What is an escalation clause, and can it help you win a bidding war?
An escalation clause automatically raises your offer if you get outbid, which has benefits and dangers.
4 min read
May 10, 2022
Zach Wichter
Former Mortgage reporter, Homes
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 former 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 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 latest articles
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Appraisal bias and digital redlining: No one-step solution
If steps aren’t taken, existing biases could be further perpetuated by technology.
3 min read May 09, 2022 -
Where in the U.S. do homes sell the fastest? Top cities with fewest days on market
As properties fly off the market at lightning speed, buyers must be ready to compete.
3 min read Apr 29, 2022 -
Higher mortgage rates aren’t stalling home prices — here’s why
Home prices keep going up even as mortgage rates rise.
4 min read Apr 12, 2022 -
How the pandemic has changed new-home design
The design of new-construction homes has shifted as homeowners reprioritized their living space needs during the pandemic era.
3 min read Apr 08, 2022 -
5 signs your swimming pool needs remodeling
Address these pool problems now, not just for your pleasure but to maintain your pool’s value.
5 min read Apr 01, 2022 -
How to avoid panic buying in an ultra-competitive housing market
The competition for so few homes is leading some buyers to throw caution to the wind.
4 min read Mar 14, 2022 -
The expensive, inventory-starved housing market in 5 charts
The housing market has defied all predictions. Here’s what the data reveals.
1 min read Mar 10, 2022