The monthly cost of owning a median-priced U.S. home — mortgage, insurance, and property taxes combined — now runs about $3,200 in today's dollars, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. That's 46 percent higher than 2019 in real terms, and it exceeds what homeowners paid in 1990, when 30-year mortgage rates were...
Continue reading ›California Has 105 Cities Where Even the Cheapest Homes Cost $1 Million. If You Co-Own One of Them, That Equity Isn't Yours Until You Can Actually Sell. Editor's note: This post draws on a June 2026 Zillow analysis reported by Axios showing that 242 U.S. cities now have million-dollar starter homes — California accounts...
Continue reading ›By Eli Underwood Record-high home prices have forced a shift in how buyers enter the real estate market. To afford a standard down payment, unmarried partners and platonic friends routinely pool their cash. The financial strategy works perfectly on paper. But signing a joint mortgage without the built-in asset protection of a legal marriage...
Continue reading ›Published in the California Real Property Journal, this article by California partition attorney Elijah Underwood explores California partition law reform, co-ownership disputes, appraisal rights, inherited property conflicts, partition sales, mortgage contribution issues, and proposed legislative updates affecting real estate owners and attorneys. Read the California Real Property Journal Article
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We were in need of a real estate attorney. Eli Underwood provided excellent legal advice and services. He explained everything well and followed through with all important issues that needed attention. We found him to be reliable, courteous, patient and extremely professional. We highly recommend...I.S.
- I own a real estate investment company that operates across multiple states (California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and more), whenever I run into an issue that needs legal attention, Eli is my first call. I've been working with him for years. He is an amazing attorney and I highly recommend him."...
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