Home

Tankless water heaters under fire

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

Recently a reader asked if we thought installing an on-demand, or tankless, water heater was smart. We responded "Yes, in theory."

Conceptually, heating water as it's needed makes more sense than heating water and storing it in a tank for later use. We ended that column with the statement that the tankless models theoretically are a reasonable alternative, but with a caveat to do your homework.  more...

Window sash replacement done right

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

Dear Burnett Brothers:

Shame on you for writing an article encouraging people to replace their wood double-hung windows without any consideration of the type of home and type of replacement window, and whether the two go together.

Many old, historic or potentially historic houses have been irreparably altered by people who put in aluminum windows, for example, in a Victorian. When significant features of a historic building are altered, the historic integrity and status can be lost, and the building can more likely be lost.  more...

Low rates spur rush to refinance

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

Applications for refinance loans jumped nearly 30 percent during the week ending March 13, as interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans dipped below 5 percent to tie a record low seen in January.

In its weekly survey of members, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.mortgage applications were up 21.2 percent from a week earlier, driven by a 29.6 percent increase in applications for refinance loans.

Applications for conventional purchase loans were up 2.1 percent, while applications for government-backed purchase loans (largely FHA) were up 0.4 percent.  more...

Gem

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

Photo by DOUG PANKEY

"Gem."

Douglas Pankey of Nationwide Residential Lending Inc. photographed this property in San Jose, Calif. Jerry Feiger, owner of Phase Nine Investments LLC, is pictured beside the house.  more...

Tradition and technology in transition Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/2850299330/in/photostream/" target=blank>Wonderlane</a>.

"Family to appeal historic designation," the headline in my local newspaper read -- the newspaper that has been right-sized to the point where I can mail it to a friend with a single first-class stamp.

"Can you do that?" I thought. With the AARP letters now arriving at my home at the rate of 47 a day and the Denny's Senior Menu clearly in my sights, there may be hope for me yet.  more...

Contesting credit blemishes

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetruthabout/2720239113/" target=blank>TheTruthAbout...</a>.

Credit is king. Don't even think about that terrific interest rate -- let alone that dreamy Craftsman home or upscale downtown condo -- if your FICO is out of whack.

It seems that even veteran loan officers are being forced to ask you for the minutest of details before submitting your loan package to underwriting. "I only need two more pieces of information" can easily be a daily request with even the most complete files still drawing intense lender scrutiny.  more...

Apartments drive increase in housing starts

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

In a surprise to many analysts, U.S. housing starts rose 22.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units in February, although most of the gain was attributable to a sharp rise in construction of new apartments.

Tuesday's report by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development showed an 82.3 percent month-to-month increase in multifamily starts, to 226,000 a year, while single-family starts were up a more modest 1.1 percent, to an annual rate of 357,000 a year.  more...

Fannie, Freddie REO inventory swells

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac boosted loan modifications by 76 percent in the last three months of 2008, but nearly doubled their inventories of real estate-owned properties over the course of the year as the companies eschewed short sales and seized properties faster than they could sell them.

Fannie and Freddie's regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, submitted a report to lawmakers today detailing actions taken to prevent unnecessary foreclosures.  more...