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Mortgage applications jumped 9.3% last week. Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily, wrote “When rates have been near these three-year lows, we’ve only seen them dip lower briefly — and usually not by that much. That means locking is never a bad idea at current levels.” CNBC has an explanatory article, here.…

In continuation of the theme from yesterday’s article, a Virginian television station, WAVY, has a short segment on updating a bathroom to accommodate aging homeowners. Replacing the tub with a seat-shower, avoiding trip-hazards, and grab bars placed properly are among the suggested upgrades. Watch, here.  

The Wall Street Journal addresses a reader’s question about whether to move in retirement, or remodel their existing home to address the needs of aging inhabitants. The response cites 3 extensive studies to help homeowners live safely and comfortably on their own as they grow older. More, here.  

Selena Maranjian has a piece today on The Motley Fool offering tips for mortgage shopping. As we say often in this forum, a mortgage loan is—for most of us—the largest investment we’ll ever make. It is always in our best interest to do the requisite research to protect ourselves, and this article has some good…

Clare Trapasso has a piece on Realtor.com indexing the best cities for young home-buyers. Austin, TX, Charleston, SC, Denver, CO, Minneapolis, MN, Ogden, UT, Portland, OR, Raleigh, NC, Salt Lake City, UT, Seattle, WA, and Washington, DC, complete the top ten. You can read the article, here.  

Chicago’s TV station, WGN, shared an article today on the states where homeowners carry the most mortgage debt. An analysis of data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York calculated mortgage debt per capita around the country, then ranked States from lowest to highest. You can see the results, here.  

The Motley Fool has compiled 5 mortgage rules with which to be familiar. As the largest investment most of us are likely to make, there is little room for error. Check out the article when you have a moment, here.  

The Observer has an extensive article today lambasting real estate investment titled The Lies, Cover-Ups, and Half-Truths About Investing in Real Estate. If you’re interested in an opinion piece about the myriad ways that real estate can be a poor investment—and it’s worth a read—then you can read it here.  

Realtor.com has an article polling homeowners on—what they feel—were mistakes made during the mortgage process. Among the regrets are, not moving quickly enough when making a decision, not making extra payments, and not paying closer attention to rate fluctuation. You can read the entire piece, here.  

With as much as a 7 percent annual appreciation rate, house hacking—a live-in real estate investment strategy—is gaining in popularity across the country. Living in a multi-unit building, while renting out the unused spaces, allows for owner-occupied loans not available to most investment properties. Once some capital has been created, one can simply acquire and…