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Who is in charge here? Premium Content

By Lou Barnes, Friday, October 9, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/devnull/194923942" target=blank>dev null</a>.

Long-term rates are rising today, the all-important 10-year Treasury suddenly above the 3.16-3.28 percent range that gave us sub-5 percent mortgages for the first time since spring. Gone now, pushing 5.125 percent, the 10-year trading 3.37 percent at this moment.

Ordinarily, a range breakout like this would signal a run to the top of the old range, 10-year Treasurys testing 4 percent as in summer, mortgages at 5.75 percent. However, nothing in this moment is ordinary -- not remotely predictable with normal tools.  more...

Buyer stuck with convicts next door

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, October 9, 2009.

Q: I live in a gated community of upscale, luxury homes. I bought my house directly from the builder, brand-new about two years ago. Our homeowners association (HOA) is just getting up and running, as the development gets close to being sold out.

Recently, my neighbor discovered on the Web that a sex offender was registered as living in the house next door to me. We did some research with the county and found out that the house has been converted into something similar to a halfway house for convicted sex and other violent offenders! So, now there are 10 men living there who all have criminal records (it's a five-bedroom house). I'm retired, so I feel like I'm trapped behind the gates with these guys all day every day, plus there are kids in a lot of these houses, and I'm fearful something very bad might happen.  more...

Paying for an architect's brain

By Arrol Gellner, Friday, October 9, 2009.

A while back, I was half-listening to a radio talk show when a guest's comment struck me like a bolt from the blue. New York Times Magazine columnist Lisa Sanders, a practicing physician, was talking about the basic problem with America's health care system. What caught my attention was the following statement:

"Thinking, which is really what a doctor does -- thinking, examining, questioning -- is not valued by the system. We value doing rather than thinking."  more...

Sizing up electric wall heaters

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, October 9, 2009.

With winter on its way, you may be thinking about some different options for warming up those cold rooms. If you don't like the idea of moving portable heaters around and you're looking for something permanent, an electric heater might be just the solution you need.

There are several types of electric heaters available, but the two most common styles are probably the wall-mounted can style, and the baseboard style.  more...

Real estate Twitter tips Premium Content

By Joseph Ferrara, Friday, October 9, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/itzybros/2868382361/">itzybros</a>.

"Speed kills ... except for real estate." --Anonymous

People are using Twitter to share their experiences. They are also using it for crowdsourcing: posing questions and problems to a group of people.

They are hoping for a quick and useful reply. They tweet (post on Twitter) for advice. They tweet for referrals. They tweet for real estate advice. Yes, they tweet that they are looking for homes ... and Realtors. No kidding.  more...

Real estate 'deadbeats' stay but don't pay

By Steve Bergsman, Friday, October 9, 2009.

My wife's sister's husband's family lives in a condominium on Florida's Gold Coast in which they are no longer making any mortgage payments.

"How does that happen," my wife asked me.

As always, I turned to experts to find out.  more...