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Pros, cons of interest-only mortgages

By Robert Bruss, Tuesday, May 11, 2004.

DEAR BOB: My wife and I missed the mortgage refinancing "boat." We thought interest rates would drop further. Instead, they went up. But a mortgage broker friend suggests we instead get one of the new "interest-only" mortgages to keep our payments down. He showed us how our monthly payment will be less than if we refinance with an amortized mortgage. What do you think about the new interest-only mortgages? – Thomas V.  more...

Leaky doors get a rainy-day fix

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Tuesday, May 11, 2004.

Q: We live in a condo with several sliding patio doors. Each door has a fixed outer sash and an inner sash that slides on an inside track. When there is a powerful storm, the wind blows a lot of rainwater from the sill outside the sliding sash into the half of the track inside the fixed sash and then onto the floor of the room.

A window expert has looked at our doors and says the vinyl seals are in place and nothing further can be done, except to tape or seal the bottoms of the sashes when a storm occurs.  more...

Real estate fiasco ensues after parcel sold twice

By Robert Bruss, Tuesday, May 11, 2004.

In 1986, land developer 100 Investment Limited Partnership assembled a 300-acre tract of land that it intended to develop for homes. As part of the assemblage, the developer bought a 1.1-acre parcel from sisters-in-law Frances and Mildred Miller. The developer paid more than $7 million for title insurance on the 300 acres.

100 Investment subdivided the 300 acres. The 1.1-acre Miller parcel was conveyed to home builder NVR Homes Inc. in 1995. That parcel was ultimately conveyed to three separate homeowners.  more...