31 January 2007 18:00
Spring home market begins at pace much less hectic than past 5 years
What a difference a year makes. The days of homes being snatched up in bidding wars within days of going on the market seem to be gone. Homes that sold in March spent an average of 62 days on the market, almost a third longer than they did in March las...
Be sure to stay on top of details to seal the deal
Your deal to buy a home is almost done. But you and your agent need to stay on top of the details to make sure it closes without a hitch. Depending on what you and the seller want, you can have a couple of months or just a couple of weeks between the t...
Tax credit can help put home ownership in reach
Mel Schuckenbrock always said that if he bought a house in Washington, it would have to have a view of Mount Rainier. In 1987, after looking at more than a dozen homes that just weren't right, Schuckenbrock found the perfect three-bedroom rambler ...
Buying on a budget
Many first-time buyers swiftly learn that if they want to get into a home they'll have to make accommodations. Although there are several types — buying with friends or others, thinking smaller, driving farther — the most popular are buying fi...
My Broker, My Therapist
Brokers, like therapists, have to understand what buyers really want in order to help them get it. While that might seem easy, it is not, because buyers often don't know themselves what they would like — hence an old real estate maxim, "Buy...
31 January 2007 17:45
'Losing' Capital Gains
DEAR BOB: We must sell our house of 21 years. The profit will be about $625,000. My wife and I are aware that $500,000 of that amount will be tax-free, thanks to Internal Revenue Code 121. However, my insurance agent told me that if we buy a replacemen...
Trying to Reverse a Raw Deal
If you want to understand just how toxic a home mortgage can get, consider this real-life, ongoing saga: Katherine Stephens, 94, is a widow who lives in a nursing home in southern New Jersey. According to her nephew, William Finch, she has $38 in her b...
Sold — or Not: When Home Buyers Walk
As the housing market cools, builders are reporting that more people are walking away from contracts and from tens of thousands of dollars in deposits. When a housing market is hot and prices increase, as they did dramatically over the past five years ...
So That's Why the Grass Is Greener
When Candice Quinn Kelly and her husband bought a house in the farmlands of Charles County, they loved the rural feel and the big, open yard — especially the small patch of miraculously lush grass in the middle. To Kelly, a Baltimore girl, that o...
Fannie Mae review finds new accounting errors
Still more errors have turned up in Fannie Mae's government-ordered review of its accounting, the mortgage giant disclosed yesterday, saying it doesn't expect the review to be finished before the second half of the year. The government-charte...
A Chill Is in the Air for Sellers
Many Americans who planned on real estate as their path to wealth are beginning to find that there are limits to how high is up. Blame market forces. As higher interest rates dampen demand in cities and suburbs that only a year ago were battlegrounds f...
Mounting Troubles With Title Insurance
Have you ever looked at the fees associated with a home purchase and wondered: Why am I paying so much for title insurance? Why do I have to pay $1,000 to $2,000 for coverage when payouts on claims involving actual title defects are minuscule? (Read M...
Even the high-end homes get snatched up quickly
When million-dollar homes, traditionally the slowest to sell, start flying out the door, it's a strong signal that the market is sizzling. And that's exactly what happened in King County last month. Look at three homes in North Seattle, one o...
Modernist Houses Lack Modern Buyers
Homes on Long Island, NY that deviate from the ubiquitous colonial, high ranch or ranch can be a tough sell. When Bill and Allison Rosson put their midcentury modernist ranch on Chicken Valley Road in Old Brookville up for sale in February, "I th...
Your Home: How to Improve Your Credit Score
Do you know your credit score? If you don't, you may be able to improve it in just a few months. "The credit score is a significant factor used by lenders to determine both the interest rate and type of loan program a borrower is eligible f...
'For Sale by Owner' Means Cutting Commission, but at What Cost?
Michael Mou and his wife listed their two-bedroom Arlington condo with a real estate agent last fall but didn't get a bite in 60 days. Now they're planning to remodel the kitchen and try to sell the unit, near the Court House Metro station, t...
What's Right for You?
Trying to decide whether you're ready to buy a home? Try our simple online quiz first, then visit other online resources that can help you make the right decision. (Read More) Source: Washington Post
1031 tax-free exchange is complicated
A popular way of acquiring property is through a 1031 tax-free exchange, which allows you to swap one investment property for a similar one that costs at least as much as the property you are selling. (Read More) Source: The Seattle Times: Real Estate
For sale by owner? It's no primrose path.
When Jill Gross and her husband, Roger Honz, held the open house for their property in Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood, it was a seller's dream. The weather cooperated. The bright, sunny sky enhanced the house's view of the lake as pot...
Young home hunters persist
My fiancée, Lauralee, and I wandered through the newly renovated condo, peeking into each empty room. Sunlight bounced off the shiny hardwood floors. The walls and trim were freshly painted in coats of ivory and beige. The place was churchlike in its ...
Mounting Troubles With Title Insurance
Have you ever looked at the fees associated with a home purchase and wondered: Why am I paying so much for title insurance? Why do I have to pay $1,000 to $2,000 for coverage when payouts on claims involving actual title defects are minuscule? (Read...
30-year mortgage edges up to 6.59%
Rates on 30-year mortgages climbed in the week that ended yesterday, hitting their highest point in nearly four years.(Read More) Source: Baltimore Sun
'For Sale by Owner' Means Cutting Commission, but at What Cost?
Michael Mou and his wife listed their two-bedroom Arlington condo with a real estate agent last fall but didn't get a bite in 60 days. Now they're planning to remodel the kitchen and try to sell the unit, near the Court House Metro station...
Owning home longer increases likelihood of making a profit
Anybody thinking about buying or selling a house this spring probably is asking the same questions: In terms of historical real-estate cycles… (Read More) Source: The Seattle Times: Real Estate
Blink and They're Still There
Misty and Steven DiPietro have had a for-sale sign in front of their house for 83 days now. A neighbor's has been there seven months. Down the street, there are two more houses for sale, and around the corner, four more. (Read More) Source: Wa...
