Key takeaways A Municipal Utility District, or MUD, provides water, sewer, drainage, and infrastructure in areas that lack city utilities. Homes in a MUD include a MUD tax that helps repay bonds issued to build public infrastructure. MUD tax appears on your property tax bill; however, it is separate from county, school district, and city tax rates. Homestead exemption generally does not reduce MUD...

When your house doesn’t sell, it does more than disrupt your plans, it hits close to...

Seller concessions are closing costs or fees that a seller agrees to cover to help reduce a buyer’s upfront expenses. These costs are negotiated during the offer process, and seller concessions can make a home purchase more affordable without lowering the home’s sale price. In the first quarter of 2025, 44.4% of U.S. home sale transactions included seller concessions — the highest share in several...

Key takeaways Sellers can refuse to pay a buyer’s agent, and commissions remain fully negotiable even after the 2024 NAR settlement MLS listings can no longer display buyer agent commission offers, which means any compensation must now be negotiated off the MLS between the parties involved Not offering a buy-side commission may reduce a seller’s costs, but it can also limit buyer interest, especially...

The new year brings good news for the housing...

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As home prices fluctuate and buyers focus on affordability, sellers might take a closer look at how they price their homes. One question that comes up often before listing: Can a pre-listing appraisal help set the right asking price before a home hits the market. In most cases, sellers don’t need an appraisal before listing. Homes are typically priced using recent comparable sales, local market...