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Flooded crawlspace demands action

By Barry Stone, Monday, June 30, 2008.

Dear Barry,

I recently discovered about 3 to 4 inches of standing water under my house. I pumped out the water and removed the plastic sheets that covered the ground so the soil can dry out. Once the ground is dry, should I spread lime over the surface to help prevent mold? And should I also reinstall the plastic sheets? --Steve

Dear Steve,

Mold prevention is not necessary unless you have moisture on cellulose materials. Wet soil will not support mold growth. Therefore, lime is not needed on the ground surface under your home.  more...

Is your blog a lawsuit magnet? Premium Content

By Marcie Geffner, Monday, June 30, 2008.

Blogging is long overdue for a few good lawsuits.

While free speech and fair use are legitimate and important legal concepts, what goes on in the blogosphere is all too often well beyond what's permissible. Bloggers may be guilty of libel, defamation, copyright infringement, invasion of privacy and a number of other crimes. Whether individual cases have merit is a matter for the courts to decide, but the risks of liability present a clear warning for real estate bloggers who operate in ignorance or disregard of the laws that govern free speech and fair use.  more...

1930s-style collapse haunts economy

By Lou Barnes, Sunday, June 29, 2008.

Mortgages are sticky near 6.5 percent, Treasurys getting most of the flight-to-quality benefit from the stock market dive.

Economic data this week were slim and predictable: Consumer confidence fell again, and rebate checks plumped May spending and income, but gave no durable, corner-turning boost. The "personal consumption expenditure deflator" in the spending/income report confirmed the remarkable (and painful) "core" inflation performance, only a 0.1 percent gain: Prices for everything except food and energy are on or over the edge of deflation.  more...

Finding the 'Nifty 50' Premium Content

By Alison Rogers, Sunday, June 29, 2008.

I have been so busy these past couple of weeks tying up a couple of rentals that I worried I'd been neglecting my sale. However, I know my seller is getting antsy as July -- and vacations with their consequent disappearance of buyers to the beach -- looms. So I decided to set up an open house for this weekend, and to make it a big one.

Now I have to digress for a minute and tell you that the deal du jour in my area -- downtown -- actually happened as the result of a mistake. An agent accidentally typed the wrong price on a listing and the result of the underpricing was a fierce bidding war and a terrific final price. Crazy, huh? Well, that's what this market is like.  more...

Is buying a home to live in a good investment?

By Dian Hymer, Sunday, June 29, 2008.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that in some markets investors are buying foreclosure properties at bargain prices. These properties are located in areas that appear to have good growth potential, and they generate enough rental income to at least offset the holding and maintenance costs. The deal needs to make sense financially regardless of whether there is a big run up in appreciation. The plan is to hold the property for the long term.  more...

Interest-only loans often sold on false promises

By Jack Guttentag, Sunday, June 29, 2008.

One of the fairy tales borrowers frequently hear is that a loan carrying an interest-only (IO) option is priced better than the same loan without the option. It is a fairy tale because the IO allows the borrower to avoid paying down the loan balance, which makes it riskier to the investor, and greater risk should mean a higher price.  more...

Condo foreclosed but HOA fees keep coming

By Benny Kass, Sunday, June 29, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: Recently my condominium unit was foreclosed upon, but the association has now sued me for unpaid condominium assessments. Am I still responsible for this debt? --William

DEAR WILLIAM: Unfortunately you are, but only until the foreclosure sale took place.

Once a new owner took title to your unit -- whether it was a successful bidder at the foreclosure auction or the bank itself -- that new owner is obligated to start paying the association dues.  more...

Social networking pays off Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, June 26, 2008.

(This is Part 1 of a two-part series.)

Social networking may soon overtake virtually every other source as being the most important strategy for lead generation. Have you incorporated this powerful tool into your business?  more...

Some remodels endure endless inspections

By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, June 26, 2008.

If you're thinking of doing some improvements on your home, especially extensive ones, chances are you'll need a building permit. So you head down to your local building department, fill out an application and provide whatever information they require, and a short time later you have your permit.

Once you have your permit, it's important to understand how the inspection process works, and what you need to do to be ready for it. Knowing when different inspections are required and what the inspectors are going to be looking for will help everything go much more smoothly.  more...

Buy smart at real estate auction

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, June 26, 2008.

Q: I want to buy a house at auction. Do you have any advice?

A: In days of old, like before 2005, most real estate auctions were trustee sales that took place before a home was repossessed. We Realtors had a standard set of admonishments we used to make about those auctions: You might get a deal, but you have to pay in cash and in full; you'll have no opportunity to have inspections; you may have to evict the former owners; and you could end up buying a place with a bunch of liens and other mortgages on it. These typical trustee sale characteristics barred all but the hardiest of cash-flush investors from participating.  more...

When mortgage is sold, payment confusion begins

By Benny Kass, Thursday, June 26, 2008.

Q: We refinanced our home loan in March with an online mortgage lender. Within a couple of weeks, we received a letter from another mortgage company advising us that our May payment was to be made to them. A May payment invoice was included. I contacted the original lender and was told that the loan was not sold. They said if and when that happens, we would receive a "goodbye letter," which has not arrived. We now have May payment invoices from both lenders, and only two weeks to go until the first payment is due.  more...

Why can't mom have live-in assistant?

By Janet Portman, Wednesday, June 25, 2008.

Q: We're landlords with a somewhat off-beat question. My mother is about to enter a continuing-care residential community, which requires her to be able to "live independently." She is independent now, and will have no problems taking care of herself in her apartment, but she has a medical condition that will eventually require her to hire a personal assistant to help with dressing, eating and bathing.  more...

Where's the 'wow'?

By Teresa Boardman, Wednesday, June 25, 2008.

My e-mail is filled with spam from vendors trying to sell me products or services for my real estate business that will make me rich. They often include testimonials from agents who use the product or service and are now rich.

The real estate companies are almost as bad. The notes come through about the training classes, often on how to use a product or service that will make us rich yet I don't see my peers taking the classes and becoming rich. The agents who were successful before they took the classes are still successful, and the agents who were not doing so well don't suddenly become superstars.  more...

Readers sound off on gutter, roofing advice

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Tuesday, June 24, 2008.

Our weekly words almost always evoke reader response. Such is the case with our past two columns. Although we disagree with these readers' viewpoints, they contain insights that may be worth consideration.

Concerning last week's response to a reader's question about dealing with a clogged gutter, one reader writes:

I first saw this in Denmark and it is a marvel in its simplicity and functionality.  more...

Home buying heats up south of the border

By Tom Kelly, Tuesday, June 24, 2008.

The cold U.S. housing and mortgage markets have lenders looking for warmer possibilities, and a few are sending more efforts to finance Americans looking to purchase primary residences and second homes south of the border.

New York-based Lehman Brothers Resort Home Lending (1-866-233-4799) will enter the market in a big way, offering U.S. consumers mortgage packages this year in Mexico and Costa Rica, beginning July 1. The company plans to offer borrowers in Canada and the United Kingdom similar loan programs in Mexico and Costa Rica by the end of the year.  more...

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