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Who would want to live in a tiny home in their parents’ backyard? As it turns out, a lot of people—including Lena Dunham.

The writer, director, and millennial antihero recently opened the doors of her newly built 1.5-bedroom forever home to Architectural Digest. The twist? It’s situated 10 feet behind her parents’ house in Connecticut.

For the uninitiated, Dunham is a married 36-year-old woman who created HBO’s “Girls,” one of the most successful TV shows of her generation. She has made the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world and considers Taylor Swift a close personal friend. She could presumably live just about anywhere, but she opted to move into an accessory dwelling unit on her parents’ New England compound.

With distinctive design and sumptuous details just a stone’s throw away from Mom and Dad’s lasagna, laundry services, and warm hugs, it’s easy to see why someone like Dunham would love to live here. But what about the rest of us?

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You might have heard it’s more challenging to get a mortgage if you’re self-employed.

And it is true that self-employed homebuyers do have to jump through a few more hoops than a W-2 employee. Namely, you’ll have to gather a bunch of paperwork to validate your income and self-employment history. Yet taking the time to organize documents will be well worth it when you’re holding the keys to your new house.

Just ask the 14 million nontraditional earners who became homeowners.

If you want to join them, here’s everything you need to know about applying for a home loan when you’re self-employed.

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An updated Colonial in Stamford, CT, is the oldest property to hit the market this week on Realtor.com®.

The charming, four-bedroom home is full of period details, including wide-plank hardwood floors, exposed beams, and an oversized stone fireplace. Modernizations over the years offer a kitchen with butcher block countertops, a skylight, and recessed lighting.

Other historic homes on the market this week include a New Jersey farmhouse, a Pennsylvania townhouse, and a three-bedroom charmer in Maine.

Scroll down for a full look at this week’s 10 oldest homes.

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Can you hand off a home loan from one person to another? The answer is usually no. When you sell your home, the buyers have to get their own mortgage and you pay yours off in full with proceeds from the sale.

But there are a few exceptions to the rule. Here are the ways you can transfer a mortgage, and why you might want to consider it.

What kinds of mortgage transfers are possible?

Most loans aren’t transferable, and the reason for this is that they have a “due on sale” clause, explains Chris Combs, founder of Combs Law Group. That means that when the property is sold, the entirety of the loan comes due.

But some loans are created without due on sale clauses, and so they can be transferred from seller to buyer. These are known as “assumable loans,” says Chris Lewis from Angel Oak Home Loans. There are three main types of assumable loans:

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On the latest “Good Bones,” Mina Starsiak Hawk is back in the Old Southside neighborhood of Indianapolis—and this time, she’s showing off a cozy new design style that her team is dubbing “cabin chic.”

In the episode “Twinning Is Winning,” Starsiak Hawk sets out to build another house from scratch and decides to use the same floor plan she used for the home she remodeled right down the street. It has two stories, four bedrooms, and three baths in 1,800 square feet of space.

But in order to make the two houses “fraternal” rather than “identical” twins, she and her crew settle on a warm, cabin chic look.

As with the other property, she paid $40,000 for the lot, plans to spend $200,000 in construction, and hopes to sell it in the very high $300,000s.

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A spectacular midcentury modern marvel designed by architect Erich Gnant is available in Brookfield, WI, for $1,190,000.

Conceived as his personal residence and built in1960, the 5,543-square-foot home is a master class in forward-thinking design and where Gnant and his wife raised their family.

“When the home was built, it was billed as [Gnant] trying to test the market for upscale contemporary homes,” says listing agent Colleen Resendiz, of Benefit Realty. Five other homes designed by Gnant were built in the surrounding area.

As for his personal home, it has retained much of its original beauty, says Resendiz.

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It’s a tough time to be selling a home. That’s also true for home builders, who are seeing canceled orders and dwindling interest among would-be buyers.

“Mortgage applications have been running down close to 40% year over year. People are clearly in sort of a wait-and-see or pause mode,” John Lovallo, a UBS analyst who covers home builders, told MarketWatch on an episode of Barron’s Live.

Confidence among home builders dropped for the 10th month in a row in October to a 10-year low (with the exception of the start of the pandemic), according to the National Association of Home Builders. Traffic among prospective buyers, one of the components that measures confidence, fell significantly, the association said, as buyers look at mortgage rates above 7%.

Cancellations by property developers are also up, Lovallo noted. KB Home reported a 35% cancellation rate in the third quarter, up from 9% a year ago. Lennar said 21% of orders are being canceled, while Meritage Homes reported a 30% cancellation rate. Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda Research, tweeted Thursday afternoon that her data shows a 70% cancellation rate among builders in Phoenix.

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A hip-hop mogul is ready to unload the oceanfront getaway he’s had for more than two decades.

Dr. Dre—rapper, producer, and co-founder of Beats Electronics—has listed his six-bedroom, seven-bath Malibu, CA, home for $20 million, Dirt reported.

Spread over nearly 8,850 square feet, the striking, three-story mansion is located on Carbon Beach, an ultra-exclusive strip of sand favored by billionaires.

Dre originally shelled out nearly $4.8 million for the home, which means he’ll make out like a king if he gets anywhere near the astonishing asking price.

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While buying a newly built home may not be the first thought to come to mind for homebuyers, purchasing new construction is a common option that comes with distinct benefits in today’s market.

Currently, about one-third of all homes for sale are newly built and are often a boon to homebuyers who’ve been struggling in hot markets to find pre-existing properties at an affordable price.

“New construction should be on the radar of all prospective homebuyers, given declining housing affordability and limited existing home inventory,” says Robert Dietz, senior vice president and chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.

New construction can refer to single-family homes, condos, or apartments, and are available across the U.S. Here’s a thorough rundown of the benefits of buying a new build—followed by some of the potential downsides—so that homebuyers can weigh the pros and cons and decide whether it’s right for them.

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Named for the shape of the container used to hold salt in colonial times, these homes have a steeply sloped roof that is much longer on one side than the other.

Saltbox houses are common in New England, and back in the 18th century, housed many famous pioneers and patriots, including the second U.S. president, John Adams. Sturdy and understated, they are found by the bushel in historic registers and are very popular today. Read on for a brief history of this quaint architectural style, and why it has such enduring appeal.

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Home shoppers, especially first-time buyers and those with tight budgets, have been through the wringer lately. They’ve struggled with skyrocketing prices and historically low inventory. Inflation and rising rents have cut deeply into their savings accounts, and, lately, mortgage rates have hit 20-year highs.

Now, add one more searing pain point to the list: Bigger-than-ever down payments are expected in many areas before sellers will even consider an offer. Even in lower-priced markets, down payments have generally gone up in the post-COVID-19 housing era.

It’s exacerbating one of the traditionally most challenging parts of homebuying: saving up for the cash down payment. And it’s enough to dissuade some cash-strapped buyers from buying altogether.

While putting down 20% of the purchase price is the gold standard, in many highly competitive real estate markets, buyers are now expected to contribute significantly more. Yet—in other parts of the country, buyers can get away with kicking in just a fraction of that.

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A midcentury modern house in Prairie Village, KS, is drawing attention not just for its unique design, but also for its eye-popping list price of $975,000.

The minimalist home is priced well above the median home price of $375,000 for Prairie Village, and it has just one bedroom and two bathrooms. But it is big on style, designed by famed architect Bruce Goff and built in 1967.

“The house is known as the Searing House (named after its owners), and this is the first time it has been on the market since it was built,” says listing agent Katherine Lee, of Bash & Co. Sotheby’s International Realty.

“Bruce Goff designed three homes in Kansas City, and this is one of them. The house is located in Prairie Village, which, back when Kansas City was being developed, was notorious for its Cape Cod–style homes, so this was very unique,” Lee explains.

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When Brad Jobe and Brian Ford took on a Tulsa, OK, home flip, they knew it would be no small task.

“It was pretty much a wreck,” says Jobe, a furniture maker. “It hadn’t had any repairs in 30 years.”

But he and Ford, who has a background in homebuilding and reconstruction, clearly saw potential in the 1970 midcentury modern with its beamed ceiling and stone walls in the living room.

They bought the nearly 6,000-square-foot home on a half-acre in July 2021 for $945,000. After renovating the home inside and out, they listed it for $2,675,000 with Blake Loveless of Walter & Associates.

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Flipping guru Tarek El Moussa has just one project left with ex-wife Christina Hall. Set to air in early December on HGTV, “Flip or Flop: The Final Flip” will document the former couple’s last attempt at transforming a tired residence into a renovated dream.

This final flip with Hall doesn’t mean El Moussa is now sitting on the housing sidelines, waiting for the episode to air. Even an iffy real estate market hasn’t slowed down his torrid pace.

El Moussa’s LLC currently owns 47 properties in Southern California, and some of those homes will roll off his books shortly. Six of his completed projects are on the market, including three pending sale. With so many properties under his wing, he has plenty of material for his new show, “The Flipping El Moussas,” set to premiere on HGTV in 2023.

We took a look at the half-dozen El Moussa homes up for grabs. It’s easy to spot elements of his signature style. While some of the homes proved immediately tempting to buyers, others needed a price reduction to reach a quick deal. Join us for a look at El Moussa’s latest projects—beginning with the priciest flip in his inventory.

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Renovation expert Jasmine Roth is a sucker for a good family story, and does she ever find one on the latest “Help! I Wrecked My House.”

In the episode “Empty Nester’s Woes,” Roth meets Cory and Paul, who have raised four sons in the midcentury house they bought 27 years ago. Now that their “boys” have moved out and started their own families, these parents are left to make the house work for just them—and the kids and grandkids when they come to visit.

They’ve started a few projects, like ripping out shelves and closets and adding a new HVAC system, but there’s a lot of unfinished business in the house—including holes in the outside walls. Without the boys around to help with the heavy lifting, the couple are at a loss to finish what they’ve started.

So Roth comes in to tie up loose ends and make the home work for Cory and Paul as they start this new phase of their life. They’ve given Roth a $110,000 budget to complete the process, which includes redoing the living room, family room, dining area, and primary suite.

MLS via Realtor.com

With a massive list price of $30 million, a huge, waterfront home in Windermere, FL, is now the area’s most expensive, and largest, listing.

The property sits atop the home listings in both Windermere and nearby Orlando, according to Realtor.com®.

The 30,000-square-foot house comes with 18 acres on the banks of a lake near Orlando.

“This accumulation of acreage is very unusual, and you have almost 50,000 square feet of structures on the property,” says Mick Night. Night and John Pinel, both of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, are the listing agents for the property.

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The midterm U.S. elections take place on Tuesday. Elections have consequences for the housing market, according to a new report from investment bank Cowen.

The report by Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg noted that the Nov. 8 elections will determine which party controls the House and the Senate for the next two years.

And the result will then impact a number of issues related to housing finance policy, he said.

First-time buyer tax credit gone

Assuming Republicans “will at a minimum gain control of the House,” Seiberg wrote, that likely means no first-time buyer tax credit.

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Whether you’re buying or selling a home, one question that’s always front and center is the price: How much is it worth? That’s a tricky question to answer, but probably the best starting point is to know a home’s fair market value, or FMV.

A home’s fair market value is the price it would sell for in a perfectly logical world—one where both home buyer and seller are acting of their own free will (in other words, they aren’t desperate to make a sale) and are reasonably aware of a home’s good and bad points, and where the buyer could just as easily choose a different house that suits her needs better.

In such a world, market forces reign. Buyers and sellers negotiate up or down from their various positions and agree on a home’s price. Deal done. All is good! Another arm’s length transaction concluded to everyone’s satisfaction.

Fair market value vs. market value: What’s the difference?

A home’s fair market value is comparable to a home’s market value—what it would fetch on the open market—but is used in special circumstances where the concept of fairness is important to evoke so that the home’s sales price carries more weight.

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If you’re changing jobs, it sometimes makes sense to move as well.

That seems to be the thinking of Trevor Noah, who’s scheduled to leave his gig hosting Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” next month. He’s also just listed his Manhattan duplex penthouse in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood for $12,950,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The comedian purchased the swanky spot for a little over $10 million in 2017.

As befits a worldly bachelor, the posh pad sports 15-foot ceilings, three bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a floating staircase, a private terrace with a plunge pool, and a screening room.

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A closing disclosure is a form outlining the terms and costs of your mortgage—and one of the most important pieces of paperwork to check before you close on a home.

Lenders must provide borrowers with a closing disclosure (also called a CD) at least three business days before closing—that day when all the remaining paperwork is signed and you get the keys to your new home. You can also see the CD as the official follow-up to a more preliminary document you received when you first applied for your loan called the loan estimate, or LE (also known as a good-faith estimate).

The LE outlined the approximate fees you would be expected to pay if you move forward with a lender to close on a home. But your closing disclosure is the real deal, which is all the more reason to scrutinize it carefully.

Closing disclosure vs. settlement statement?

Before Aug. 1, 2015, the CD was known by another name: the HUD-1 settlement statement. Yet this document was long and confusing, and required by federal law to be distributed to home buyers only on the day of closing—which didn’t give them much time to address any issues. This is why the settlement statement was replaced by the much more streamlined five-page closing disclosure, and laws were changed so that lenders are required to provide this document at least three business days before closing.