“My wife and I went through a foreclosure and bankruptcy here in Ohio (where we lead the nation in foreclosures). The long story short – we bought a house for $32,000 in 1995, but couldn’t afford to fix it up. Just kids at the time (I was 20, she was 22), we were expecting our son and found a fix’er upper. We took out a subprime second mortgage to do the much needed repairs ourselves. The neighborhood was going to hell and after seven years we wanted to get out, but we had no real equity…”
real estate
Most Affordable Real Estate Markets By State
By 9.27.07
Where are the affordable real estate markets in your state? Oh, we don’t know. It’s a good thing BusinessWeek does. They’ve made a list of the most and least affordable markets in each of these United States.
Worst Month For New Home Sales In 6 Years
By 9.27.07
Here’s a cute but meaningless graphic from ABC News that illustrates a very important statistic: New home sales are down. Way down. 8.3% down. It’s the worst month for new home sales in 6 years.
By 9.20.07
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About a third of Amsterdam’s red light district brothels will soon close as part of a $35 million real estate deal, so if you’re planning on visiting the city, you’ll have 51 fewer windows to tempt/amuse you. [Reuters]
By 9.19.07
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If you’re upside down on your home mortgage, don’t be afraid of losing your house. It could be the best thing to happen to you. [Bankrate]
What Home Improvements Have The Best Rate Of Return?
By 9.18.07
The home improvement you’ll recoup the most from from is replacing siding with fiber cement, according to the 2006 RemodelingOnline report. They say you can expect to get 88% from your investment.
Avoid Crazy Closing Fees
By 9.17.07
You can find yourself hit with all sorts of crazy fees at closing time, some of them unnecessary or overinflated, says Bankrate. But how do you know what’s reasonable? For a fee, natch, of $45 the National Mortgage Complaint Center (866-714-6466) will examine your fees and see if they’re too high or out of the ordinary. You can also see how your fees compare with state averages.
Checklist: 5 Ways To Rate A Retirement Home
By 9.14.07
SmartMoney is trying to spin it as a “take care of yourself” article, but we know that the real reason you’re in the market for a good retirement home is because Dad has gotten older and he’s nowhere near the madcap character Abe Simpson is on TV. Luckily for you (and your dad), they’ve put together a brief guide of 5 things you should look for when choosing a retirement home. You know, for “yourself.”
Southern California Home Sales Sink To 15-Year Low Forcing "Blow-Out" Sales Of New Homes
By 9.13.07
Bad news for Southern California; home sales in August dropped to a 15-year low according to the LA Times. Sales plunged 36% from last year and 71% of Southern California zip codes are reporting declines in housing prices.
Deceptive Mortgage Advertising Language To Watch Out For
By 9.12.07
In an almost comical case of too little too late, the FTC wagged a big finger at deceptive mortgage ads Tuesday. Here’s some of the red-flag advertising language they warned consumers to watch out for:
Example Home Builder's Contract With Arbitration Clauses
By 9.12.07
This sample contract from Texas shows how many of your rights some builders try to make you throw away as a condition for using their services. It’s all right there in print, sometimes even capitalized, no right to a court or jury trial, evidence is limited, no recovery of attorney’s fees, no class actions are allowed, etc etc.
Adding A Bathroom Can Add 20% To Your Home's Value
By 9.11.07
With the real estate market in the toilet, it’s fitting that the same device can actually help you significantly increase the value of your home. Yes, we’re talking about adding a bathroom to your current dwelling, something CNN Money says can add up to 20 percent more value to your home. Consider adding a bathroom if:
The Big, Big List Of Subprime Mortgage Layoffs And Closures
By 9.10.07
The Truth About Mortgage has been compiling a list of mortgage lending layoffs and closures since the end of February and the effect is staggering. The list, last updated today, now has over 250 entries. Anyone looking for a quick and easy way to freak out about the mortgage market need look no further than this list.
American Home Shield Technician Likewise Unaware Of How He Stay In Business
By 9.10.07
HIM: “I don’t know.”
His complaint letter to the company follows…
By 9.10.07
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The step-by-step process of $130,000 gross yearly income housing bubble poster couple getting foreclosed, a case study. [Dr. Housing Bubble Blog]
WaMu Says Housing Market In "Perfect Storm"
By 9.10.07
“The combination of rising delinquencies, higher foreclosures, more housing inventories, increasing interest rates on many mortgages and greatly reduced availability of mortgages due to limited liquidity is creating what we call a near-perfect storm for housing,” Chief Executive Officer Kerry Killinger said.
Mortgage Industry Lays Off More Workers
By 9.7.07
The mortgage industry isn’t just hemorrhaging money anymore, it’s hemorrhaging jobs. Two more mortgage lenders (Lehman Brothers Holdings and the National City Corporation) announced that they would be laying off 2,000 employees.
By 9.7.07
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A mortgage maker that positioned itself as a “Christian” lender wasn’t immune to secular market forces and fired employees are learning to turn the other cheek when it comes to their severance pay: a $20 supermarket gift card. [Atlanta Journal Constitution]
