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HardiePlank siding gets thumbs up

By Barry Stone, Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

DEAR BARRY: My mother is planning to replace the wood siding on her home. We'd like to know which is better: HardiePlank or steel siding. Which do you recommend, and why? --Susan

DEAR SUSAN: Some may disagree with this answer, but my preference is HardiePlank. It has the look of wood siding but is actually fibrous concrete. In my opinion, it is superior to steel siding for the following reasons:  more...

Success: Luck and sweat

By Alison Rogers, Tuesday, March 31, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelleyboone/2078304297/" target=blank>Kelley Mari</a>.

The No. 1 business book in the country is "Outliers: The Story of Success," the new book by Malcolm Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point." "Outliers" is basically a collection of weird little scholarly studies and anecdotes strung along like pearls on a necklace, arguing that it's smarter to be lucky than it's lucky to be smart.

Lyrics from "Pippin" aside, Gladwell spends a lot of his time indicating that a strong factor in success is that the seed finds fertile soil -- as in his story of the kings of Silicon Valley, who were all born within two years of each other, because any computer geek older than that would have been ...  more...

First-time buyers crucial to recovery

By Marcie Geffner, Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Can first-time homebuyers save the U.S. economy?

Plenty of politicians, pundits and prominent economists believe so. In fact, new homebuyers are so crucial to a recovery that the federal government has anted up an $8,000 tax credit for those who haven't owned a home in the previous three years, and the state of California has added on a whopping $10,000 tax credit for residents who buy a brand-new home in the state this year.  more...

Beating the recession Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Monday, March 30, 2009.

Is your real estate business suffering from too many expenses and a lack of closed sales? If so, today's column gives you four ways to put your business back on track no matter what the market does.

1. Invest in training and education
The number one mistake that both agents and companies make in a slowing market is to cut back on their training and education budgets. When money is tight, it's easy to justify diverting funds to other areas. The agents and companies who are currently investing in training are picking up market share now and will be well positioned to dominate players as the market improves.  more...

Cancel impound account? There's a fee

By Benny Kass, Monday, March 30, 2009.

DEAR BENNY: Can you explain how a bank can legally charge a quarter of a point of the loan to opt out of an impound account? We have always paid our property taxes twice a year and always on time and have excellent credit. It feels like extortion to me. --Jerry

DEAR JERRY: It may not be legal extortion, but it's close. For years, lenders argued that it was necessary to collect escrows for taxes and insurance (also called "impound accounts") in order to make sure that the real estate taxes and insurance policies would be paid and kept current.  more...

Homeowners find it pays to go green

By Dian Hymer, Monday, March 30, 2009.

The green revolution is spreading as the public becomes aware of the need to reduce dependence on foreign oil and improve the environment through conservation and recycling.

Today's recession-wary homeowners are reluctant to spend a penny on home improvements. However, some effective energy-saving home improvements don't cost much and can save you money in the long run.

For example, a tight house prevents heat loss. To keep your home from leaking, weatherstrip by sealing voids around windows, doors, vents, cables, electrical outlets, and switches and electrical wires.  more...

The facts on FHA-insured loans

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, March 30, 2009.

The Ups and Downs of FHA: The importance of Federal Housing Administration-insured loans in the home mortgage market has changed markedly over the years. This has been due less to changes in the FHA itself than to changes in the broader market in which it operates.

In the early 1990s, FHA had about 15 percent of the home purchase market. In subsequent years through 2006, FHA lost business to the growing subprime market, which took many borrowers who could have gone FHA. In addition, FHA lost business to the prime conventional market, which developed and aggressively merchandised option adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) ...
 more...

Commission rates up, but agents earn less Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Sunday, March 29, 2009.

Are commissions going up or are they going down? New data from America's top real estate firms holds some interesting answers to this often-contentious debate.

Recently there has been a spirited debate among Inman News readers about the future of agent compensation. What few people are discussing, however, is a pattern that has been consistent for the 30-plus years I have been in the business. Commission rates are primarily contingent upon whether an area is experiencing a buyer's or seller's market.  more...

'Do not underestimate the power of the Fed'

By Lou Barnes, Friday, March 27, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dianaoctavius/3333902343/" target=blank>dianaoctavius</a>.

There will be many turning points in this first global recession of the modern era, but this week marks one of the good ones. The players: the Fed, the Obama administration, and maybe, just maybe ... the bankers.

The Fed is a central bank. All nations have one, each with one unique capability: the authority to print money. In normal times, central banks print money cautiously but routinely through the banking system -- draining in good times, increasing in recessions.  more...

Words that changed architecture

By Arrol Gellner, Friday, March 27, 2009.

While much of the verbiage architects have churned out over the years has deservedly been forgotten, a number of phrases have managed to encapsulate, if not outright inspire, entire architectural movements.  more...

Pulling the trigger on nail gun purchase

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, March 27, 2009.

For professionals and do-it-yourselfers alike, nothing makes a job easier and faster than a power nailer. Nailers not only substantially speed up your work and save a lot of stress on your arm, hand and wrist, but they reduce wood splitting and hammer dents, eliminate predrilling in hardwoods, and accurately set your nails at or below the surface of the wood.

COMPRESSED AIR  more...

Static over $4,100 carpet charge

By Robert Griswold, Friday, March 27, 2009.

Q: We recently moved out of an apartment we rented for four years. Our lease allowed us to have a dog. We were very neat and clean tenants, and the owner came over often during the tenancy to make minor repairs and not once mentioned any concerns about our housekeeping.  more...

Rental situation turns dangerous

By Janet Portman, Thursday, March 26, 2009.

Q: Until recently, my daughter was in a rental situation that was downright dangerous. Her roommates turned out to be inconsiderate and mean, and when they drank, they were violent. My daughter was afraid for her safety and moved out, after explaining the situation to the landlord and giving him the keys. The roommates are demanding that she pay her share of the rent, and the landlord doesn't want to get involved. What should we do? --Eric S.  more...

Buyers, don't forget 5-year rule

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, March 26, 2009.

Q: My friends and family are all pressuring me to buy a home. I'm totally obsessed with HGTV, and love to go to open houses in my neighborhood, just to look. I would love to own my own home, and can well afford to. My only concern is the commitment. It seems like such a big, long monetary commitment, and sometimes I'm not even sure if I want to stay in this area much longer or explore some more. I do live in a high-priced area, and sometimes I worry that if I do decided to stay here, and I don't buy in the next year or so, I might end up priced out of ever buying in this area.

A: If you read this column regularly, you know by now that I am usually bullish on buying. For most folks, that can afford to buy, and want to buy -- buying strategically is usually a good thing to do.  more...

Walls can talk

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, March 26, 2009.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tboard/3346592953/in/photostream/" target=blank>Copyright © 2009 Teresa Boardman</a>.

Houses speak to me and they always have.

They tell stories and reveal secrets. The basketball hoop on the garage says that children once played there. The tool bench says that the mister liked to fix things.

The ancient stove in the basement says that the same people lived in the home for a long time.  more...

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