Money Management

Sellers have an edge in the current housing market. Read on to see if it still makes sense to make repairs and upgrades before listing your house. 

If you’re hoping to sell your home in 2023, you may be in luck. While higher mortgage rates are making homes even less affordable for buyers, those who are ready and willing to buy a home this year don’t have many homes to choose from. According to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), the inventory of existing homes for sale stood at 1.04 million, which amounts to a 2.9-month supply. Since it would take a four-month supply (or more) to equalize the market between buyers and sellers, sellers still have the edge right now.

To that end, you might be feeling a bit reluctant to spend a lot of time and money getting your home in pristine condition before you sell it. After all, with fewer listings, and people still interested in getting a mortgage loan and buying, you may not need to make repairs and upgrades to sell your house. Let’s take a look at a few circumstances in which it could make sense to sell your home as-is — and a few times not to.

Yes, sell it as-is

If you’re hoping to get your home on the market sooner rather than later, the prospect of not needing to fix or change anything about it could certainly expedite your process — especially if you’re moving for a job or due to financial stress connected to owning the home. Besides, making changes to a property before selling costs money, and you might not want to pump a bunch of cash into a home you’re moving out of.

If you’ve already paid off your mortgage loan and therefore won’t need to make enough on the sale to pay off what’s left, you may be less concerned about getting the absolute best price for the house. This might also be the case if you’re selling a house you inherited from a family member and now own free and clear.

If you live in a hot neighborhood, it could mean you’ll have buyers stepping all over each other to make you an offer, even if the home is dated or needs repairs. Similarly, if your home has “good bones” under that ugly wallpaper and 1980s-era kitchen, you may find a house flipper or other cash buyer willing to pay what you’re asking to get your home as an investment property. And while getting a cash offer may mean getting less money for the home, a cash offer is less likely to fall through, as there’s no mortgage paperwork involved.

No, make those repairs and upgrades

Of course, if you opt to go the as-is route, there are some conditions where you may regret it. If you still owe a lot on the mortgage, and home values in your area aren’t up as high as in some cities, you may struggle to find a buyer to offer you enough money to pay off your existing mortgage, cover your costs to sell, and turn a profit.

If your home has issues that go beyond just cosmetic or simple repairs, like serious problems with a major home system (such as the plumbing, foundation, or HVAC), selling it as-is may result in few offers or extremely lowball ones. The buyers who may not mind that wallpaper or 1980s kitchen could disappear if buying your home means shelling out thousands of dollars to fix major problems. And don’t think you can just keep the bigger problems a secret, because depending on the state you’re in, you may need to fill in a detailed seller’s disclosure form. Most states require a seller to offer information about known problems with a house.

Consider your home’s condition and your own needs

What’s the right choice? Ultimately, you’ll have to weigh the options for yourself. If your home is merely a little dated and just needs some TLC from a new owner, you may not lose out on a lot of money by selling it as-is — and remember, your time is also worthwhile. But if you owe a lot on the mortgage and may not be able to make enough by selling your house in its current condition, or it has major problems, you might need to put some time and money into it ahead of listing it.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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A free vacation is the best kind of trip. Find out how to enter a limited-time contest to try winning two, free round-trip tickets to Paris and cash to spend. 

What could be better than a vacation to Paris? How about if it didn’t cost you any money? If France is on your bucket list, flight deal company Going and low-cost, long-haul airline brand French bee have a contest you won’t want to miss. One lucky winner will be flown to Paris for an unforgettable adventure. Here’s what you need to know about this exciting giveaway.

Try your luck at a free trip to Paris

What if you and a companion could fly to Paris without draining your checking account? One contest winner will get to do just that. Going, formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights, is a company that helps travelers find affordable flights. The brand is partnering with low-cost airline French bee to give away a free trip. One winner will be randomly selected. Here’s what the winner will receive:

Two round-trip tickets to Paris courtesy of French bee$1,000 travel cash from GoingA free yearlong Going Elite membership (a $199 value)

The lucky contest winner will get to choose from one of the following flight routes:

Miami > ParisSan Francisco > Paris-OrlyNew York (Newark) > Paris-OrlyLos Angeles > Paris-Orly

According to the terms and conditions, the maximum value of this prize package is $3,199. If you want to try your luck, you can enter the contest at going.com/sweepstakes. The sweepstakes runs from 6:59:59 a.m. PT on June 1, 2023, to 11:59:59 p.m. PT on June 15, 2023.

A winner will be randomly selected on June 20, 2023, and will be notified by email with instructions on how to claim their prize. I don’t know about you, but thinking about a free trip to Paris has me daydreaming about snacking on a croissant at an adorable French cafe.

Four ways to save money on international travel costs

Many people assume that international travel is too expensive for their budgets. Having the means to afford to travel and having a passport that makes it easy to do is a privilege. But a trip abroad may be more affordable than you realize. If you’re strategic, there are ways to keep your spending to a minimum. These tips may help you save money on international travel costs:

Look for airfare deals: You can better honor your vacation budget by taking advantage of airfare deals. Companies like Going can help you score cheap international tickets. Another way to find deals is to use flight comparison tools like Google Flights.Consider flying with a low-cost airline: If you don’t mind a no-frills flight experience, flying with a low-cost airline can help you keep more money in your pocket. Companies like French bee and Play fly from the U.S. to many destinations.Bring the right credit card: If you plan to use credit cards while traveling internationally, bring a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Otherwise, you’ll waste money on foreign transaction fees — and those costs can add up fast.Travel during the off-season: Travelers with flexible schedules can save money by traveling during the off-season. If you travel when everyone else is, there will be more demand, meaning flights, hotels, and other travel costs will be more expensive.

Act fast if you want to try your luck at winning a free trip

If a trip to Paris appeals to you, enter this contest so you don’t miss out. A free trip is better than one you have to pay for, and winning a free vacation could allow you to take a much-needed vacation without ignoring your personal finance goals. Bonne chance to all who enter!

If you’re planning a trip to France soon, you may want to use a travel credit card. You can earn rewards and take advantage of valuable travel perks. Learn more about the best travel rewards credit cards to discover how they can improve your travels. Bon voyage!

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Natasha Gabrielle has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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The day after I applied for a mortgage, I got 42 phone calls from potential lenders — and they’re continuing to today. Check out why. 

Since I am in the market to buy a new house, I recently submitted an application for a mortgage loan. I’m also self-employed so I had to undergo a more detailed underwriting process in order to get pre-approved for my loan, including a hard credit check. This meant my mortgage lender pulled my credit report with the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), and I got an inquiry on my credit record.

The day after I applied for my mortgage loan, I received 42 phone calls from different mortgage lenders — none of which were the ones I applied for the loan from. I received so many calls, I had to turn off my phone. And this has continued for days after I submitted my initial mortgage application, although the flood has turned into a trickle.

I didn’t really understand why this happened — but then I learned about event-based trigger programs. Here’s what they are, and how you can stop this flurry of phone calls from happening to you if you apply for a home loan.

This is why I got so many mortgage phone calls

When certain types of triggering events happen, the credit bureaus who receive the inquiries will sell your information to mortgage lenders. All of these other lenders who buy this information are aware that you are in the market for a loan and you’re serious about getting one soon since you submitted an application.

As a result, those lenders start calling you. And that’s exactly what happened to me. I had dozens of different mortgage brokers and lenders calling me to try to convince me to get a loan with them.

I received an endless amount of both texts and phone calls, many of which came from lenders that made offers that seemed too good to be true. I didn’t know who these lenders were, I hadn’t vetted them, and this was nothing more than an annoyance to me because I had already shopped around among reputable lenders I trusted and had chosen the one I wanted to get my mortgage from.

I ended up just declining all the calls, but it was still really annoying to deal with them all day long.

How to stop getting these calls

The good news is, there is a way to stop this type of marketing from happening to you — if you are aware of it. But it’s helpful to take action in advance of when you apply for a mortgage loan.

If you don’t want to receive phone calls or other offers from potential lenders you didn’t reach out to, you can do something called opting out of prescreening. You can do this for either five years or permanently by going to www.optoutprescreen.com or calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT. You’ll need to provide your personal information to opt out and will not get any prescreened offers from lenders you do not have a personal relationship with already.

It can take up to five days for your request to be processed, so you should take action before you submit your mortgage loan request. If you do, you’ll save yourself the hassle I experienced after applying for my loan. If you don’t like getting spam phone calls, filling out the form is well worth it.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Want to build loads of wealth? Read on for key advice from one of the most successful investors of our time. 

These days, a fair share of financial experts are cautioning investors to gear up for a potential recession. And that could lead to a world of stock market turbulence.

As an investor, that’s not the kind of news you want to hear. Your IRA or brokerage account balance could easily take a hit if market conditions sour.

But the reality is that it’s not just periods of broad economic decline that have the potential to send stock values plummeting. That’s why if your goal is to grow a lot of wealth by investing, it’s important to follow this important Warren Buffett rule.

Learn from Buffett

With an estimated net worth of more than $112 billion, it’s fair to call Warren Buffett one of the most successful investors of our time. Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a conglomerate that holds several well-known companies. One of the reasons he’s been able to grow so much wealth in his life is that he’s chosen quality investments and stuck with them for the long haul. And if you want to be successful as an investor, it pays to follow his lead.

Buffett has been famously quoted as saying, “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.” And if you follow that same rule in the course of your investing career, then your chances of making money may be a lot higher.

Investors often lose money in the stock market by selling their stocks the moment their value starts to fall. And they often limit the extent to which they can grow wealth by cashing out stocks at a modest gain rather than being patient and waiting for even larger gains over time.

If you’d rather set yourself on a different path, load your portfolio with a diverse mix of quality investments and pledge to hold them for as many years as you can. That could be 20 years, 30 years, or 50 years.

In fact, let’s say you manage to pick a winning stock that grows 12% a year, on average, over a 30-year period. If you invest $1,000 in that stock, sit back, and leave your portfolio alone, that position will be worth around $30,000. So all told, you’ll end up with 30 times your initial investment.

And for context, the broad stock market has delivered an average annual 10% return (before inflation) over the past 50 years, as measured by the performance of the S&P 500 index. So a 12% return on an individual company that performs well is a perfectly reasonable assumption.

Diversification is key as well

In addition to adopting a “buy and hold” strategy, Buffett has also advised that average investors should put their money into the broad market. So if you’re not sure which stocks are best for your portfolio, fall back on broad market ETFs, like those that aim to match the performance of the S&P 500 index.

Investing in stocks isn’t for the faint of heart. And there may be times when you’re tempted to sell off stocks either to minimize losses or capitalize on gains. But if you really want to do well as an investor, it pays to do what Buffett says and hold your assets as long as you can. If you’re patient, you might be rewarded in a very big way.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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