ Donovan, CEO of Chase Home Lending at JPMorgan Chase.

After you resume making your payments, you may be able to defer your missed payments to the end of your mortgage, O’Donovan says. Check with your loan servicer to be sure.

5. Don’t be too fast to refinance

Current homeowners might be eager to refinance and score a lower interest rate. It’s not a bad idea, but it’s not the best move for everyone.

“Homeowners should consider how long they expect to reside in their home,” Kaminski says. “They should also account for closing costs such as appraisal and title insurance policy fees, which vary by lender and market.”

If you plan to stay in your house for only the next two years, for example, refinancing might not be worth it—hefty closing costs could offset the savings you would gain from a lower interest rate.

“It’s also important to remember that refinancing is essentially underwriting a brand-new mortgage, so lenders will conduct income verification and may require the similar documentation as the first time around,” Kaminski adds.

6. Now could be a good time to take out a home equity loan

Right now, homeowners can also score low rates on a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, to finance major home improvements like a new roof or addition.

“This may be a great time to take out a home equity line to consolidate debt,” Umanski says. “This process will help reduce the total obligations on a monthly basis and allow for the balance to be refinanced into a much lower rate.”

Just be careful not to overimprove your home at a time when the economy and the housing market are both in flux.

For more smart financial news and advice, head over to MarketWatch.

Source: realtor.com