Redfin

JULY 30, 2025

It covers a variety of fees like lender and title fees, property taxes, home inspection, and homeowners insurance, to name a few. Emergency fund: It’s wise to have 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses for unexpected costs. What’s the difference between a fixed-rate mortgage and adjustable-rate mortgage?

Pre-approval

Redfin

AUGUST 5, 2025

In a multiple-offer situation, sellers look at a number of different variables between offers, from inspection timelines to appraisal guarantees, to financing terms. This means when a seller receives a cash offer (with proof of funds) they can be almost 100% confident the deal will quickly make it to the closing table.

Earnest money deposit

Marco Santarelli

APRIL 27, 2025

It's clean, simple, and almost guaranteed to close (barring inspection issues). High Mortgage Rates Are the Big Story: As of mid-April 2025, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was hovering around 6.83% , according to Freddie Mac data mentioned in the report. The cash offer? Sellers love certainty.

Finance

HomeLight

JUNE 14, 2023

Escalation clauses were especially popular from mid-2020 to mid-2022 when low interest rates and the pandemic’s emphasis on home drove housing demand through the roof. Even though, as of this writing, mortgage interest rates are at 6.4% Since then, they’ve become less prevalent but are still fairly common.

Finance

The Close

DECEMBER 29, 2022

A contingency might be the buyer selling their current house, requiring certain repairs to be made, or obtaining a clean termite inspection. Don’t you love it when the co-borrower is the client’s dad who comes along on the inspection and is suddenly an expert on chimney engineering? Got Clients With Interest Rate Questions?

Purchase and sale agreement