Real Estate Blog - Buyer Education

Practical guides, calculators, and market insights to help you buy confidently in California.

Real Estate Blog - Buyer Education 

California neighborhood appreciation ranking hub

Appreciation Ranking Hub

Which cities and neighborhoods in Bay Area have appreciated the most? What about Southern CA? What about Nationally? Go through our interactive pages and find out.

Rent vs Buy

ARM vs 30-year Fixed Mortgage: In Depth Comparison

Should you go with an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) or a 30-year fixed one? Every home buyer contends with this question at some point or the other. We do the actual math and help you make an informed decision.

Rent vs Buy

Buying Your Next Home Before Selling the Current One? How to Qualify for a Mortgage

You already own a home and find your next home. But you can’t qualify for the new mortgage because your lender counts both mortgage payments in your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. What can you do? 

Rent vs Buy

Rent vs Buy Excel Sheet and Observations

We consider two scenarios: 

Scenario 1: you buy a house and build home equity
Scenario 2: you rent and instead put down payment money + monthly savings into stocks

Which one is better? Let's find out!

Borrow Money for Home Purchase at 4% to 4.5% Using Box Spreads


Have a stock portfolio? Learn about a powerful tool we often use with our clients which lets you borrow money at far below the market mortgage rates.

House price drop

Thoughts on Bay Area Housing Price Drop

Recently we have seen some softening in the prices in several areas. What is the reason? Is a big drop coming or will the prices go back to resuming their upward climb? Let's find out!