Posted November 18, 2009 - 06:00 by Julie Rains
Real Estate and Housing, Budgeting
I’m a mortgage-free homeowner but, despite paying off my loan, I still have plenty of expenses associated with owning and maintaining my house. Some have been easy to anticipate; others, not so obvious. Either way, the dollars add up. I’ll tell you about some costs to consider for budgeting purposes.
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Posted November 13, 2009 - 07:00 by Xin Lu
Real Estate and Housing
Currently millions of Americans are delinquent on their home loans or facing foreclosure. Foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, and short sales are several ways for borrowers to get out of a mortgage that is no longer affordable. Here is a quick guide to what these options are, and how much they could affect one's credit score.
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Posted November 7, 2009 - 08:00 by Xin Lu
Taxes, Real Estate and Housing
A couple months ago I wrote about the pros and cons of extending and expanding the popular first time homebuyer tax credit which was due to expire on November 30th, 2009. I wrote that there was a good chance that Congress would extend the credit regardless of the costs. Sure enough, this week Congress has approved an extension and expansion of the credit. Here are some details on the changes.
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Posted October 19, 2009 - 08:42 by WC Porter
Real Estate and Housing
With all the tools and information available to home buyers—from real-estate websites to neighborhood pictures—are real-estate agents and their commissions really that necessary anymore? Couldn't we all just deal with each other when buying and selling our homes?
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Posted October 9, 2009 - 08:00 by Stacy Johnson
Real Estate and Housing, Investment
For those who have a job, a healthy savings account and some optimism about the long-term, it doesn’t get any better than this. Opportunity in the form of lower prices doesn’t knock all that often: if you have the wherewithal, my advice is to answer the door.
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Posted October 7, 2009 - 05:33 by Xin Lu
Real Estate and Housing
Lately several couples I know have been trying to purchase real estate, and it seems that none of them are too happy with their real estate agents. Some of them have been working with their agents for months without any positive outcome. The fact is that some of these poorly performing agents should have been fired long ago. Here are some signs that you should fire your real estate agent.
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Posted October 7, 2009 - 05:00 by Coupon Sherpa
Real Estate and Housing
Learn how to get the best apartment living experience without busting your budget. Here are 7 tips to help you get lower rent, top-notch service, cheaper utility bills, and more.
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Posted September 18, 2009 - 06:49 by Xin Lu
Taxes, Real Estate and Housing
The $8000 first time homebuyer's tax credit is set to expire on November 30th. This means that those who want to take advantage of this refundable credit have only a couple months left to close on their home purchases. Since it could take 30 to 60 days to close on a home, the deals must be made soon. Now there are talks in Congress and the Obama administration about expanding and extending this tax credit. Here are some arguments both for and against this decision.
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Posted September 15, 2009 - 06:00 by WC Porter
Real Estate and Housing
Real estate websites are a dime a dozen, but when you find one that does it all, the rest all fade into the background. Whether you're looking to buy or sell a place, Redfin has what you need. This detailed walk through shows you everything you need to know before surfing their site.
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Posted September 2, 2009 - 10:00 by WC Porter
Real Estate and Housing
I confess: I'm about to break one of the cardinal rules of personal finance. I know it's not the responsible thing to do and it goes against every piece of "good financial advice" I've ever given. But I have my reasons. Good ones.
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