(This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Read Part 2, "Paying home loan biweekly can save thousands.")

The roller-coaster ride provided by the subprime fallout has brought the "pay-it-off sooner" idea back to the front burner for many homeowners.  more...

Is there merit in waiting for the housing market to cool before jumping in to buy a home? While that question may be on the minds of many consumers, the possibility of a significant drop in home prices coupled with a terrific downward trend in mortgage interest rates is rather remote.  more...

The subprime fallout has made the once-slam-dunk home loans more difficult to obtain. While some neighborhoods continue to be very active, other areas have slowed considerably.  more...

Why is mortgage interest deductible without limit on two homes and not just the primary residence?

Some accountants have jokingly referred to the concept as the "Congressman's Rule" because some of our lawmakers have a residence in the nation's capital and another in their home state.  more...

While real estate typically is an excellent long-term investment, vacation-property buyers should be cautious when buying vacant land or raw land even if there clearly is marketable timber on the property.  more...

Is the warm weather bringing out more TICs?

Unlike the little pests that bother our pets, these TICs can be helpful options for real estate investors.  more...

First a warning, then a widespread investigation, and now a fine.

You get the feeling that Mike Kreidler knows who is providing some of the wonderful food, flowers and giveaways at Realtor open houses, and he would like it stopped.

Kreidler, the Washington state insurance commissioner, recently announced that his office had fined Ticor Title Insurance Co. and First American Title a total of $35,000 for violating regulations that limit the use of incentives and inducements to obtain title insurance business.  more...

Second-home getaways often are used only during specific times of the year. For example, a riverfront cabin may go months -- sometimes even years -- without any occupants while other popular escapes in popular locations are jammed-packed every weekend with city folks fleeing the craziness of downtown.

Even though a second home may be placed on your mental "back burner," make sure you stay current on all zoning, land-use and legal guidelines. If you wait too long to build or improve, the building environment may have changed dramatically.  more...

Reverse mortgages definitely are on the rise.  more...

(This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1, "There's big money in 55-and-older market.")

Why is there a need for senior-housing specialists? Why the focus on persons over 55?

The housing decisions and choices for persons over the age of 55 began to increase in 1988. That's the year the Federal Housing Act was amended to prohibit discrimination based upon disability or family status.  more...

(This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Read Part 2, "Hot Realtor niche now 15,000 strong.")

Some of the newer real estate sales models focus on the speed and resources of the Internet, hoping to lure the under-35 generation, sometimes known as the iPod generation, with a high-tech approach to residential transactions.  more...

Remember the tight, cute "kit" cottage you saw at the annual Home Show (one of five clustered in the featured vacation-home area) that would fit just perfectly on the wooded lot you've always wanted in the mountains?

It seems that builders and manufacturers always are urging consumers to dream -- whether it be a stately primary residence or a precut timber home composed of hand-milled Montana logs trucked directly to your site.  more...

Not only has the reverse-mortgage industry left its infancy stage and started racing towards adolescence, but its next growth step apparently will be coming sooner than expected.  more...

I once asked an accountant why a homeowner had to face a surprising penalty from the Internal Revenue Service after losing his job and his home because of a downtown in the economy.

When the homeowner had to sell his home for less than its purchase price (known as a short sale), the bank also forgave a portion of the mortgage. The amount forgiven, $15,000, showed up as taxable income on the homeowner's tax return.  more...

Nearly every day, we read about the increasing popularity of second homes in a remote Mexican seaside town, or the lure of buying a Tuscan villa or the exotic real estate possibilities in Panama. But how many North Americans are actually rolling the dice and choosing to purchase a second home outside the U.S.?  more...