December 2006
Monthly Archive
23 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Home sales dip in the winter, especially during the holiday season. But they don't stop, as Ray Hrabec has learned over the years.
23 Dec 2006 12:00 am
My 2007 Wish List: An Intercounty Connector, a Purple Line . . .
With the year-end holidays upon us, it seems appropriate to make a wish list for 2007.
23 Dec 2006 12:00 am
30-Year Rates Creep Up to 6.13%
Rates on 30-year mortgages, after sinking for a month, crept up for the second week in a row.
23 Dec 2006 12:00 am
A Holiday Rush On Refinancings
You may be thinking about the holidays, but thousands of your fellow homeowners have been thinking about refinancing, rate reductions, cash-outs and money-saving debt consolidations.
23 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Odds and Ends on Flora and Fauna
You can think of this potpourri of gardening trivia as a collection of stocking stuffers:
23 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Getting Help With a Foreclosure
Q: DEAR BOB: Due to illness and unemployment, we have fallen two months behind on our mortgage payments. My husband is now back at work and I've taken a part-time job to help with the bills.
22 Dec 2006 01:01 pm
Finding the Down Payment for Your Investment Property
Investing in real estate property is a good way to increase your cash flow. But where do you come up with the money to finance the purchase?
22 Dec 2006 07:25 am
Clarifications About The Zillow Website
Shortly after our recent article on Zillow's upgrades was published, we received a communication from "Amy at Zillow" with a couple of corrections.
We were not particularly complementary about Zillow and its new upgrades, but two statements we made were incorrect. The first...
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20 Dec 2006 02:35 pm
Long-Term Rates Remain Low; Mortgage Activity Lightened
Though long-term rates continue to stay low, the number of mortgage applications has slipped somewhat. Could the holidays be affecting the market or is this a sign of things to come?
20 Dec 2006 09:53 am
Zillow Announces Upgrades To Site As First Birthday Approaches
In a press release earlier this month, the Zillow folks announced a "major upgrade; homeowners and agents can now post homes for sale, for free." They also launched a feature called "Make Me Move?" that allows homeowners to list their dream price - the return on their investment that would indeed make them pack up and get out.
...So will these innovations revolutionize the way real estate is bought and sold? Clearly the folks at Zillow hope so. Are the changes visionary, maybe a better question would be, are they useful?
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19 Dec 2006 02:08 pm
Three Ex-Fannie Mae Execs Hit With Massive Civil Charges
And just when things were starting to look up for Fannie Mae!
Then Monday the other shoe fell. Actually it was more like an axe. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight revealed that it was filing civil charges against three of the Fannie Mae executives who had been asked to retire or had resigned - descriptions varied - in late 2004.
...In the case of Mr. Raines, he received over the six years (seven years worth of salary) a total of....
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19 Dec 2006 09:54 am
Long-Term Mortgage Rates Trigger Housing Starts Increase
Lower long-term interest rates are spurring an increase in new housing construction. Will this increase hold for 2007? And what does this mean for the housing industry?
18 Dec 2006 07:37 am
Fannie Mae Plays Catchup With SEC and Sues Its Former Auditor
December is starting off with a bang for Fannie Mae.
On December 6 the mortgage giant announced that it had (finally) finished a restatement of its earnings dating from 2004 back to 2001 and had filed the required Form 10Ks with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A second part of the announcement was good news for the corporation's shareholders...
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16 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Each week, in addition to writing my Real Estate Mailbag advice column, I read and review at least one new real estate book. At the end of each year, I select the best of those 52.
16 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Leafy Spaces And Growing Family Trees
Residents of Ashton Heights can walk to schools, Metro, and the busy restaurants and stores of Clarendon and Ballston, then retreat to their quiet neighborhood where towering oaks shade vintage houses and wide front porches.
16 Dec 2006 12:00 am
30-Year Mortgage Rate Ticks Up
Rates on 30-year mortgages, after falling steadily for a month, edged up slightly this week but still remained well below the levels of a year ago.
16 Dec 2006 12:00 am
It’s a Good Time to Look Into Refinancing
Q: Last week's Real Estate section reported that mortgage rates around the country fell, "with rates on 30-year mortgages dipping to the second-lowest level of the year, pushed down by further signs of economic weakness."
16 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Keep Watch on Exotic Plants, Welcome or Not
Nonnative plants that have been introduced to the region might seem as if they belong here because they have thrived for many years, but they aren't what nature intended.
16 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Home buyers and refinancers face higher fees for credit reports beginning Jan. 1, a price boost that has mortgage, credit industry and consumer group leaders fuming.
16 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Q: DEAR BOB: My mother died in 1988 and dad passed away this year. The house was, and still is, in my late mother's name. All dad did after mom's passing was continue to pay the property taxes on the house. A couple of children belong to dad only from a prior marriage.
15 Dec 2006 10:49 am
What Are Seller Concessions or Contributions?
Whether you're a first-time home buyer or you've gone through the process of moving and buying a home, you may not know that there are ways you can reduce your expenses and close your home loan with less money out-of-pocket.
13 Dec 2006 10:26 am
Mortgage Applications Surge on Low Interest Rates
Long-term rates continue to stay low, causing homeowners and home buyers to continue choosing long-term fixed rate mortgages over adjustable rate mortgages. Housing is in a very good position for folks these days.
13 Dec 2006 09:15 am
Choose your new property wisely, and you'll be living in your dream home. Buy a real estate lemon, and you could wind up making lemonade in a place you hate.
09 Dec 2006 12:00 am
A Divine Landscape, Revered by Residents
Cloverly owes much of its spacious and quiet character to a speckled brown fish.
09 Dec 2006 12:00 am
In Hyattsville, a Creative Impulse
When dancer Rasta Thomas saw the sign "Arts District Hyattsville" as he was driving home to Riverdale recently, he did a double take.
09 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Mortgage rates around the country fell this week, with rates on 30-year mortgages dipping to the second-lowest level of the year, pushed down by further signs of economic weakness.
09 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Homeowners’ Outlook Still Rosy
NEW YORK -- Recent broad declines in prices have only slightly dented the outlook of U.S. homeowners, as a new poll published Wednesday shows they remain mostly optimistic about the value of their properties.
09 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Is real estate heating up, cooling down, headed for a deeper freeze or just hanging in there despite the challenges?
09 Dec 2006 12:00 am
The IRS Shows Some Heart (By Judge’s Order)
Q: I have been divorced for several years. As part of our settlement, my ex-husband and I jointly own the family home. I have just learned that my former husband owes the IRS a lot of money and am concerned about whether the house can be foreclosed on by the IRS.
09 Dec 2006 12:00 am
The ‘Perfect’ Christmas Tree: An Evergreen Search
A Christmas tree need not be indoors for long to reap a heap of enjoyment from it. This is why some people spend hours picking the "perfect" tree.
