|
It might be a better choice to become a landlord while you ride out the housing slump. When Katherine and Jean-Paul Chretien bought their Wheaton, Md. townhouse for $480,000 in late 2004, they expected to stay four or five years. But after daughter Jolie was born six months later, the home started to feel cramped. The Chretiens were ready to move out - but not quite ready to sell. "Given realtor fees, we thought we'd only break even," says Katherine, 32, an internist. So when the couple, now expecting a second child, moved to a five-bedroom colonial less than two miles away this past winter, they didn't put a "For Sale" sign out; they found a tenant. The Chretiens are banking on a downtown redevelopment project to boost property values.  Be first to comment this article
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Index that measures contracts being signed for existing home sales drops to lowest level since 9/11 attack. NEW YORK -- The meltdown in the mortgage market caused the biggest drop on record in July for pending home sales, taking the index down to the lowest level since the month that included the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack. The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index, which measures contracts to buy existing homes, fell 12.2 percent to a reading of 89.9. It the second lowest reading on record for the seven-year old index, trailing only the 89.8 reading in September 2001. "There's bad reports and then there's truly awful ones. This is clearly the latter," said Mike Larson, real estate analyst for independent research firm Weiss Research. "Even I'm shocked by a 12 percent decline." Be first to comment this article |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
The number of homes on the market in 18 major metropolitan areas continues to grow. Total listings of homes in these metro areas at the end of June was up 2.5% from May, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a national real-estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif. The data cover all listings of single-family homes, condominiums and town houses on local multiple-listing services in those areas. Be first to comment this article |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Selling a home used to be all about "curb appeal," or the first impression a property conveys to potential buyers as they pull up in front. A house that looks unattractive from the street won't sell, the mantra goes. These days, a property's "pix appeal," or attractiveness in photos posted in online listings, is equally as important. Eighty percent of home buyers used the Internet last year to search for a home, and nearly 25% reported that they first found the property they purchased on the Internet, according to a National Association of Realtors survey. "Without pictures I am much less likely to go see a house," says house hunter Dan Dillbeck of Grand Rapids, Mich. In most cases -- 85% of the time -- online photos are his first view of a home, he says, adding that poor pictures tend to turn him away. Be first to comment this article |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
In 2005, World Savings Bank honored Secure Financial Inc. with a "Top Broker Award." It was a tribute to the sales prowess of Zak Khan, who arranged more than a hundred mortgages out of the small real-estate firm's Union City, Calif., office. But Mr. Khan, a onetime professional cricket player, wasn't all he seemed. For starters, his real name is Altaf A. Shaikh. Contrary to California law, he never held a license to broker mortgage loans. Still, he managed to find jobs at a variety of mortgage firms since 1997, leaving a trail of unhappy borrowers and a lengthening list of criminal charges and lawsuits filed against him. Be first to comment this article |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
| Results 1 - 15 of 228 |
