Total Number of News: 5416
- 10/15/2008 - Real Estate News
Best plan for insulating garage
Q: I have an open ceiling in my garage that is insulated with paper-backed R-13 batts with the fiberglass exposed and held in place by metal strips. The ceiling has a lot of pipes and wires running over the ceiling joists. I plan to install poly-encaps... - 10/15/2008 - Real Estate News
How option ARMs killed WaMu
(This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1, "WaMu failed to heed lesson learned in '80s.") Kerry Killinger, the former strategist at the brokerage firm Murphey Favre, became Washington Mutual's chief executive in 1990. He made his firs... - 10/15/2008 - Real Estate News
Surviving the crisis: 6 rules to live by
It has been a year since the stock market hit a high in October 2007. Since then, the financial picture has changed drastically. Hundred-year-old investment banks have disappeared. Trillions of dollars of wealth has evaporated. Residential real estate h... - 10/14/2008 - Real Estate News
Home inspection fee was a waste
DEAR BARRY: We just closed escrow on a home, and the day we moved in we found a flooded basement because the water heater had failed. But four weeks ago, our home inspector said the water heater would be good for many more years. Our plumber disagreed.... - 10/14/2008 - Real Estate News
Five months and no offers? Time to stage
Q: What do you think of a Realtor who told me in the beginning of the listing that my house shows well but now says I should pack up my clutter and get it out of the house? I've had my house on the market for five months and haven't had an offer. She a... - 10/13/2008 - Real Estate News
New title insurer undercuts competitors
In the midst of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, one that originated in and owes its severity to developments in the home mortgage market, it is nice to be able to report some good news about this market. The newly chartered EnTitle Insuranc... - 10/13/2008 - Real Estate News
Mortgage approval is no easy task
It wasn't too long ago that home buyers made offers without financing contingencies and closed the deal in as short as 14 days following acceptance. Quick closes are virtually impossible today if you're buying a home with the aid of a mortgage. And, it... - 10/13/2008 - Real Estate News
Timing the market: Refi or keep ARM loan?
DEAR BENNY: I have a hybrid mortgage that is fixed for the first five years at 4.25 percent, and is tied to U.S. Treasury securities. The loan document notes that the index value is 2.1 and the margin is 2.75. The first "change date" on the ... - 10/10/2008 - Real Estate News
Sellers wise to replace exterior door
Q: We are trying to replace a plain, solid-wood, paint-grade, 8-foot outside door on a home we are trying to sell. The old hinges are different from what's common today. I am not sure if this could be changed or not. Do you know what we should do? --Ji... - 10/10/2008 - Real Estate News
It takes a forest to build a house
Back in the not-so-Jolly Old England of the Middle Ages, where many American building traditions originated, no one knew anything about structural engineering. Instead, carpenters used common knowledge gleaned from trial and error and handed down over ...