News about properties and real estate
Home equity: Owners see it as a gold mine Forget debt consolidation. Never mind the remodel. Some Southern California homeowners, flush with home equity, are using the American Dream to finance the Hollywood one: Make a movie. And much more. The stack of cash that property holders accumulated during the past few years by virtue …
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The jargon of home mortgages The language of mortgages can be downright confounding. To help you better understand your lender, here are brief descriptions of the terms that are likely to be used by a loan officer: Appraisal: The lender hires a professional to estimate the value of the home you want to buy. The …
Boom May Be Spilling Over To More Affordable Housing Markets Estacada, an isolated community of 2,500 residents, 25 miles southeast of the booming Portland real estate market, is on tap to build 450 homes this year with another 1,000 lots likely to be approved in the next few years. In West Virginia, home sales soared …
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Tips on handling foreclosure and pre-foreclosure situations Dear Bob: Our house is in the foreclosure process. Due to my husband’s unemployment and disability, we can’t afford the mortgage payments and are now two months behind. We have received several offers from investors who want to buy our house. And we want to sell because chances …
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Have you overimproved your home? Home improvement spending is frequently justified because it adds to a home’s value when it’s time to sell. And it often works out great. But there are dangers to look out for. “A lot of people who overimproved did a cash-out refinancing when rates were at a low, expecting housing …
Appraiser’s role offers unique view of market How has the steady stream of news reports about home values and inventories impacted the real estate market? I believe they have had a significant impact on non-real estate professionals. These folks have been caught up in the hype about “skyrocketing” values. As the news comes out, people …
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