Entries Categorized as 'Things of Interest'

The Real Estate Impact Of Divorce Togetherness

Date May 9, 2008

One little-known reason there are fewer active prospective homebuyers in today’s market is that couples are often still living together in the same residence after their divorce. One spouse cannot afford today’s home prices or qualify for a mortgage. "There is a whole new aspect of divorce that most couples never had to face before," […]

Renters Face Rapid Eviction as Foreclosures Soar

Date May 8, 2008

The subprime mortgage crisis continues to claim casualties, and some of them aren’t even homeowners.
In California, scores of renters are being kicked out of their homes, even when they haven’t missed a single rent payment.
Shirley and William Hayes love the house they’ve been renting in a comfortable subdivision outside San Francisco. Even so, they’re moving.
"I […]

Where Mortgage-Related Problems Are Most Severe

Date May 7, 2008

A swath of green is covering the real estate industry. Florida, Nevada and Michigan are the states experiencing the greatest problems with mortgage foreclosures, according to a study and report by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, LLC, for the Mortgage Bankers Association.
"The current market conditions, compounded by mortgage fraud, are having a detrimental impact on […]

Cinco de Mayo

Date May 5, 2008


How To Help The Kids Buy First Home

Date April 23, 2008

Helping the kids buy a first home is a time-honored tradition that has become even more significant as home prices rise and incomes flatten.
Here are three ways parents can help their children:
Cash. For parents with the means, cash is clean and easy. An individual can give $12,000 a year to a recipient without having to […]

10 Fastest Growing U.S. Cities

Date April 22, 2008

The fast-growing areas in the United States are in the Sunbelt, with Texas leading the way, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Dallas-Fort Worth added more than 162,000 residents between July 2006 and July 2007, more than any other metro area. Three other Texas cities — Houston, Austin, and San Antonio — […]

California Median Price - Affordability - Mortgage Rates

Date April 17, 2008

Calif. median home price - January 08: $430,370
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region January 08: Santa Barbara So. Coast $1,135,000
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region January 08: High Desert $234,310
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Third Quarter 07: 33 percent
(Source: C.A.R.)  
Mortgage rates - week ending 03/13/08 30-yr. fixed: 6.13% Fees/points: […]

Americans’ Use Of Remote Digital Technology At 62 Percent

Date April 16, 2008

Roughly 62 percent of adult Americans say they have taken advantage of mobile access to digital data and tools while away from their work and or home, according to a new survey by The Pew Internet & American Life Project.
According to the survey, some 58 percent of adult Americans have used a cell phone or […]

Tax Time - U.S.A.

Date April 15, 2008


Bear Stearns Rescue Is `Finger in Dike,’ Scholars Say

Date April 14, 2008

 With Bear Stearns Cos.’ temporary rescue in place, the $200 billion subprime crisis joins the history of government bailouts to preserve jobs, homes and savings when economic disaster looms.
Ever since Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo shut the New York Stock Exchange for four months in 1914, to prevent foreign investors from cashing out and throwing […]