All Real estate Articles

Q: Dear Bankruptcy Adviser, If I own two homes and I let one of my mortgages go into foreclosure, can the bank levy my account for the delinquent debt? If so, should I file for bankruptcy on one residence instead of allowing the bank to foreclose? -- Tammy A: Dear Tammy, You have two issues you need to address. First, will the lender sue you after the house is sold? Second, can the lender Read more...

While you may think it's crazy to tackle the huge task of homebuying during the schedule-jammed holiday season, the holidays are actually a great time to find real estate deals in today's new economy. "This year in particular may be different than other years," says Beth Tyler, a broker with Long & Foster Real Estate in Annapolis, Md., who says the economy has boosted many Read more...

With hundreds of thousands of homes in foreclosure or on short sale lists, there's never been a better time to score a sweet deal. But discount-priced foreclosures and short sales can come with a raft of expensive problems. Just ask Adam Melson of Philadelphia. Melson had looked at more than two dozen houses and he jumped at the chance to purchase a short sale home that seemed like a decent Read more...

Homebuyers and sellers may be on opposite sides of a home sale, but they have one dilemma in common: They both need to sort through a thicket of prices and valuations to figure out how much a home is really worth. The holy grail of these prices and valuations is market value, which refers to the price at which a typical seller would be willing to sell the home and a typical buyer would be Read more...

Q: Dear Dr. Don, I currently have a 30-year first mortgage with 26 years remaining and a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, at the prime rate, less 0.5 percent. Given the low rates, is now a good time to refinance the HELOC into my first mortgage? -- Joe Jam A: Dear Joe, To fold the home equity line of credit into a 30-year fixed-rate refinancing, you'll need enough equity in your home Read more...

Pundits love to make predictions as to when home prices will stabilize in U.S. housing markets. But even well-respected forecasters and analysts may disagree, and even if a forecast proves true nationally, your local market may behave in a wildly different way. This disconnect between broad-stroke forecasts and small-scale local markets presents quite a puzzle for homebuyers and home sellers, who Read more...

Don't be surprised if your friendly lender, the one who invites you to sit down and apply for a mortgage, then ushers you politely out the door empty-handed after you've chatted a bit. The sudden chill isn't personal. The Mortgage Bankers Association, or MBA, in Washington, D.C., estimates that about half of all mortgage applicants are now being turned down. "Our latest survey Read more...

In the wake of last year's stock market meltdown, some retirees are looking to real estate to supplement their income. Monthly rent payments or income from a reverse mortgage can help support a lifestyle otherwise out of reach for those with small nest eggs. But is it wise to try to tap the earning power of real estate so late in life? Over the long term, stock market returns Read more...

You can get a ballpark figure these days on the value of just about any home in the country with just the click of a mouse -- but don't bet the farm on the dollar amounts. They can be right on the money or out in left field. A number of real estate Web sites now offer instant value estimates on existing homes that can be very helpful to homeowners seeking to refinance, as well as to Read more...

Q: Dear Dr. Don, We recently refinanced our home at a 4.625 interest rate for 30 years. I am currently 49 and my husband is 54. We both would like to retire in 10 years. I would like to know if it would be more beneficial for us to (1) pay an extra $500 per month to the principal of our loan to pay it off in 10 years or (2) put the extra money into our savings account (currently at 3.13 percent Read more...

With the real estate market in the doldrums, many remodeling contractors are trying to drum up business by offering discounts to homeowners. But that remodel "bargain" could turn into an expensive headache if the newly installed kitchen cabinets are crooked or the basement contractor disappears after the deposit check has been cashed. "I see a lot of homeowners who are eager to Read more...

Some potential homebuyers who have been waiting to get into the market are now taking action, thanks to the new federal housing tax credit. Passed in February as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as "the stimulus package," the credit gives a tax allowance of up to $8,000 to first-time homebuyers who purchase a home before Dec. 1. The credit itself Read more...

Q: Dear Dr. Don, I am thinking of paying off my mortgage. I have an interest rate of 6.5 percent and about $80,000 left on the mortgage. I have enough liquid assets to pay it off completely. What are the pros and cons of doing this? -- Sue Savings A: Dear Sue, A form of your question is a perennial favorite of Bankrate readers, but I'm not usually asked to delineate the pros and cons of Read more...

If you read their books or listen to them on TV, you might be inclined to think that financial pros never make a financial blunder, that they've never bought a bum stock, run up credit card debt or made a bad real estate deal. But the fact is even the best money minds haven't always made all the right moves. We asked six experts to fess up about their biggest financial blunders, and what we Read more...

Home prices rose across a large swath of the country during the second quarter, adding to the growing list of signs that the housing market has stabilized. Out of 155 markets included in the survey, 125 showed median price increases compared to the first quarter of this year. Overall, the National Association of Realtors reports a nearly 4 percent rise in the median sales price for single Read more...

Q: Dear Dr. Don, A year or so ago, my 401(k) account was worth $265,000. Now it is worth $134,000. My mortgage balance is $289,000, while the home's value -- at least according to Zillow.com -- is now about $275,000. I have a 5/1 interest-only adjustable-rate mortgage at 5.5 percent with its first interest rate reset in August 2010. I am 62 years old. Here's my dilemma: I am concerned about Read more...

When Mrs. Jones turned 85, she decided it was time to give up her apartment in New York and move to Miami. When she got there, she met with a real estate agent who drove her all over the city, enthusiastically extolling the virtues of every apartment they examined. "And this one, what a steal," he rhapsodized, "the investment of a lifetime. Why, in 10 years, it's gonna be worth Read more...

Most homebuyers have encountered a "lying listing" -- the house for sale that doesn't even remotely resemble its colorful description in the Multiple Listing Service or classified ad. Jon Boyd, an exclusive buyer's agent and broker for The Home Buyer's Agent in Ann Arbor, Mich., recently showed a self-described "stunner" to one of his clients. "The only thing that Read more...

Q: Dear Dr. Don, We have two mortgages on our home. The first mortgage is for $400,000 and is a 30-year fixed-rate note at 5.8 percent. The second mortgage is for $100,000. It is an interest-only 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage currently at 9 percent, with three years to go until it resets. If I wanted to pay a little extra every month, would I be better off paying it for the second mortgage or Read more...

Buying a foreclosed home is a little different from buying a typical resale. In many cases, only one real estate agent is involved. The seller wants a preapproval letter from a lender before accepting an offer. There often is little, if any, room for negotiation. The home comes as is, and it's up to the buyer to pay for repairs. On the upside, most bank-owned homes are vacant, Read more...