A contract for deed is another option for underwater real estate investors when trying to sell their homes. Q: I recently read your article "Not a lot of help forthcoming to underwater investors." I want to add another option for that real estate investor to consider. Having been in the real estate business for about [...]
After the spend-spend-spend frenzy of December, you may be worn out. Shopping might seem like a chore rather than a pleasure. You may be yearning to do something more meaningful than add “stuff” to your home and wardrobe. And your wallet may be raising a white flag, too, begging you to let your credit cards [...]
Kaizen is a Japanese business term that has been popularized in the United States, and it basically means “continuous, small improvements.” I recently read an excellent book on this topic, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way and immediately realized that Kaizen could be a great way to tackle improving our money [...]
In the nearly 20 years that we’ve been writing this column, we’ve offered New Year’s Resolutions for home buyer and home sellers, plus New Year’s Financial Resolutions that everyone can use to start their year off right. This is the first year since 2007 that we’re starting with a brighter outlook for real estate. Home [...]
Looking around our neighborhood, I see fewer “for sale” signs this December than last year. In fact, several homes that were on the market for over a year have sold this autumn and are now closing. It still isn’t easy being a seller, but times are slowly getting better. Home values are starting to stabilize [...]
It is possible to refinance your mortgage at lower interest rates than HARP, but you might end up paying more in closing costs. Q: I keep hearing about these really low refinance opportunities but nobody seems to say which bank or mortgage broker is offering them. I have a 15-year fixed rate loan at 4.25 [...]
I'm off this week! Enjoy an encore presentation from the November 11, 2012 Ilyce Glink Show. Bill Nemeth and Merry Brodie join me to talk about the 2012 tax review and the fiscal cliff. And as usual, providing personal finance advice, real estate advice and consumer advice on the Ilyce Glink Show on December 30, [...]
To speed a closing with the bank before the end of 2012, you need to talk with your bank to decide what is faster: a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. Q: My daughter’s home has been unoccupied for the last six months or so and is listed as a short sale. [...]
Making home improvements can lower your capital gains tax, but that may change in 2013. Q: In 1975, my parents built a four bedroom house on Cape Cod and they put my name on the deed with theirs. My parents died quite some time ago, so I have had the house since then. For most [...]
