9 best long-term investments in October 2021
Investing
15 min read
EXPERTISE
- Mortgages
- Real estate
- Home renovations
- Condos and co-ops
- Aviation
EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Northwestern University
The key to getting the best deal on a mortgage is shopping around with multiple lenders. If you don't, you could wind up paying thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
— Zach Wichter
About the author
Zach Wichter is a mortgage reporter at Bankrate. He previously worked on the Business desk at The New York Times where he won a Loeb Award for breaking news, and covered aviation for The Points Guy. He also worked in production on Dateline NBC and wrote anchor copy for New York 1. He graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 2013. As president of his co-op board in Queens (it’s like a condo board, but more New York-y), Zach is constantly thinking about real estate and dealing with issues of homeownership, HOA-style house rules and mortgage eligibility.
Highlights
Wichter came to the mortgage beat at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when home financing and the real estate industries were rare bright spots in an otherwise sluggish economy. He got to work looking under the hood of trends in the headlines, and by analyzing address forwarding data from the U.S. Postal Service, learned that the pandemic wasn't the end of cities after all. He also focuses on racial equity issues in the housing market.
Experience
Although Bankrate is the first place Wichter has covered the mortgage and real estate verticals full-time, he's an experienced business reporter with a broad range of experience. In addition to covering aviation at The Times, he had a weekly column that highlighted commercial real estate transactions in New York City, and covered all kinds of stories as a general assignment business reporter.
In the media
The key to getting the best deal on a mortgage is shopping around with multiple lenders. If you don't, you could wind up paying thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
— Zach Wichter
Zach's Picks
Zach's Latest Articles
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Today’s refinance rates drops : October 19, 2021
The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 3.16 percent, down 1 basis point over the last seven days. The average for a 15-year refi is currently running at 2.44 percent, up 3 basis point from a week [...]
5 min read Oct 19, 2021
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10 first-time homebuyer loans and programs
Assistance for new buyers can make homeownership more affordable and accessible.
10 min read Oct 19, 2021
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Mortgage and real estate news this week: Exiting forbearance, all-cash workaround, rate alert
More ways to make an all-cash offer without the cash, and the end of forbearance for many.
1 min read Oct 16, 2021
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Is now a good time to sell your home?
The current housing market still strongly favors sellers. Here’s what to consider if you’re weighing a sale.
3 min read Oct 15, 2021
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Today’s refi rates move higher – October 15, 2021
The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 3.17 percent, up 4 basis points over the last seven days. The 15-year fixed refi average rate is now 2.41 percent, up 2 basis points since the same time last [...]
5 min read Oct 15, 2021
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Today’s mortgage & refinance rates, October 15, 2021 | Rates rise
It is currently a favorable time to get a mortgage: the average rate for the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage is 3.20, the average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage is 2.43 percent, and the average rate [...]
3 min read Oct 15, 2021
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Today’s mortgage refinance rates trend higher : October 14, 2021
The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 3.17 percent, up 5 basis points over the last week. The 15-year fixed refi average rate is now 2.41 percent, up 3 basis points from a week ago. The average rate [...]
5 min read Oct 14, 2021
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Today’s refi rates rise | October 13, 2021
The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 3.17 percent, up 9 basis points compared with a week ago. The 15-year fixed refi average rate is now 2.41 percent, up 5 basis points since the same time last [...]
5 min read Oct 13, 2021