There's enough blame to go around in this housing crisis. Q: Politics aside, if that's possible, to what do you attribute the decline in real estate values? During Carter's administration a law was enacted whereby lenders were required to lend without documentation and, during Clinton's administration, Congress put teeth in it by suing and fining [...]
Home price may be biggest issue when selling a home in the current real estate market. Q: I have a problem. My property was appraised about five years ago for 50 percent more than what it’s worth now, according to the local assessor’s value. I’ve listed the home for sale significantly below that number over [...]
FHA streamline refinancing may not be as easy as may have higher costs than anticipated. Q: I read your recent Real Estate Matters column regarding FHA streamline refinancing. There is one glaring mistake. You wrote "If you have 25 years left to repay your loan, you'll still have 25 years - you'll just pay interest [...]
Real estate mortgage outlook in the news does not appear so good even with HARP 2.0 coming online. According to a recent study by Fiserv, the typical mortgage costs 40 percent less than it did in 2006. That just about mirrors the drop in home prices over the same period. But there’s more going to [...]
Broker problem is created when renting a condominium without a listing agreement or other written document that controls the relationship between the owner and the agent. Q: I am trying to rent my condo. I posted a listing on Craigslist. A company contacted me and asked if they could bring by potential tenants and I [...]
Home buying has risks even when buying a condominium with a homeowners association. Q: I'm in the process of purchasing a condominium and there's a wooden deck near the porch with drainage under it. The Homeowners Association (HOA) says that the wooden deck is the responsibility of the owner while the drainage is the HOA's [...]
“Buy low and sell high” goes the old adage. Home prices and mortgage interest rates may never be this low again, so why aren’t more people thinking about buying a home? Ask the professionals who are supposed to know the answer and you’ll get someone else to blame. Realtors fault lenders for making it too [...]
You always hope that there are no injuries in the event of a car accident. In addition, there are always a lot of emotions that can exacerbate the situation. So what happens if you’re a victim in a hit-and-run car accident? It could be absolutely debilitating—physically and emotionally. The first thing to do after any [...]
When you invest your money into retirement savings you should make every effort possible to not touch your funds until retirement age. IRAs and similar accounts typically come with penalty fees if you withdraw funds before age 59½. Of course, life can throw unexpected curve balls your way. If you find yourself with mounting medical [...]
One of the editors in our office recently bought her first condo, and while I enjoyed walking her through the process of buying a home, I had to give her some advice along the way. While she was excited to find the perfect place and was eager to move in and start decorating her new [...]
