Each year, like clockwork, Uncle Sam calls all of the country's mortgage lenders on the carpet to prove they are making mortgage money available to everybody, everywhere -- not skipping over an ethnic... more
Would-be homebuyers and sellers may want to think twice about working with a real estate office where papers are strewn about and computers are left on for anyone to use at will.... more
Millennials are graduating from college with the greatest amount of student debt of any generation. As a result, those who wish to buy a home now, rather than wait until they can truly afford it, are ... more
Most people spend more than 50 percent of their time indoors -- children, some 90 percent -- so it is important to pay attention to the quality of the air in your home. And that means more than instal... more
Consumers looking for coastal real estate quickly learn the difference between an "ocean peek" unit and an "ocean view." A "peek" apartment is on the lower floors and offers only an obstructed view of... more
Foreclosures are never pretty. Just ask one of the millions of people who were put out of their homes during the housing crises of recent years.... more
People currently in the market for a house caught a break, at least for a few more weeks, when the Federal Reserve recently decided to keep short-term interest rates at their rock-bottom levels.... more
Tax time is still months away. But if you sold your house during this summer's selling season -- or plan to sell in the next few months -- it's a good time to familiarize yourself with the tax consequ... more
Wildfires like those that engulfed many areas in the Western states this summer can't be prevented, for the most part. But there's plenty homeowners can do to protect their properties.... more
More than a year and a half ago, Uncle Sam decreed that the pertinent mortgage information disclosed to borrowers at closing be simplified. So far, though, the process has been anything but simple.... more
If you've been turned down by your lender for a government-backed program that would allow you to refinance your mortgage at a lower rate and keep the foreclosure wolves from your door, you might want... more
When the late-night television comedians joke about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the two government-sponsored housing finance agencies that almost went belly-up during the housing crisis -- you know ... more
The fact that television and radio pitchmen hawking real estate-related "get rich quick" schemes still fill the airways is not surprising. Not, at least, if you subscribe to the famous admonition abou... more
One of the most difficult things for sellers to do is come up with the right asking price for their castles -- one that will net them the most money, without the house laboring on the market for far t... more
The wider the net you cast when searching for financing, the better. It only makes sense to look beyond your local bank or mortgage company, and one place you may not have thought about is your friend... more
There's no question that Miami has become a true international city, maybe even more so than San Francisco and New York. After all, it offers it all -- culture, sports, fine dining, plenty of sunshine... more
Homebuyers may be missing out on a wide range of programs that can help them afford their purchases -- programs their agents either don't know about or don't want to bother with.... more
The average cost of a wedding last year was $31,213, according to popular wedding-planning site The Knot -- a whopping amount that could have been used for a down payment, and then some, on a first ho... more
If you're serious about purchasing an energy-efficient house -- and surveys indicate that more and more people are -- you'll want to download a copy of the Checklist for Home Energy Efficient Attribut... more
New companies and new technologies are continuously breaking ground in the housing sector. Even "old" real estate science is getting better and better.... more
If that real estate agent you're considering listing your house with brags about having dozens of listings from other clients, you may want to consider someone else.... more
Housing's traditional spring buying season has been noticeably sporadic, if not all but absent, since the Great Recession. But this year is different, according to one Wall Street analyst, who says th... more