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Mortgage concepts every buyer should know

By Jack Guttentag, Sunday, March 30, 2008.

Home purchasers sometimes get into trouble because they are not clued into the sequence of steps involved in financing their purchase. These are qualification, preapproval, approval and lock.  more...

Major home remodel may not pay off

By Dian Hymer, Sunday, March 30, 2008.

Several years ago, if your home no longer suited your needs, you bought another one that worked better. Generally, listings sold quickly, so many homeowners bought first and then sold the old home. Today's challenging residential real estate market makes this process more risky. For some homeowners, it's impossible due to tight credit markets.  more...

Will refinancing to lower rate really save money?

By Benny Kass, Sunday, March 30, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I bought my condo 18 months ago. The interest rate on my 30-year loan is 6.25 percent. Should I consider refinancing to a lower rate? I plan on staying here and paying off the loan so it seems even if I save some money on a lower interest rate I will be extending my loan and paying more/longer? --Scott

DEAR SCOTT: Since you've had your loan for a relatively short time, the costs to refinance your loan may not outweigh the benefits of a lower interest rate.  more...

Conforming loan limit won't fall with home prices Premium Content

By Inman News, Sunday, March 30, 2008.

In a reversal of past policy, federal regulators say they won't lower the $417,000 conforming loan limit to keep it in line with falling home prices.

Adopting a stance taken by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the housing downturn of the early 1990s, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has ruled that the conforming loan limit will move in only one direction: up.  more...

Foreign buyers fuel second-home sales, while U.S. buyers hold back Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Sunday, March 30, 2008.

Sales of vacation properties fell 30.6 percent in 2007 compared to the prior year, with investment-property purchases down 18.1 percent, according to an Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey report released by the National Association of Realtors.

Total sales of new and resale homes used as primary residences, by comparison, dropped 10 percent from 2006 to 2007, survey results revealed.  more...

An agent planning for retirement

By Alison Rogers, Sunday, March 30, 2008.

I left my old corporate job, with its lovely 401(k) that offered cushy matching funds, in 2005.

The year after was such a financial disaster -- I piled on credit-card debt like, well, a sailor on shore leave with a fistful of credit cards -- that I didn't make any retirement contributions at all.

But now, I am doing my 2007 taxes, and (huzzah!) I get to be responsible again. That means I'm making a contribution to my retirement funds.  more...