Fast-tracking mortgage payments Making biweekly mortgage payments instead of monthly shaves years off the life of the loan and saves thousands of dollars in the long run. But is it the best idea? Maybe not always. And maybe not for everyone. I wondered: Could this be possible? The direct-mail solicitation claimed that we could shave …
Category Archives: Investment Tips
Spouse has questions about living trust
Spouse has questions about living trust DEAR BOB: Our house is owned under my living-trust name. If I survive my husband, will the basis for the house be stepped up to market value as of the date of his death? Should I add my husband’s living trust to the deed? –Eliza W. DEAR ELIZA: If …
The year’s hot investment? Apartment buildings [The Twin Cities]
The year’s hot investment? Apartment buildings [The Twin Cities] Flat-roofed and 50 years old, Centennial Gardens in Roseville is a sturdy 190-unit apartment building in need of a facelift – not a show stopper. Nonetheless, the brick complex attracted 12 written offers when it hit the market in April and is scheduled to close in …
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Renting for Monthly Loss Could Result in Long-Term Gain
Renting for Monthly Loss Could Result in Long-Term Gain I received an email from a reader in Santa Barbara County, Calif., regarding the sale of her house that, once selling fees and closing costs are paid out, she would have to come to the table with a check to get out of the property. “Right …
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1% mortgage – from joy to time bomb
1% mortgage – from joy to time bomb A disabled man on a fixed income risks losing his home over his adjustable rate mortgage. The official-looking notice appeared in his mailbox last year. To Denith Harrigan, the promise of an interest rate as low as 1 percent was too good to ignore. Disabled and on …
Selling a home short can stave off foreclosure
Selling a home short can stave off foreclosure Danielle Merriweather added up all the numbers, and they didn’t look good: * The mortgage was $1,162 a month. * The winter gas bills ran $500 a month. * She had four children to care for. * And little money was coming in after the young mother …
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