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How I sold my beach house Premium Content

By Alison Rogers, Sunday, October 26, 2008.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/landhere/210269419/" target=blank>landhere</a>.

I sold the beach house today, or maybe it was yesterday.

After having been an agent, it was surreal to be at a closing as a principal again. A little history: In 2001 I went through a bad breakup, and my ex and I split the apartment that we co-owned. I took my original equity and bought a little studio in the city, and took my profits and bought a beach house. That "two-home" solution was perfect when I was single, and even when I was married and didn't work constantly, but for our current lifestyle, hubby and I decided that we needed one bigger place in the city.  more...

The art of counteroffers

By Dian Hymer, Sunday, October 26, 2008.

Negotiation is back in style. It's not uncommon for buyers and sellers to have many rounds of counteroffering back and forth before they arrive at a contract that is completely agreeable to all involved. When this is accomplished, the contract is ratified.

However, there is another important element involved in ratifying a contract. Until a residential purchase contract is completely signed, and the final signed documents are delivered back to the other party or that party's agent, the listing is not sold.  more...

Homes & Land partners with Yahoo! Real Estate

By Matt Carter, Sunday, October 26, 2008.

Print and online publisher Homes & Land is offering its advertisers featured listings on Yahoo! Real Estate -- and the company says it will be the only real estate media company doing so for several months under an exclusive agreement.

Homes & Land, which also has alliances with sites like Trulia, Zillow, and the Wall Street Journal’s RealEstateJournal.com, says the deal represents a deepening of the company's decade-long relationship with Yahoo.  more...

Homeowners, be careful signing divorce papers

By Benny Kass, Sunday, October 26, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I am recently divorced. We had two houses. In the divorce, I got one and he got one. We both signed quitclaim deeds to each other. However, I needed to refinance mine to pay off the bills I accumulated just to get my house back into livable shape. (It was a rental while we were married.) Both houses have mortgage loans: Mine carries a rate of 6 percent and his is at 5.75 percent interest. Needless to say, there is no incentive for him to refinance that favorable loan rate.  more...

Regulation couldn't prevent mortgage crisis

By Jack Guttentag, Sunday, October 26, 2008.

When a presidential election falls in the middle of a financial crisis, it is not surprising that we are besieged with misinformation. Much of it is finger-pointing about responsibility for the absence of effective regulation that would have stopped or moderated the crisis. This article aims to provide some perspective on this issue.

Political responsibility for inadequate regulation: There are two sectors where more extensive regulation might have made a difference. These are the investment banks and the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  more...