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Homeowner Appraisal Services Homeowners need appraisals or appraisal reviews for a variety of reasons, including a mortgage refinance, home equity loans, Pre-listing services, and PMI removal. When you recieve an appraisal or review from us, you can rest assured that you will get the best in professional service, courtesy, and quality. For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) / Pre-Listing Services It's very hard to be objective about your own home because of your emotional attachment to it. A Professional Appraiser is objective and will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. In addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract buyers, a professional appraisal is very valuable as a negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer. It gives you something concrete to show your buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your home's value, and not just you saying how much your home is worth. Potential buyers know you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be far more likely to give credibility to a professional appraiser's value opinion than yours. PMI Removal Appraisals A popular money saver for homeowners in the last few years is to get the PMI removed from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. PMI stands for "Private Mortgage Insurance". Once your mortgage loan amount is down below 80% of the value of your home, in most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI removed from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. We are experienced in helping folks just like you rid themselves of unneeded and unwanted PMI insurance. Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services Have you just received a copy of your appraisal and you'd like to have a professional "double-check" it for accuracy or do you need a second opinion without the expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal?
UP TO DATE REAL ESTATE NEWS; |
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| Judge Orders MRED to Restore Listing Feeds, Zillow to Display Banned Properties | ||
| 5/22/2026 7:59 PM | ||
| Above, left to right: Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman, MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen and Compass International Holdings CEO Robert Reffkin Against the backdrop of a nationwide fight over listing access, data control and marketing strategies, Chicago has become a flashpoint, with MLS Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) recently cutting Zillow off from its listi...Read More | ||
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| Consumer Sentiment Drops in Third Straight Month as Fuel Prices Continue to Rise | ||
| 5/22/2026 11:35 AM | ||
| Consumer sentiment experienced a third consecutive month of decline this month, per the University of Michigan’s closely watched survey of consumers. Consumer sentiment went from 49.8 in April to 44.8 in May, a 10% drop. The dramatic decline underscores how severely the Iran conflict, combined with soaring energy prices and trade uncertainty, ha...Read More | ||
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| Leading Economic Signals Continue to Show ‘Fragile’ Outlook | ||
| 5/22/2026 11:01 AM | ||
| The economy has seen numerous challenges over the past few months, from a soft but improving labor market to high inflation. The latter, largely attributed to the ongoing U.S.-Iran War and resulting energy price spikes, has also driven mortgage rates upward, and the Federal Reserve has signaled willingness to increase interest rates if inflation...Read More | ||
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| Zillow Rentals’ Michael Sherman: Renting Shouldn’t Be This Complicated | ||
| 5/22/2026 10:30 AM | ||
| Michael Sherman leads Zillow Rentals, overseeing the business and product teams responsible for Zillow’s rental marketplace. Since joining Zillow in 2012, Sherman has held leadership roles across several of the company’s businesses, focusing on building products and partnerships that create value for both consumers and industry partners. U...Read More | ||
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| Zillow Seeks Emergency Court Order After MRED Cut Off Listing Access | ||
| 5/21/2026 6:21 PM | ||
| Zillow is asking a federal judge for emergency relief after Chicago’s dominant MLS, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), cut off access to more than 30,000 residential listings, a move the online real estate platform characterizes as an illegal retaliation orchestrated with competitor Compass. In a motion May 21 in the U.S. District Court for the...Read More | ||
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| PropStream to Attend the 2026 Realtors® Legislative Meetings | ||
| 5/21/2026 2:08 PM | ||
| PropStream has announced it will be in attendance at the 2026 Realtors® Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., from June 13-18. At the Realtors® Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., thousands of members unite to conduct NAR business as well as discuss the real estate profession and policy advocacy, according to a release....Read More | ||
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| SkySlope and Cloze Expand Integration to Automate Real Estate Transaction Paperwork | ||
| 5/21/2026 1:58 PM | ||
| SkySlope—a transaction management solution for real estate brokerages—has announced the launch of SkySlope Forms support within Cloze—an AI-powered real estate platform. This is an expansion of the pre-existing integration between the two companies, creating a more connected experience that takes agents from first contact to signed contract with...Read More | ||
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| Legislative Round-Up: Omnibus Housing Bill Regains Momentum; Crypto ‘Tokenization; Clears Senate Committee | ||
| 5/21/2026 12:08 PM | ||
| Editor’s Note: The RISMedia series Legislative Round-Up looks at pending and passed federal and state-level legislation that impacts real estate professionals. ROAD to Housing Act back on the table An amended version of the housing omnibus bill currently known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has once more passed the House of Repres...Read More | ||
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| Report: Homeownership Costs Top 100% of Renter Income in 7 U.S. Metros | ||
| 5/21/2026 12:05 PM | ||
| A new housing affordability index from the University of San Diego reveals that the total cost of homeownership surpassed renters’ income in some of the nation’s largest metros at the end of 2025. As the data shows, there’s a lot more that goes into the housing affordability equation that can make—or break—homebuyers’ ability to purchase…<...Read More | ||
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| Inflation, High Treasury Yields Force Mortgage Rates Upward | ||
| 5/21/2026 11:56 AM | ||
| Mortgage rates have fluctuated again this week, seeing an increase as inflation rose due to elevated oil, gas and energy prices due to continued geopolitical tensions, according to the latest data from Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) had increased from 6.36% last we...Read More | ||