Having a run-in with the law is one of the quickest ways to disqualify yourself from homeownership.

According to research from a Rice University sociologist, getting arrested just once can keep aspiring owners from buying a house as quickly as their peers.

Using data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, assistant professor Brielle Bryan found that millennials who had any form of contact with the criminal justice system were less likely to own a home as quickly, and for as long, as their peers who had no criminal justice contact. That held true regardless of race, education and socioeconomic status.

"It was surprising the see that even low-level contact with the criminal justice system appears to be detrimental to homeownership prospects," she said in a recent edition of Cityscape, a Department of Housing and Urban Development publication.

The nation's 10 largest builders closed on 207,700 houses in 2019, according to Builder, a trade publication. That's nearly a third (30.4%) of the total new-home settlements that year -- and a far cry from 1989, when the national behemoths claimed just an 8.7% share.

D.H. Horton led the list, as it has since 2002, with 58,400 closed contracts -- an 8.6% share of all new-home settlements. Lennar was the second largest, with a 7.5% share.

Moving back home is probably the last thing young adults want to do. But it has its benefits.

Mom may not do your laundry, Dad may ask where you're going whenever you leave the house, and you might have to live under your parents' rules. At the same time, though, you could accumulate enough cash for a down payment on a house of your own -- and leave the nest for good.

It all hinges on whether your folks charge you rent. If they don't, and if you bank what you would have been paying for a one-bedroom apartment, according to an analysis from realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale, you could have enough for a 5% down payment on a typical house in less than a year. Based on the national median rent for a one-bedroom unit ($1,533 a month) and the national median house price ($327,000), it would take just 11 months to save enough for 5% down (just shy of $17,000).

Of course, it will take longer in places where prices are higher. Across the 20 largest metros, it would take an average of 15 months to accumulate a 5% down payment, based on home prices and rent savings in each market. The 11-month scenario holds up in Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Louis, but it could take twice as long -- up to 22 months -- in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.

It's important for homeowners to keep and maintain accurate financial records for insurance and tax purposes. But if they are lost in a fire, flood or other disaster, it's difficult to prove -- or even estimate -- your losses in order to qualify for loans, grants or other kinds of assistance.

Here are a few steps to take to reconstruct your records:

-- Free transcripts of your federal income tax returns are available at IRS.gov/individuals/get-transcript, or by following the prompts at 800-908-9946.

-- Bank and credit card companies can provide copies of past statements, either online or on paper.

-- Contact the company that handled the closing on your house to obtain a copy of your settlement papers. Ask the appraiser for a copy of his or her report, too.

-- If you've made any improvements to your house, ask the contractor to verify the work and cost. Or ask anyone who's seen the house before and after to provide a written description.

-- Check with your county tax assessor's office for records. Even old, out-of-date files can help.

With a new federal risk-rating system set to begin in October, now might be the time to review your flood insurance coverage. Especially in the states where the cost for National Flood Insurance Program coverage will increase.

A new analysis from ValuePenguin says some 3.8 million homeowners will see their premiums rise under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's new ratings.

FEMA's rate changes promise to correct the problem of policyholders paying rates that don't reflect their true risk levels, says ValuePenguin's Andrew Hurst. But rate increases will be moderate. Existing limits on annual rate hikes are still in effect, so most won't exceed 18%.

The largest proportions of homeowners who will see increases are in Hawaii (87%), Texas (86%), Mississippi (84%), West Virginia (83%), Florida (80%) and Louisiana (80%).

Overall, about 193,000 homeowners will be hit by the highest premium hikes. And about 1.2 million owners will benefit from lower premiums.

You wouldn't know it from the way would-be buyers are fighting over every house that comes on the market, but according to a Bankrate.com survey, millions of people have put off their home searches.

Some said they'll hold off until next year before restarting the hunt. But a significant portion said they're finished with the process indefinitely.

Anyone hoping builders will be putting up enough houses to alleviate the shortage on the market may just as well wish to see the tooth fairy. According to one longtime industry observer, it ain't gonna happen -- at least, "not anytime soon."

The number of actively selling subdivisions is off 30% since 2019, reports Tim Sullivan of Zonda, a marketing and analytical firm that monitors 18,000 active communities throughout the country. And the number of buildable, developed lots is slowly diminishing.

"We're not doing a good job" replacing what is being sold, Sullivan said in a recent Zoom presentation for his clients. "We don't have enough product."

At a time when builders should be rejoicing because they're selling everything they can put up, they are lamenting the fact that they can't put it up fast enough to satisfy the insatiable demand driven by near record-low mortgage rates, the desire for more functional space and the lack of existing houses for sale.

At a new community in a remote suburb of Dallas, for example, a builder recently used a lottery system for a chance to buy one of only 30 houses. Buyers had to be present and approved by the builder-owned mortgage company to win a spot.

When Nav Singh, an agent with HomesUSA, arrived with his client more than an hour before the drawing, about 70 people were already in line. By the time the drawing began, the line had nearly doubled. It was "the craziest thing I have ever seen," he says.

Builders are beset by all kinds of stumbling blocks these days, not just too many buyers. Here's a recap of Sullivan's look at some of them:

-- The Three L's. "Location, location, location" used to be the most important words in housing. But it hardly matters these days in the new-home market. Zonda research shows that 70% of the bestselling communities are 30 miles or more from central business districts.

In Houston, for example, properties within 10 miles of downtown are notching 1.1 sales per month, while those 30-35 miles out are grabbing 4.3 deals monthly.

Nowadays, the three L's stand for lumber, lumber, lumber. Sullivan said he's heard that the cost of complete framing pods is up 150% year-over-year. And the National Association of Home Builders reports that prices have tripled over the last 12 months, adding tens of thousands to the cost of a typical house.

The primary reason: insufficient production due to stay-at-home orders. In many cases, mills have yet to ramp back up to full capacity. Another factor: import duties placed on Canadian lumber during the Trump administration. At current prices, builders are paying about $48,000 for the softwood lumber in an average single-family home.

-- Availability. Prices are up for almost all building products -- gypsum and ready-mix concrete, in particular -- if you can find them. Eighty-six percent of builders told Zonda they are experiencing supply disruptions resulting in significant construction delays. Among the components that are tough to obtain are interior doors, appliances, windows, shingles and cabinets.

-- Higher prices. Zonda research shows 97% of builders have raised prices, half of those by $10,000 or more. But, said the company's chief economist, Ali Wolf, "There's virtually no sticker shock."

Even as builders restrict supply, prices continue to march higher. One reason: The market is supported in large measure by out-of-towners moving from places where housing prices are out of this world. For example, a 2,500-square-foot house that costs $1.16 million in San Francisco or $1.14 million in Los Angeles runs a mere $450,000 in Austin, Texas.

Because many people can work from home and believe they will continue to be able to do so, they are taking their profits and moving to less expensive places. And that's why locals are buying farther and farther out, where the prices are lower.

-- Land. "Builders are paying stupid land prices," Sullivan told his clients, but they almost have to if they want to remain in business. Why? Because the supply of home sites is dwindling rapidly.

Zonda says roadwork has commenced on just 165,000 lots nationwide. Considering that some 500,000 new homes are sold annually, that's not a lot (pun intended).

About a third of builders polled said they expect this will be an issue next year, as well. Said Sullivan: "The under-supply isn't going to go away."

-- Labor. Experienced carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other tradespeople are in short supply. But only 49% of builders said that's a big deal right now, probably because they're beset by other, more pressing problems and because they're not erecting houses as fast as they'd like.

-- Slowing down. To protect against getting too far ahead of themselves, a majority of builders are taking only a specific number of contracts per month. While 9% said it's still business as usual, 17% said they are accepting offers only as new lots become available, and 13% said they are pausing sales or reservations.

At the same time, cancellations are no longer a bugaboo to builders. They're still a four-letter word, but now that word is "good," because it allows builders to re-price to reflect their increased costs.

-- Appraisals. While today's homebuyers are among the most qualified ever -- "They have to be the cream of the crop," said economist Wolf -- 50% of builders complain they are being stymied by valuations that don't jibe with rising prices.

In one North Carolina case, the valuation of a new build that reflected current pricing came in $10,000 lower because the appraiser based the valuation on the same model that sold just three months earlier. Now that builder refuses to quote prices until all the costs are verified.

The number of new listings coming to market has been increasing for the last few weeks, signaling a possible break in the inventory logjam that has driven up prices and forced would-be buyers to up the ante.

Not everyone will be as lucky as the seller of a modest house outside of Washington, D.C., which recently drew 88 offers -- 76 of them cash -- even though it looked like it needed a lot of work. It was listed for $275,000, but sold for $460,000.

"I had no idea how the floodgates would open," says agent Ellen Coleman of RE/MAX. "I knew we would receive multiple offers above list, but nowhere near this."

More and more sellers are hoping for a similar windfall. That's why they're listing now, before the seller's market runs out of steam, as it eventually will. But it's not always as simple as sitting back and waiting for the horde of buyers to arrive with all the money they can muster.

For starters, every would-be seller has to ask themselves where they are going to live when the house is sold. If you plan to buy another house, you become, at least temporarily, just one more member of the pack of scrambling buyers.

"The very thing that makes it a good time to sell makes it a tough time to buy," says NerdWallet's housing guru, Holden Lewis.

Even though new listings jumped 40% for the week ending April 10, the number of active listings are still 53% lower than a year ago, according to Realtor.com. Consequently, competition is fierce.

Redfin says 64% of the offers its agents wrote for buyers faced competition in March. As a result, not only are 45% of houses selling above their listing prices, a record high, they are selling in just 21 days, a record low. Nearly 60% went under contract within two weeks -- also a record.

Still, sellers can't just sit back and expect the offers to come pouring in.

"Some people think all you have to do is stick a sign in the yard," says Elizabeth Weintraub of Weintraub and Wallace in Sacramento, California. "It might be easier to sell in a seller's market, but it takes a lot more than a sign."

First, clean your place from top to bottom, and take care of those long-postponed projects. You may not need to make any expensive presale renovations, but the leaky faucets and sticky windows you've ignored could turn off buyers.

"My advice is always clean, clean and do more cleaning," says Joan Cox of House to Home in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

You also might want to obtain a home inspection, for two reasons: One, it will alert you ahead of time to any issues that a buyer's home inspector is likely to discover. And two, your report could give buyers some assurance that the place is in decent shape, should they decide to waive their right to their own inspection.

Next, get all the necessary papers in order. Beside the inspection report, you might need your homeowners association documents and any other disclosures required in your state.

Now it's time to get your house ready for showing. If your place doesn't pass the "view" test, it may not sell as quickly or for as high a price, says Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com: "Buyers are still pretty choosy."

Here, you might want to consider hiring a professional home stager to make your house as presentable as possible to the largest share of buyers. Agents generally concur that staging makes it easier for buyers to see a property as their own. Moreover, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors, staging increased what buyers were willing to spend. Agents on both sides of deals said offers on staged houses tended to be between 1% and 5% higher compared to similar places that haven't been staged. Staging also tends to decrease the amount of time a house is on the market.

If you don't want to foot the bill for a stager, than at least declutter. Put away those distracting family photos; clear off your kitchen and bathroom counters so those rooms look, well, more roomy. Get rid of all the ancient clothing hanging in your closets so they appear larger. Dump any excess furniture, and do whatever else is needed to make the house inviting.

Finally, set a reasonable price. Since housing prices are marching higher almost every day, some sellers think they can price above market -- way above market, in some cases -- and wait for buyers to knock down their doors offering even more. But you can get more with honey than vinegar.

In other words, it's better to price your house just below market. That way, you should attract more attention and create more competition -- which is what leads to more showings and more offers at higher and higher prices.

Only after you do all this can you sit back and wait for the bids to come rolling in.