Latest news with #Roam
Finextra
29-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Sumsub and Solana debut on-chain identity attestations
Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification platform, showcased its first public integration of Sumsub ID at Solana Accelerate in New York. 0 The demonstration highlighted how users can issue on-chain credentials, such as attestations, via the new Solana Attestation Service (SAS), a built-in protocol from Layer 1 blockchain Solana, based on their Sumsub ID profile. Sumsub ID - part of the company's Reusable Digital Identity product suite, launched in March 2025 - enables end-users to securely store and reuse their pre-verified documents for multiple verifications across Sumsub client platforms - simplifying compliance and improving user experience. The on-chain attestations allow users to carry a publicly verifiable proof of identity verification, tied to their self-hosted wallet, with Sumsub serving as the trusted party performing the verification and issuing the credential. The live demo featured a simulated use case with Roam, an e-SIM provider. A user looking to activate a virtual SIM first completed pre-verification through Sumsub, created a Sumsub ID profile and then connected their Solana self-hosted wallet. Once verified, an attestation was issued and tied to this wallet. When that user applied for a new e-SIM from Roam, they identified themselves with the same Solana unhosted Wallet. Finally, Roam was able to read the associated on-chain attestation and confirm that the user had been pre-verified, enabling them to proceed. This integration exemplifies the increasingly clear use case of reusable digital identity credentials, particularly in Web3. The underlying flow showcased in the demo is applicable across a wider range of scenarios, beyond eSIM activation. With Sumsub ID, verified credentials - including future formats like Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Proofs - can be reused across platforms and ecosystems, simplifying verification for both users and businesses. 'This integration with Solana's Attestation Service marks a key first stepping stone in the evolution of Sumsub's reusable digital identity offering. This is not just a step forward in simplifying identity verification and compliance processes - it's about unlocking a seamless experience for users while helping businesses scale securely across Web3 ecosystems,' commented Ilya Brovin, Chief Growth Officer at Sumsub. 'By eliminating unnecessary friction and offering a fast, secure way to validate credentials, we're not only reducing friction for Web3 users but also empowering organizations to combat fraud and maintain high standards of security.' Web3 users, when trying to use multiple financial and other on-chain services, are faced with the need to pass verification repeatedly. Alternatively, they are able to use of digitally-native, on-chain credentials which can be programmatically verified by other parties. Sumsub ID allows individuals to pre-verify once and reuse their identity data across multiple services. It can reduce onboarding time by up to 50% and boost conversion rates by 30%, offering businesses a more efficient route to compliance while improving user experience.
Malaysiakini
18-05-2025
- Health
- Malaysiakini
Tears of joy and triumph for ovarian cancer survivors
The launch of the Ovarian Cancer Society Malaysia (OCSM) and its revolutionary Returning Ovarian Cancer Survivors to Activities of Daily Living through Movement (Roam) in Petaling Jaya yesterday wasn't just an event. It was a powerful testament to resilience and hope, and an emotional embrace of life after cancer. Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh...
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Postpartum and Still Running—Here's Why I Chose the Guava Roam Jogging Stroller
PureWow editors select every item that appears on this page, and some items may be gifted to us. Additionally, PureWow may earn compensation through affiliate links within the story. All prices are accurate upon date of publish. You can learn more about the affiliate process here. You can learn more about that process here. Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Read the original article on Purewow. Value: 16/20 Functionality: 20/20 Ease of Use: 19/20 Aesthetics: 20/20 Reliability: 19/20 Total: 94 Before I was a mom, I was a runner who ran everywhere, putting miles in for marathons, half marathons, and as part of my daily commute. I ran until I was 33 weeks pregnant (until I felt like my insides might fall out of my body), and was itching to get back to hitting the pavement postpartum. While I'd love to go for runs on my own, soaking up a little me time, is not always possible with a little one at home. For months, I borrowed neighbors' and friends' running strollers, testing out at least five different makes and models, and was left feeling like perhaps it was me—hi, I'm the problem, it's me. For a petite runner, a mere 5 '1'' tall, most strollers seemed to be too big and clunky. It felt like I was the Goldilocks, looking for her perfect bowl of porridge. But here's why finding the right jogging stroller is important to me. Yes, adding a stroller (plus a growing child) means upping the overall difficulty to a run. All those parents pushing tots on their runs make it look easy. It's not. I had never understood that running with a stroller is a full-body workout. But, interestingly enough, running with a stroller postpartum is actually better than just plain running for those with pelvic floor troubles, as the stroller distributes the shock across your body, not just your legs (thank you, pelvic floor therapy!!). All this to say, I love running, and I love the idea of full-body workout that benefits my postpartum body. Good thing I think I found the running stroller that was juuuuust right. Here's my honest review of the Guava Roam Jogging Stroller. Want to know which buzzy products are *really* worth buying? Sign up for our shopping newsletter to uncover our favorite finds. A snapshot of how cozy it is to be a baby who get to run with me in my Guava Roam. Original photo: Micah Siva Guava My first impression of the Roam was that it was very compact when folded, folding 50 percent smaller than the average running stroller. Despite being compact, it was still roomy and sturdy enough for my little one, making it feel more like a hybrid between a running and travel stroller. At 28.5 lb, this stroller is on the heavier side compared to some of the strollers I've tried, but felt much sturdier than I expected. Its aluminum frame was light enough to maneuver, but hefty enough to feel stable on bumpy sidewalks, through puddles and mud thanks to a robust shock absorption system. The weight made it a challenge when running uphill, but with the wrist strap on, and sheer determination, I was able to make it up that hill, telling myself that I can now expect a full body workout while running. Steering this stroller was a dream, smoothly navigating on my run, and enough shock absorption that I knew my one-year-old was comfortable. I loved that I could easily lock the front wheel in place, or give it more freedom to transition between walking and running - this feature also made it a breeze to navigate uneven terrains. Many of the stroller's features are controlled via the handlebar, which made switching features mid-run simple and intuitive. On the subject of handlebars, they are adjustable from 34' to 45', meaning my tall husband (6'1) can use this stroller comfortably as well. One thing that I hated about some of the running strollers I'd tried in the past, was that it always felt like the tires were leaking, and I'd be filling them up before every run - with the airless tires on the Roam, I didn't need to worry about popping a tire on a sharp rock or shard of glass, meaning I can head out the door without worry. The wheels also move independently which help to mitigate bumps on the road for a smooth ride. When it comes to storage, the Roam has it all. The underseat basket is big enough for a medium sized diaper bag and a change of clothes, but the basket is only one of many storage features with a mesh pocket on the back of the seat, as well as internal pockets for snacks and toys. If you need more, you can purchase additional storage options through their website. My son loved the wide seat and easy to fasten (and unclip) harness, as well as a substantial recline for when he inevitably falls asleep mid-stroll. Because of its small footprint and smooth ride, it has become a running and travel stroller when I know we'll be navigating uneven terrain from cobblestones to trails. I also appreciate this stroller on winter walks, I find it easier to push through snow with an unlocked front wheel. Although it has many features, one it doesn't have is a handlebar brake. Handlebar brakes can help control the speed of the stroller when running downhill, and it's an important safety feature you may want in your running stroller. The sun shade has a great peek-a-boo window, but the magnetic closure often flew open on a windy day, which made it a little frustrating. I also wish the sun shade extended further down in case I ran during nap time. The Guava Roam Stroller is a great stroller for everyday use and running, its sturdy frame and compact folding mechanism make it a great choice for parents on the go. Buy It ($750; $650 at Guava) The Best Car Seat Stroller Combo Systems to Make Traveling with Your Baby a Total Breeze PureWow's editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series (where we rank items on a 100-point scale) to our painstakingly curated lists of fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family picks, you can trust that our recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for function, aesthetics and innovation. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women's walking shoes that won't hurt your feet, we've got you covered.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The B-52s' Kate Pierson talks Rock Hall snub, influencing John Lennon, and fears a solo album would be a ‘betrayal' to her band
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Thirty-five years ago, Athens eccentrics the B-52s experienced one of the greatest, if most bittersweet, against-all-odds comebacks in pop music history. After the 1985 death of guitarist Ricky Wilson, they'd done little promotion for their fourth album, Bouncing Off the Satellites, which was recorded while Wilson was secretly battling AIDS and released just 11 months after he tragically succumbed to that disease at age 32. The future of the B-52s at that point seemed in doubt, but then surviving members Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, and Cindy Wilson (Ricky's sister) regrouped. The result was 1989's Cosmic Thing, a surprise mainstream smash that catapulted the band to MTV superstardom, thanks to effervescent partystarters like 'Love Shack' (the video for which starred a young, unknown Atlanta punk singer named RuPaul) and 'Roam.' Only drummer and composer Strickland — who would later take over guitar duties for the band, teaching himself Ricky's distinctive, three-string, spy-movie-sonics style — was aware of Ricky's illness at the time, because Ricky 'was shy and very private, and he didn't want people to fuss over him,' Pierson, who recently released her second solo album, the many-years-in-the-making Radios and Rainbows, tells Gold Derby. 'It was during a very early part of the AIDS pandemic epidemic, and nobody really knew there about the 'gay virus,' and Rock Hudson had passed away, so there was stigma attached to it. It was just so weird, because nobody knew what was happening and it was so sudden. … We'd rehearsed just a few days before and then we were supposed to rehearse and he was getting thin, but we were in denial.' More from GoldDerby Kate Pierson today. (Photo: Josef Jasso; art direction: John Stapleton) - Credit: Photo: Josef Jasso; art direction: John Stapleton Photo: Josef Jasso; art direction: John Stapleton While Pierson jokes that she's 'the only person in the band that never said, 'I'm quitting,'' she does recall, 'It did seem like that might be the end' after Ricky was gone, and the band 'spent a year just grieving — just disorientation and grief.' But then Strickland played his bandmates some of the new music he'd been working on, 'and we got inspired. And we also realized what a precious thing we had with each other. 'The only thing we said, was, 'We're not doing this for commercial [success]. We're not trying to be a hit. We're just doing this for ourselves and for our fans and to heal.' And what happened was pretty amazing,' Pierson continues, smiling as she recalls the band's decision to carry on. 'A lot of the [Cosmic Thing] songs hearkened back to that time when we were in Athens and that time of innocence with Ricky, and I think that's one of the reasons it was a success, because he inspired it in a lot of ways. I feel like there were a lot of times when I think we felt like he was there in the room. I think he would've been very happy about our success.' It was around the time of Cosmic Thing's breakthrough that Pierson became an in-demand duet partner, joining Iggy Pop on the only top 40 hit of his career, 'Candy' (which Pierson says 'everyone advised' her not to do), and fellow Athenian college-rock royalty R.E.M. on their top 10 single 'Shiny Happy People.' But despite those one-off successes, and the fact that Pierson had been writing songs on her own since she was a teenager, she refrained from doing a full solo album out of loyalty to her bandmates. Even after a 1999 stint in a multinational supergroup called NiNa (featuring members of Japanese punk band the Plastics and legendary art-rock bassist Mick Karn) 'opened up a new vista' for Pierson creatively, she still didn't release her first solo LP, Guitars and Microphones, until 2015. 'Somehow when I was with the B-52s, I felt like, 'Oh, I can't write anything without the band.' I guess that is one little regret I have. Why didn't I just at that point — sort of after Cosmic Thing, when we did [1992's] Good Stuff and Cindy left — why didn't I just go off?' muses Pierson. She's referring to a time when Cindy took a four-year hiatus from the group; Schneider 'caused some disruption' when he released his 1996 album, Just Fred; and Pierson had stockpiled enough songs for her own solo album, but the B-52s' manager 'put the kibosh' on her project. 'I guess it's because there's the pull of the mothership,' she explains. 'Our band is a very family dynamic. … It's such a collective experience. So, it did feel — and this was in my own head — that [going solo] was sort of a 'betrayal.' … But now I don't regret it, because I'm so grateful and it's been such a great experience and we still love each other. We're still like a family. We still hang out. And losing that would have been really tragic. I really valued my relationship with the band. 'And then I realized: I could do both!' Pierson has a bit more time to focus on her solo career now that the B-52s have supposedly retired from touring (even though they still have a residency in Las Vegas and Pierson jokes that their farewell tour was more of a 'Cher-well' tour, since they actually have some 2025 dates on the books with fellow trailblazing new wave oddballs Devo). And so, 10 years after her solo debut, she has finally released Radios and Rainbows, which runs the gamut from the most personal songs she's ever written, 'Beauty of It All' and 'Higher Place (inspired by her wife of 10 years, artist Monica Coleman); to spooky tunes like the Sia collaboration 'Every Day Is Halloween' and the Bleu-cowritten revenge fantasy 'Evil Love'; to 'Take Me Back to the Party' and 'Wings,' both homages to vintage B-52s party jams like 'Planet Claire.' And then there's the title track, an antiwar anthem that hearkens back to when Pierson, a self-described 'child of the '60s' and Rachel-Maddow-viewing 'political junkie,' was a teenage 'protest hippie chick' playing in her high school folk band, the Sun Donuts. 'Radios and Rainbows' was partially inspired by Patti Smith's 'People Have the Power,' but it also references John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who happened to be big B-52s fans. Lennon was famously inspired to make music again, after his five-year hiatus, by the B-52s' signature sci-fi/surf-rock classic. ' 'We were always big fans of Yoko Ono… and 'Rock Lobster,' at the end… when we do some of the fish sounds, that's directly inspired by Yoko Ono,' says Pierson. 'And when John Lennon heard that … apparently he was in the club and heard 'Rock Lobster' and he thought, 'We're back, Yoko! Our sound is back!' He loved 'Rock Lobster.'' While Pierson never got to meet Lennon (who was murdered in 1980, just one month after the release of the partially 'Rock Lobster'-inspired Double Fantasy), she did form a longstanding bond with Ono. Ono sang with the B-52s at their 25th anniversary show and 'let it rip,' and Pierson and Schneider performed at Ono's 70th birthday celebration. Pierson even interviewed Ono once for Rolling Stone. The B-52s will soon be the subject of a highly anticipated documentary executive-produced by super-fan Fred Armisen, who actually appeared on Pierson's Guitars and Microphones album. (Pierson reveals that they were also approached by The Skeleton Twins filmmaker Craig Johnson about the prospect of a B-52s biopic, which excited her — 'I was like, 'Sounds great! Who's gonna play me?' — but not everyone in the band was as enthusiastic.) Considering their far-reaching influence, it's not surprising that the B-52s' harrowing story is being adapted to the big screen in some way. It is surprising, however, that they have never even been nominated, let alone inducted, by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Another famous B-52s fan, Dave Grohl, has 'really been pushing to have us inducted,' Pierson reveals, but it hasn't happened yet. 'Most musicians say, 'I don't care.' Fred always says, 'I don't care!'… It would be nice to be recognized,' says Pierson regarding the Rock Hall snub. 'I'm against the whole idea of it in some ways. It's not a race. It's not a contest. … But yes, it would be nice. I wouldn't say no if they invited us into it. But it's not a big deal. We are who we are, anyway.' Best of GoldDerby Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The backdoor way to get a dirt-cheap mortgage rate on your next home
Anthony Volpe was late to the party, and he knew it. It was summer 2024, and Volpe, a semiretired pharmacist and college professor, was looking to buy a house near Orlando. Home prices had skyrocketed during the pandemic, but the frenzy had come with a silver lining: a steep drop in mortgage rates. These rock-bottom rates, which hit their lowest point at an average of 2.7% in early 2021, meant buyers could afford pricier places while keeping their monthly payments in check. By the time Volpe embarked on his search, though, that window of opportunity had long since closed. The typical mortgage rate had more than doubled to around 6.5%, adding hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to the monthly bill for new borrowers. And home prices in many parts of the country were still climbing, delivering a one-two punch to buyers. Despite missing the mid-pandemic bonanza, Volpe still found a way to get his hands on a super-low mortgage rate. Months before his home search, he'd seen a TV feature about a company called Roam, which promised to help buyers secure one of those bygone rates. In most home sales, the seller uses the proceeds from the deal to pay off their mortgage, while the buyer secures a brand-new loan at the going rate. Some homeowners, though, have loans that can be passed along to the next owner: same rate, same monthly payment. These so-called "assumable mortgages" faded into obscurity over the past few decades as mortgage rates drifted downward — nobody wants to take on an old loan when they can get a new one for cheaper. But the rate spike over the past few years has spurred renewed interest in these little-used deals and spawned companies like Roam that help grease the wheels of the transaction. There are millions of assumable mortgages floating around the country, yet many homeowners may not even realize they're sitting on one. Transferring the loan comes with a bevy of challenges, and real estate agents are often unfamiliar with how to pull it off. But assumables, when done right, offer a rare win-win in real estate. Home sellers with assumable mortgages can use the allure of a low rate to draw more buyers and score a higher price. Buyers, on the other hand, may stomach that slightly higher sticker price if it comes with decades of more manageable monthly payments. Embracing assumables could also benefit America's housing market on a broad scale. The mortgage-rate shock plunged the US into a Housing Ice Age, keeping both sellers and would-be buyers stuck. Assumable mortgages could help thaw things out. Through the Roam website, Volpe found a three-bedroom home in the Orlando suburb of Davenport, where he hopes to gather his children and grandchildren. He put down 33% of the $268,000 purchase price in cash and covered the rest by agreeing to take on the seller's 2.75% mortgage rate. Volpe estimates he's saving about $500 a month compared with the typical mortgage these days. "It's giving us more breathing room," Volpe tells me. The first two years of the pandemic saw a rush of Americans scrambling to lock in low mortgage rates, either by snapping up a new home or refinancing their existing mortgage. Roughly three years after rates jumped, many are still reaping those benefits: About 72% of mortgage holders have a rate less than 5%. Even more stunning, almost 21% of homeowners with a mortgage have a rate of less than 3%. While the lucky cohort of borrowers basks in their low interest payments, the ensuing years have revealed a hidden cost of those golden loan terms: a gummed-up housing market. Homeowners don't want to move and forfeit their sweet monthly payments, making it hard for buyers trying to upgrade and renters who simply can't afford to make a purchase. A recent study from the National Association of Homebuilders found that nearly 60% of households can't afford a $300,000 home given their incomes and the cost of borrowing. In the eyes of Raunaq Singh, the founder and CEO of Roam, the solution to this so-called "lock-in effect" has been right there the whole time: "We should just take the mortgages that already exist at an average rate of 2% or 3% and transfer them," Singh tells me. "You don't need to, like, wave a wand and try to fire Jerome Powell or all these crazy things. You can just literally transfer the mortgage from the seller to the buyer." This is the tantalizing promise of assumable mortgages, which offer a time machine back to the halcyon days of cheap money. Mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration — a popular option among first-time buyers because of lower down-payment requirements — are automatically assumable, as are those backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Agriculture. At least 12.5 million mortgages nationwide can be passed from seller to buyer, or nearly a quarter of outstanding home loans, data from ICE Mortgage Technology, a real estate software company, shows. Roughly 6.8 million of those loans are assumable at a rate of 4% or below, and 4.8 million at a rate of 3.5% or less. Here's how it works: Before even considering an assumption, a buyer has to make sure they qualify for the type of loan they want to take on (one exception: you don't have to be a veteran to assume a VA loan). The seller has to be onboard, too. The deal is processed by the loan's servicer — the bank, credit union, or specialized company that collects the payments each month. These servicers are legally required to process assumptions for buyers who meet the government's criteria for the loan. The buyer will then have to cover the difference between the agreed-upon sale price and the remaining mortgage balance — if a house trades for $500,000 but there's only $420,000 left on the loan, the buyer has to pick up that $80,000 in equity. They can do that with cash, if they have a lot of it, or with a second mortgage at a higher rate. Even with that more expensive loan, the "blended" rate of the two loans may still be advantageous. When the deal closes, the seller walks away from the loan, and the buyer is now solely responsible for the monthly payments and all the terms that come with it. Roam offers to hold a buyer's hand through the process, first by helping them find an assumable loan on the company's website — think Zillow, but with obscenely low mortgage rates advertised alongside glossy photos of home exteriors — and then by holding the servicer's feet to the fire to make sure the deal gets done on time. The deal is obviously a win for buyers, but it can also be a boon for people selling their homes. Sure, they may have to take on a higher mortgage rate on their next purchase, but they can use their assumable mortgage to lure more buyers and sell for a higher price. And who's to say they can't turn around and find another assumable? Most sellers end up buying another home, yet many are staying put right now because the trade-offs that come with getting a new loan aren't worth it. If they could find a cheap mortgage to take over, they might be more willing to take the plunge and free up their old place for someone else. A recent study of data scraped from the Roam website by researchers at Australian National University and the University of Queensland found sellers with assumable mortgages tended to sell for $20,000 more than similar houses, a 5% bump. They also sold more quickly. The researchers concluded that assumable mortgages could counteract the "lock-in effect" that has reduced mobility and kept housing supply in a prolonged rut. "Instead of having home prices so high and mortgage rates so high, if you can unlock more inventory to come online, you can actually address a lot of the issues," Singh tells me. The last heyday for assumable mortgages was in the 1980s, when the typical mortgage rate peaked at nearly 20%. They're back in vogue again as buyers look for any way to ease the toll on their wallets and sellers try to stand out in a slumping housing market. The stories of regular homebuyers collected over the past year by my colleague Alcynna Lloyd make clear the benefits for both sides of the transaction. One couple saved as much as $40,000 in interest payments. In another instance, a seller finally offloaded a home that'd been languishing on the market by agreeing to pass along their loan. "The power of a lower interest rate is insane," says Louis Ortiz, the cofounder of another company that helps buyers around the country find homes with assumable mortgages. Ryan Carrillo, the other cofounder of joins our call from a home he bought last July using an assumable mortgage ("We eat our own dog food," he quips). "I was able to buy more house for the budget because it's a lower rate," Carrillo tells me. "It's good for buyer and seller. There's money to be made on both sides." The path to claiming an assumable mortgage isn't always smooth. Companies like Roam and Assumable may help you find a house, but that's merely the start of what can turn into a long and aggravating journey. Loan servicers are notorious for dragging their feet in processing mortgage assumptions — their fees on the deals are capped at $1,800, though in some cases, they make only a few hundred dollars. That may sound like a lot, but it's a pittance compared to the thousands of dollars they collect from originating a new loan. Real estate agents tell me stories of dealing with lenders who insist on corresponding via snail mail to process the request, or resorting to calling a bank president over the phone to get a deal moving. This slow-rolling means the timeline for an assumable closing can stretch well beyond the 30 to 45 days often seen in a typical transaction. Because assumable mortgages have been so rarely used over the past decades, some lenders may not even have teams with the expertise and capabilities to process assumptions. Rob Wittman, a real estate broker with Redfin in the Washington, DC, area who's done five assumptions in the past year, says the deals require "a certain type of person" willing to weather these headaches. "Why can I get a new mortgage from scratch in, like, 10 days, but old money takes months?" Wittman tells me. "I think it just kind of goes to, it's a manual process, and banks probably don't really want to do them anyway." Some people I talked to for this story said they'd favor new regulations that would allow lenders to charge more for processing assumptions as an incentive to get them out the door quicker and avoid scuttling deals — because sellers are often buying another house, they don't have extra time to wait around for the transaction to close. Others argued that servicers should just follow their legal obligations and get the thing done, profits be damned. The roadblocks are a big reason a company like Roam even exists: For a fee of 1% of the sale price, Roam helps get these deals to the finish line, educating lenders and servicers while staying in near-constant contact with them to make sure the paperwork keeps flowing. The company even offers to cover the seller's mortgage for two months if closing the deal takes longer than 45 days. In some sense, though, these are just growing pains that should be expected as an industry like real estate — not known for its speediness to change — gets acquainted with a once obscure process that now holds great promise. Singh tells me servicers are far easier to work with than they were even a year ago, and he predicts that will only continue as they get more familiar with the product. And there are plenty of reasons an assumable is worth it, even if there are headaches along the way. Set aside the low rates. With assumptions, buyers don't have to pay for lender's title insurance, get an appraisal, or shell out for a mortgage origination fee. A difference of a few weeks could save thousands of dollars in closing costs. The biggest issue, Singh tells me, is awareness. People just don't know about this stuff. A mention of an assumable mortgage may be buried in a listing description on Zillow, if it's even included at all. Agents are often unfamiliar with assumables and may steer their clients toward the comforts of a traditional deal. Buyers and sellers may not even think to check if it's an option. The gift of a low mortgage rate evaporates the second a home seller pays off their loan. Singh is trying to make sure that happens as little as possible. "We're so caught up right now in this part of the rate cycle where everybody's like, 'I can't move because my rate is too good,' 'I can't move because the rates are not good,' or whatever," Singh tells me. "That's how both sides are thinking. But I just think that shouldn't even be a conversation." James Rodriguez is a senior reporter on Business Insider's Discourse team. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
