Author Profiles

Homebuilders offer new ideas for additions that make room for more family members. Read More

Having a second mortgage or home equity line can make refinancing an underwater mortgage nearly impossible, but one of these five strategies might bail out your refinance. Read More

As Facebook’s IPO nears, it’s easy to get caught up in the notion of getting rich quick. But there’s no surer way to wealth than home ownership. Read More

How much are you polluting the air? Here are 6 easy ways to cut the pollution your life produces and improve air quality. Read More

A few hours of exterior home and yard work can add thousands to your home’s value. Read More

Three good reasons to warm up to a refinance this spring. Read More

Worried you might not be able to refinance your home mortgage? The federal HARP program helps those with financial stress. Here’s what you need to know. Read More

With tax deduction limits coming for 2013, medically related home upgrades are a smart project this year. Read More

It’s spring, which means winged ants and termites are searching for new homes. Here’s how to tell them apart and keep them away from your house. Read More

Stuck in an ARM and wish you could refinance into a fixed-rate mortgage? Here are 4 circumstances that could derail your hopes, and how to get back on track. Read More

The cost to recharge your air conditioning is going up, up, up. Here’s why: Read More

The Federal Housing Finance Agency tells Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to avoid loans on properties carrying a private transfer fee. Read More

Tight-fisted lenders have made home equity loans harder to come by. So what’s a fixer-upper to do? Meet the 203(k) loan. Read More

Warning: Scammers are on the prowl, claiming to have your share of the foreclosure settlement — for a fee, of course. Read More

When you’re struggling to pay your mortgage, any offer to modify your loan seems like a lifeline. Before you grab hold, make sure it’s in your best interest. Read More

When you’re spending thousands to remodel a kitchen or bath, you want those updates to last a while. Read More

Congress reconsiders the idea of billing home owners for payroll tax cut. Read More

A short sale might be worth more than avoiding a foreclosure on your credit report. For some, it means cold hard cash. Read More

Housing group opposes limit the mortgage interest deduction sought by Obama in his budget proposal. Read More

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says lenders make it too hard for consumers to get mortgages. Read More

A new online tool helps home owners who used the 2008 first-time home buyer tax credit calculate how much they now have to pay back. Read More

Tax benefits for home owners disappeared at the end of 2011 and no one knows whether Congress will bring them back. How annoying! Read More

Congress may raise the cost of home financing with higher fees for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage guarantees to pay for extension of payroll tax deduction. Read More

Home owners who’ve made their payments on time should be able to get lower mortgage interest rates, president says in State of the Union address. Read More

Smart tips for handling snow regardless of whether a snowpocalypse to you is a few inches or several feet. Read More

Tax rules that let you escape paying federal income tax after a short sale expire this year. Read More

A survey uncovers the one thing we can all agree on no matter our political persuasion — home ownership. Read More

The Federal Reserve Board says help for housing market will aid in an economic recovery. Read More

We explain the tax details around giving the gift of a home down payment. Read More

Congress raises the cost of home financing with higher fees for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage guarantees. Read More

If you own a condo, or hope to buy one someday, changes in FHA’s mortgage program could end up costing you — and further crimp the housing market. Read More

From the mortgage interest deduction to energy tax credits, here are the tax tips you need to get jump on your 2011 returns. Read More

Housing issues to take center stage Dec. 6 at various Occupy events around the country. Will policymakers listen? Read More

Home buyers and sellers doing short sales will no longer be on the hook for fraud they don’t know about or participate in. Read More

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Congress returns FHA’s affordable-mortgage program to high-cost areas of the country. Read More

Your smoke detector is of no use to you if the batteries aren’t in. Are your smoke detectors in working order? Read More

When a lender says you don’t qualify for a mortgage refinance, you may be able to fix what’s wrong or find another lender willing to step up. Read More

When zombies, Snookies, and Lady Gagas storm your front door this weekend, don’t fear! Your home owners insurance will protect you from Halloween mishaps. Read More

Reverse mortgages come with lots of payment options. Find the right one for you. Read More

If you’ve been wondering if you should be renting rather than owning, consider this expert’s view. Read More

NAR asks a House panel to make sure home owners have access to fixed-rate mortgages. Read More

Senate panel warned that changing the mortgage interest deduction would hurt home owners. Read More

What do your furnace, your windows, and your gas grill have in common? They’re all conspiring to do you harm if you’re not careful. Here’s how to protect yourself and your family from easily preventable accidents. Read More

Instead of a marginal approach, it’s time to address housing market issues head on. Read More

A group of lawmakers and industry experts from both sides of the aisle got together in Washington, D.C., yesterday — brought together by think tanks Progressive Policy Institute and e21 — and came up with some pretty interesting ideas for solving the housing market’s woes. Read More

There are some really sweet real estate deals here in Maryland right now and I’d love to take advantage of them, but I can’t. Not because my credit score isn’t good, not because I don’t have a down payment, but because credit is so tight right now that sometimes good credit and a nice down payment just aren’t enough. Read More

President Obama last night proposed a mortgage refinance program to help millions of American home owners take advantage of historically low interest rates. Read More

Looking for a little good news about the housing industry? We found a bright spot, courtesy of The National Association of Home Builders. Actually, a dozen bright spots. Read More

If Hurricane Irene seriously damaged your house or you’re not getting a paycheck because the storm is preventing you from working, you may be able to catch a payment break on your mortgage. Most banks will listen to your story and decide on a case-by-case basis whether to grant “forbearance,” which is lender-speak for not having to make mortgage payments. Read More

I much prefer remodeling to tearing down housing, but sometimes, a bad house is like a cancer that needs to be removed to save the neighborhood and stabilize home values. Read More

It’s time to dispel some common myths so that your hurricane preparations are fully informed. How many of these five myths from Traveler’s Insurance do you believe? Read More

Need help preparing for Hurricane Irene and potentially cleaning up after her? There’s an app for that.  Read More

The first hurricane of the season, Irene, passed over Puerto Rico Monday and could hit the U.S. anywhere from the Keys to the Carolinas later this week. Read More

Would you refinance to get an interest rate below 3%? What if that rate would only last for five years? Read More