Question: HOUSING DECISIONS
When Mark and Valerie Bowman first saw the house, they didn't like it. However, it was a dark, rainy day. They viewed the house more favorably on their second visit, which they had expected to be a waste of time. Despite cracked ceilings, the need for new paint, and a kitchen built in the 1980s, the Bowmans saw a potential to create a place they could call their own. Beth Young purchased her condominium several years ago. She obtained a mortgage rate of 6.5 percent, a very good rate then. Recently, when interest rates dropped, Beth was considering refinancing her mortgage at a lower rate. Matt and Peggy Zoran had been married for five years and were still living in an apartment. Several of their friends had purchased homes recently. However, Matt and Peggy were not sure they wanted to follow this example. Although they liked their friends' homes and had viewed online videos of homes on the market, they also liked the freedom from maintenance responsibility they enjoyed as renters.
1. How could the Bowmans benefit from buying a home that needed improvements?
2. How might Beth Young have found out when mortgage rates were at a level that would make refinancing her condominium more affordable?
3. Although the Zorans had good reasons for continuing to rent, what factors might make it desirable for an individual or a family to buy a home?
4. What actions might each of these home buyers take to use websites or apps to enhance their home-buying and financing activities? Based on a web search, what advice would you offer when using the online sources for various phases of the home-buying process?