5 Ways to Save Time and Money on Your Lawn
Posted August 7, 2009 - 05:00 by Jeff Yeager
U.S. lawn care services is a $12 billion annual industry. Why not reduce the size of your lawn and save money, time and the environment too?
Real Estate and Housing
Popular posts in Real Estate and Housing
You Trade-In Your Car…Why Not Your Home?
Posted August 5, 2009 - 09:00 by Paul Michael
Here’s a question for you that has been bugging me for years; why can’t home-builders follow the auto dealer’s classic model of old for new, and let people trade-in their old homes for new ones?
Permanent Home Swap: Solution to a Volatile Real Estate Market
Posted August 3, 2009 - 08:00 by Nora Dunn
Let’s say the real estate markets are down. You want or need to sell your home, but buyers won’t pay what it is worth (or even enough to leave you with a zero balance). And if you have already purchased your new home, you may have to insist on a sale price that the market won’t bear, or settle for a sale price that leaves you further in the red. There is an alternative: a Permanent Home Swap.
New Home Loan Rules Will Take Effect on July 30, 2009
Posted July 21, 2009 - 08:25 by Xin Lu
If you are in the process of buying a new primary residence or second home, or considering refinancing a loan, a new set of federal consumer protection rules taking effect on July 30th, 2009 may affect you. These rules are a part of the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008, and they are designed to give consumers more disclosure of the cost of a loan and also more time to make a decision.
Tips for Avoiding a Foreclosure Prevention or Loan Modification Scam
Posted July 10, 2009 - 08:00 by Xin Lu
Rising home foreclosures have made con artists very busy. These scammers use the public records to find homeowners who are in trouble, and then use a variety of schemes to take the homeowners' money and property in the name of helping the homeowner avoid foreclosure. If you have late payments on your home loan then it is likely that you will be targeted. The following are some warning signs that you are dealing with a possible scammer.
Making Home Affordable expanded again - borrowers allowed to refinance loans up to 125 percent of value
Posted July 2, 2009 - 12:04 by Xin Lu
When the Obama administration first announced the details of the Making Home Affordable program in March, the guidelines for the refinance portion stated that the loan refinanced cannot be more than 105% of the value of the home. Now a new expansion of the program allows the loan to value ratio to be up to 125%. Will this help consumers or just worsen the situation?
Are the new home appraisal rules good for consumers?
Posted June 30, 2009 - 13:34 by Xin Lu
On May 1st a new set of home appraisal rules called the Home Valuation Code of Conduct was put into effect by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in order to distance realtors and mortgage brokers from appraisers. This was put in place because during the housing bubble appraisal fraud was rampant and some appraisers felt pressured by realtors and brokers to hit the desired numbers. How is this affecting consumers?
Can't Afford A Home Alarm System? You Probably Already Have One.
Posted June 30, 2009 - 08:50 by Paul Michael
Home alarm systems can be expensive. A basic alarm system can be hundreds of dollars. Move up to the home-monitoring systems of ADT and Brink's, and you're talking big money. Installation can cost over $1000, and the monthly monitoring fee can be upwards of $40 a month. But, chances are, you already own a pretty good alternative.
$8000 housing tax credit can now be turned into cash at closing according to FHA
Posted June 9, 2009 - 20:38 by Xin Lu
As part of the Obama stimulus plan passed in January, first time home buyers in 2009 are entitled to a tax credit of up to $8000 that they do not have to repay. This tax credit was supposed to be given to the taxpayer after they file their 2009 taxes in 2010, but it seems that a new set of FHA guidelines is allowing many to take the money during closing. Here are some of the details.
Should you try to reduce your rent?
Posted June 8, 2009 - 16:22 by Xin Lu
Lately it seems that rent prices have been dropping in many areas of the country. Here in San Mateo some residential apartments are dropping prices as much as 20%. This seemed a bit unbelievable until I looked on Craigslist and found that a specific apartment my husband and I looked at around two years ago actually dropped its price by $300 a month from $1699 to $1399 a month. With our lease expiring soon, I wonder if we should move or try to negotiate a lower rent.
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