Estate and mortgage
A new survey reveals home buyers will pay a premium as high as 25 percent for newly built "green" homes, but the extra cost is often not necessary if the builder is savvy.
With home price appreciation hitting the brakes in many markets it"s a good time to take time to save for a down payment.
Whoa, did I hit a vein or what? You wouldn"t believe the names I got called when I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago disparaging the newly crowned queen of all mortgage loans, the Payment Option ARM. I also received plenty of emails telling me that they too, think these loans have no place in this business. As a mortgage lender for over 15 years I"ve seen it all -- or at least can claim to -- and I"ll typically get an email or two from consumers after they"ve read one of my articles. But the funny thing was that they were all from other lenders, or mortgage brokers.
There"s nearly a 35 percent chance home prices in major metros will be lower in two years than they are now. Some areas, however, especially those in the West, Southwest and South face a far greater risk for tumbling home prices.
Year-over-year home price appreciation was up nearly 5.9 percent at the end of last year nationwide, but that"s the lowest level since 2003, according to a lagging indicator that doesn"t accurately mirror today"s real estate market.
From the outside, it"s a plain-vanilla, gable-roofed box of a home that isn"t likely to win any architectural design awards.
Bills introduced earlier this month in Congress slipped quietly under the radar screens of most of the popular press. But that doesn"t diminish their importance.
A boom in consumer indebtedness and the number of companies using questionable practices to help them manage that debt has prompted California to revise regulations governing debt management, debt settlement and credit counseling services.
A little-known federal agency is taking steps to bring down the cost of government-insured reverse mortgages and perhaps convince more lenders to make them available to older home owners who are house-rich but cash-poor.
The rental market"s rebound continued in the third quarter this year and some housing market experts say some of it is due to younger consumers deferring the American Dream.
If you purchased a home away from center city or your employment center to get more affordable housing, your efforts may have been futile because transportation fuel costs may have driven away any savings.
An influx of displaced Gulf Coast residents, as well as those setting up shop to provide rescue, relief and rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina -- along with the obligatory group of speculators circling for real estate carrion -- may be creating a small Baton Rouge housing bubble that"s as fragile as New Orlean"s century-old levee system.
Despite recent gloomy housing market reports, including Commerce Department figures that show new home selling prices recently plunged by the greatest margin since 1970, home owners remain bullish about home values.
Just in the nick of time, the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) split its quarterly Multifamily Market Index (MMI) in two to better report the stark divergence in the higher-density housing sector.
Children respond to the general atmosphere set in the home by the attitudes of their parents. If you look at moving as an exciting adventure full of new possibilities, then chances are very good that you will infect your children with enthusiasm and anticipation.
You might have seen the headlines last week about an unexpected drop in housing starts, and you might have thought: Uh-oh. That"s not the direction we ought to be headed in a rebounding economy.
Realtor Carol Banner has seen a drop in home sales in the Lake Arrowhead Mountain Area.
You"ve probably heard critics on Capitol Hill complain that too many financially-stressed home owners aren"t getting help from lenders to modify their loans, lower their rates or freeze them -- and keep them out of foreclosure.
Tana Fedric reports that Wise County and the rest of North Texas are growing nicely, with plenty of new home construction and subdivisions being developed.
Did you know that manufactured homes represent one of the fastest growing segments of the construction industry? Manufactured (or modular) housing production increased 48 percent from 1992 to 2002, according to the National Association of Homebuilders" Building Systems Council.
Our market expert Susan Eidler reports that, with the start of the new year and the beginning of warmer weather in the desert, more buyers will be coming to the Desert Golf Communities.
Think about it.
It"s not everyday you go looking for a mortgage.
Marco Island sits 10 miles off the coast of Naples in the Gulf of Mexico.
Reverse migration patterns are stacking the deck in buyers" favor in some housing markets.
Interestingly enough, and fair or not, lenders view a Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 almost the very same when it comes to determining creditworthiness. With the exception of most sub prime mortgage loans, lenders look at the actual discharge date of a bankruptcy when deciding whether or not they want to issue a loan for a potential homeowner.
Question: My wife and I purchased a home. At the closing we received a disclosure statement saying that the roof was new, the A/C was five years old and the furnace was a year old.
One way to prepare for the costs of owning a home beyond the mortgage payment, insurance and taxes, is to know the expected life expectancy of your home"s components.
The same new federal law that offers relief from mortgage debt forgiveness taxes, also extends tax benefits for many more homeowners who pay mortgage insurance.
Based on your qualifying efforts, determine the likelihood that your prospect will convert into a good client for your business by conducting a DNA analysis. This involves measuring the prospect"s level of desire, need to take action, and ability and authority to make a purchase or selling decision.
Question: I"m an investor presently buying two pre-construction homes in Florida. I"m concerned about the downturn in the market. Are the sales and prices holding up, and what is the inventory of homes for sale?
Realtor Evan Schoenberg reports to Realty Times that "while 2006-2007 was a transitional year for the national housing industry -- Chicago fared relatively well. There are a number of reasons to believe that the city"s for-sale market will also remain healthy ... into 2008."
College town rental housing and condos have been a profitable niche for investors for years. But are you ready for a niche within a niche - fraternity house rentals?
Today"s Interest Rates from Realty Times are based on a 30 year amortization rate, with good credit and no origination fees.
The state of New York is weathering the latest real estate downturn. While sales prices have dropped overall from last year at this time, they have stopped sliding and may be on an upward trend. The city of Binghamton, in Broome County, for instance, is one of only 11 counties in the Empire State that has maintained price growth over the last 2 years.
Taos, New Mexico, located in the north-central region of the state, remains a weak real estate market at this time.
Freddie Mac is using YouTube drama to get the word out about foreclosure fraud.
There are no sure bets in real estate investing. Everybody knows that, but there are some basic principles that almost always work well.
Question: Do foreclosed or REO homes sell for less money than other occupied homes? If so, what"s the percentage?
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.78 percent with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 5.65 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.86 percent.
Not all real estate investors are created equal in the eyes of the IRS, which means not all tax planning will work for everyone. The IRS classifies real estate investors into four separate categories. What works for real estate investors won"t work for dealers or developers and may or may not work for professionals. You need to know where you fit to maximize your tax savings and minimize tax issues. You may even find that you fit in more than one place!
Question: I have a friend who I believe has her real estate license. She uses real estate records to check out famous people she would like to meet such as sports stars. She is able to find out where they"re living, their mortgage, what they put down on the house, their property tax info, who the house is owned by, how many properties they own, etc.
It would be tacky to call it a cause for celebration, but California real estate agents can be gratified that the State Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of Hughes v. Pair, a sexual harassment case. Why should real estate professionals care about sexual harassment suits? Because the laws involved apply to them.
Recently we considered a situation where a buyer, who had executed a buyer-broker agreement with his agent, backed out of a purchase transaction. In that case, the buyer owed a commission to his agent because the agreement stipulated that the commission was earned when the buyer entered into the purchase agreement.
A recent headline in the business section of the Orange County (Calif.) Register noted that the median price of home sales had risen, but that the statistic was misleading. Most of my Realtor® colleagues would complain that the paper was going negative again. Okay, point conceded; but the paper was correct.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), which is the national trade association for more than 90% of the Canadian private property and casualty insurance industry, the Canada Safety Council and many other organizations want Canadians to take a few minutes to think about home safety and make sure their families are protected as they celebrate their holidays.
Everything in real estate is negotiable and that includes title insurance and escrow services.
"Information deemed Reliable but not Guaranteed." It"s a fair bet that most people who would read this column have seen that disclaimer more times than they could count. It is found on flyers, brochures, advertisements, and, most notably, multiple listing (MLS) reports and property descriptions. Who knows when that language first came into use? Whenever it was, if the person who devised it had been able to register the phrase and collect royalties on it, he or she would be fantastically wealthy by now.
I got a call from a friend here in Austin that told me his brother wanted to buy a house. His brother, a Veteran, lives in North Carolina but was moving to Laredo and wanted to buy the home his mom used to own. Not just that, but he had his "Green Sheet," or his VA Certificate of Eligibility that "qualified" him for a VA mortgage. I talked to his brother. Unfortunately, his VA eligibility didn"t qualify him for a home loan.
"We have experienced an increasing rate of existing home price growth in the GTA as sales have continued to outpace 2008 results," said TREB President Tom Lebour. "Consumers have remained confident in ownership housing as a long-term investment."
Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code allows a taxpayer to roll the gain from the sale of their Old Property over to their New, provided they do certain things which are detailed in the code. What most people don"t understand is that Section 1031 is a "form driven" code section. This means that you must do exactly what the code section requires; if you don"t your exchange will be disallowed if audited; you must dot the i"s and cross the t"s.
There"s a constant kind of bleating about the current mortgage meltdown, the idea that somehow this is a "subprime" issue involving only those with minimal credit and that the rest of the world need not worry.
There are few real estate economists more respected than Mark Dotzour, chief economist of the Real Estate Center at Texas A & M University. He says the time to refinance is now, and that there may not be a better time for years to come.
For all the talk of a subprime meltdown, there ought to be a dawning realization that what we have today is a vastly broader problem than loans to people with weak credit.
There is an old saying that timing has everything to do with the success of a rain dance. In other words, it is not luck, or happenstance that creates the windfall; it is the culmination of effective lead generation, consistent customer retention solutions and the ability to close.
The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.36 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.46 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.78 percent. This is the lowest the 15-year FRM has been since Freddie Mac started tracking it in 1991.
Not only do most people in or near retirement plan to keep their current home, they also don"t plan on tapping the large equity stake they have in their home.
Lenders such as Countrywide have announced programs to help troubled mortgage holders, which may improve the outlook for the remainder of the year, but September"s housing sales illustrate how badly the credit markets froze during July and August.
One of the most popular techniques pitched by cable TV real estate gurus and seminar sponsors -- "rent to own" or "lease option" contracts -- is coming under increasing scrutiny by state legislators and regulators.
Mel Martinez, Secretary of the HUD, departed last Friday to embark on a career in politics. What does his exit mean to RESPA reform?
The success of home staging and other cosmetic make-overs, seems to indicate that buyers viewing a property may not know how to look beyond the surface to visualize their own lives and taste superimposed on someone else"s personal space. Buyers may benefit from making a conscious effort to strengthen their visioning ability since the acquired skill of productive home viewing forms the basis for the significant financial decision -- to buy or not to buy.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wants to do something about the looming mortgage crisis which is hitting his state and just about all others.
Real estate agents continue to get the job done even in the softer housing market, according to buyers and sellers who work with them.
Question: I am getting ready to purchase my first home from a private seller. No broker is involved. I am renting the house and it needs a lot of work.
If home sellers don"t deploy marketing efforts necessary to move a home in a tightening market, they will condemn their listing to open house purgatory where selling gets really hellish.
Concerns about mold and its potential effects on indoor air quality and property values appear to have taken a back seat to other real estate issues, but that doesn"t mean that someone isn"t thinking about.
Investors in foreclosures and REOs: Get ready to rev up your business volume.
It could be a good time to invest in real estate, given the abundance of foreclosures and other distressed properties with reduced prices.
To Connie De Groot, a rising-star of a Beverly Hills real estate agent in Coldwell Bankers No. 1 office worldwide, choosing a full-time real estate agent isn"t about anti-competitive behavior or shutting out part-time discounters.
When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.
There"s little doubt that the real estate marketplace is now in transition. Sale volume has begun to weaken and in many markets the days of quick sales and multiple offers are going or gone.
Question: My husband and I purchased our home back in 1975 for approximately $20,000. He died in 1983, and I have lived in the house since we first bought it. I would like to move to another residence. I believe I can sell the house for $400,000, and am looking at another property in the range of $325,000. Will I have to pay any capital gains tax?
Question: My mother is a 75-year old widow. She owns her home free and clear and it is worth approximately $310,000. Her income from retirement pensions is $22,000 a year. She had a heart attack several years ago and suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes.
A story in This Old House magazine this month details the stealing of a whole house by thieves who deal in used building parts. The crime, in Lindale, Texas, took place, obviously, over several days, in broad daylight and while the hardworking thieves waved to neighbors walking by, assuming the men were just a couple of workmen doing some tasks for the owner.
The price of gas might affect American"s love affairs with their cars, but probably not their romance with garages. Indeed, despite the fact that most folks don"t actually park their automobiles in their garages, they still gotta have "em. So much so, that a garage can add more than 10 percent to the resale price of a house, according to a recent study by Florida State University Professors G. Stacy Sirmans and David Macpherson. That"s more than a fireplace (8.9 percent), extra bathroom (8.7 percent) or extra bedroom (3.7 percent).
Who says the housing boom is losing steam? The latest federal housing price appreciation study, released last Thursday, documents the reverse: The boom is stronger than ever, and appears to be spreading to areas that haven"t seen double-digit price inflation in recent years.
It"s a huge article, the kind you can"t possibly miss, located on the front page of the nation"s most significant business section -- an article that says the real estate market is headed down, down and down.
A title search is one of the most important activities of the real estate transaction. Without the ability to convey title, a property owner cannot sell his or her home and a buyer would not want to take possession without this most basic exercise.
A few years back, I wrote about a house contaminated by toxic mold.
Talk about a national housing boom.
Once you purchase your dream home, the contract used to exchange the property between you and the seller will most likely wind up in a cabinet drawer, long forgotten until you want to review it for the next sale or purchase in which you"re involved. The multi-page file (usually about an inch or so thick) has a long-term effect, but not a daily influence on your life.
Consumer complaints about goods and services almost always rise as demand peaks in the related market.
I heard of a news story the other day on a local radio station that blew me away. Apparently, a local real estate agent has a condo listing that has lingered on the market for a while and called a reporter from this station to complain about it. The reporter quoted him and determined that the real estate market in Montgomery County, MD was, indeed, slowing down.
Question: You recently wrote about tenant rights for single-family houses. I am a landlord and own two properties in the District of Columbia -- one has four units and one has 10 units. Do my tenants have any rights if I want to sell my properties?
Is there a "tax time bomb" ticking away for many American homeowners in their 50s and 60s? Could they end up owing the IRS money unexpectedly when they sell their homes, despite the availability of the seemingly generous $250,000 and $500,000 tax-free exclusion limits on home sale profits?
Question: You have written that if we live in our house for two out of the last five years before it is sold, we can exclude up to $500,000 of profit if we are married and file a joint income tax return (or up to $250,000 if we file a single tax return). My husband and I have lived in our house for almost one year, and he is being transferred to Ohio. We have to sell our house and will make a considerable profit. Do we have to pay capital gains tax on the full profit because we have not lived there for the full two years?
Question: We purchased our house in 1961. The basement floor is entirely covered with tile. A family friend who manages commercial real estate told us that those nine-inch tiles are asbestos. We were advised to either remove these tiles or cover them with concrete. We plan to sell the home shortly. What are our legal obligations and what should we do?
If you"re getting ready to sell, then ensuring you have curb appeal, clutter-free rooms, and the look of a model home is important. But it"s also vital to play house doctor and cure those ailments that have been lingering -- drafty windows, stale odors, cold floors, and the like.
Question: My wife and I have just signed a contract to purchase a nice house in this area, and we have been shopping around for mortgage money. We are considering putting down 20 percent of the purchase price, and obtaining a loan for the balance. All of the lenders we have approached have assured us that we will not have to pay private mortgage insurance, but these same lenders are requiring that we escrow money for taxes and insurance. Is this really necessary and why do lenders require these escrows?
Q: I am the single owner of a house I inherited in 1995. I have never lived in this house and have rented it two separate times. Tenants have now moved out and I would like to know whether or not to continue renting or should I sell now that the market value is high. What about capital gains, etc? I realize that renting at this time would make more profit than selling and putting the money in the bank at such low interest rates. However, I think selling now rather than waiting and having the cost of the sale of the house go down in a few years is a better choice. What"s your advice?
For homeowners aiming to sell their home and buy another, it"s the classic real estate, which came first, the chicken or the egg, question - buy or sell first?
Real Estate is a very local kind of business. Local laws and customs dictate how things are done. I am going to discuss seller disclosure issues, but only in a general sense. What must be done in your community depends on state law, and perhaps local practice and custom. Your lawyer will have to provide you with specific answers.
A "tax fairness" debate is heating up on Capitol Hill in the wake of war rumblings in the Middle East and the IRS"s latest rules governing home sales.
Q: I purchased my first house in l950 for $45,000, and sold it in l990 for $500,000. My basis for tax purposes was $50,000. I took advantage of the once-in-a lifetime exclusion of $125,000, which was then in effect. I paid capital gains tax on $25,000 of profit and rolled over the balance by purchasing a condominium apartment for $300,000. The property is now appraised at $450,000 and I would like to sell it. Can you assist me in determining how much tax I will have to pay, if any. Both properties were my principal residence.
Question: I am in the military and will be transferred across the country in three years. We will certainly be selling our home at that time and I"m wondering if refinancing makes sense if we are going to hold the loan for only three years. We are paying 7.25 percent and have a balance of $220,000. Our principal and interest payment is $1,535. Our property is worth at least $300,000. Isn"t it true that you need to hold the loan for a long time if your refinance?
Q: We purchased our house in the l970"s for approximately $40,000, and have put in about $25,000 of improvements. We lived there until September of 1999, when we retired and moved to a retirement home. For the past two years, we have rented out the house, and have received a decent rental income. The house is now worth almost $700,000, and we understand that if we sell the house before September of this year, we will have to pay a lot of capital gains tax. Unfortunately, we do not believe that we can sell our house that quickly, especially since the tenant has several more months to go on the lease. Is there any way that we can avoid paying the capital gains tax?
There is nothing more unappealing to a prospective home buyer than a brown, weed-filled lawn.
[Note: To follow is an excerpt of an interview with Joseph Haymore, co-founder, CEO and Managing Partner of United Capital Group and United Capital Fund, whose firm has partnered with an global network of investors, selling over $400 million in real estate, and Kevin Peay, Associate Director of Marketing for RealSource, whose firm boasts the track record of placing thousands of investors in the right properties in the right markets at the right time. To listen to the show archive or download an MP3, go to www.IncomePropertyInvestmentTalk.com/072209.]
Since Sept. 11th there has been a tendency to cocoon -- spending more time at home.
Here"s today"s economic question: If you make a $1,000 profit in real estate will it impact the economy differently than $1,000 in profits from the sale of stock?
The average American moves every seven years.
Dear George: We signed a builder contract in February. It was for $128,990. The home was supposed to be 2,690 square feet. By mid-April the builder had poured the foundation and begun the framing. While visiting the site, a sales counselor informed me the builder had made a mistake. The home was now going to be 2,290 square feet. The builder offered $3,000 in "upgrades" to compensate us for the difference. We think the difference of 400 square feet should be closer to $15,000. The builder won"t budge. We can abandon the home. In that case, we"d get our money back. But we love the neighborhood. We feel cheated and misled despite our emotional attachments to the area. What could be our course of action? -- Misled
You know the feeling. You walk into one of those new model homes with everything perfectly arranged and coordinated, look around, and just think, "Wow!" How can I ever make my house look like that?
Question. After a flurry of activity when our house first went on the market, there were four serious potential buyers. They each tried to outbid the other, and we finally accepted the highest offer. However, our purchaser has just been advised that the house appraised for $25,000 less than the contract price. The purchaser still wants the house, but since the lender will not loan more than 80 percent of the appraised price, there is a gap. The purchaser has asked us to take back a second trust. Are there risks involved? How can we protect ourselves?
Today, I filled out a disclosure form as part of the process of selling my home.
Several years ago, I began hunting for an apartment close to my office. Unfortunately, in Dallas (as in most major cities), the closer you moved to the downtown sector, the more skyward the rents climbed. So I had genuine reservations about doubling my monthly rent in exchange for the privilege of living close to work, although there were certainly quality of life advantages to consider.
For years after she purchased her newly-built home in 1992, Nancy Seats, a 66-year-old Liberty City, MO home owner grappled with builders and government officials to correct major structural flaws.
Home sellers have a tremendous tax break: Married couples filing jointly can exclude from their taxable income up to $500,000 of the profit they made on the sale of their house, and taxpayers filing separate returns can exclude up to $250,000.
You’re gathering information to list your house so you contact your mortgage company’s service center for loan information. Their representative tells you how to obtain your loan payoff balance and then adds, “Don’t worry. The closing agent will collect the prorated principal and interest due on the loan as of the date of closing”.
Finding a quality, affordable apartment in any large U.S city can be a daunting task. However, there is no need to sift through a barrel of lemons to get to a gem. Justin Kling and Michael Pottern of the Chicago-based apartment locating service, Apartment Savvy, share their expertise on an apartment search in any city:
I received a card today congratulating me on my purchase of a vehicle. This was a follow up from a company that bent over backwards to help me. I went through the hands of three people and all of them treated me with respect, dignity and gave me the feeling that I was their only customer. I felt like a king.
Remember "Episode I: Return of the Tenants," the late 2006 rental market glory story about an evil empire of over-priced homes sending an exodus of affordable home seekers into the arms of landlords?
A recent survey of renters commissioned by Trusted Choice found that most Americans who rent their homes don"t have insurance that would cover their losses in the event of burglary, fire or other unexpected occurrences.
If you are trying to book a skiing trip, Orlando isn"t the first location that comes to mind.
Chris stroked his beard and shook his head, saying: "It"s not fun." He was talking about having to walk up to the door of one of his rental properties recently with an armed sheriff and serve eviction papers to one of his tenants.
For many buyers without cash or with credit problems, the solution to homeownership in the past has been a lease-to-own contract. The traditional wisdom behind this arrangement has been that the buyer is able to rent the property from an owner for a designated time period, usually paying a rent higher than market rate. The extra cash is then applied to an agreed upon down payment amount. In the end, once the down payment is acquired (and hopefully a better credit rating for the buyer with time), the transaction is consummated with a settlement and the property exchanges hands.
If you’re looking to become a real estate investor in rental properties, it would behoove you to understand there are a few rules to the game of landlording.
If you ever wondered about the business of recruiting an on-site apartment manager, you are not alone. There are a few keys to successfully pulling this off. First, you have to decide what your on-site apartment manager is going to do for you. As with any hiring decision, the job description needs to be planned first, and then you need to decide how much you can afford to pay in terms of wages and benefits. Pay relates to the size of the property and its economics. In addition, you need to consider federal and state minimum wage laws.
More and more often, renting is a personal choice, rather than a forced option or a decision based on a miscalculated rent-vs-buy analysis.
A California rental expert says tenants shouldn"t expect rent increases due to higher energy costs, despite a report to the contrary from the National Association of Realtors.
What do you do when the dishwasher has spewed soapy water across the kitchen floor and leaked down on your neighbor below? Who"s responsible? The landlord or the tenant?
WASHINGTON -- With the home ownership rate on the rise, you"d think that occupancy rates at apartments across the land would be falling. But that hasn"t been the case.
Before moving to a townhouse right around the corner from my apartment, a friend warned me, "Those short-distance moves are the most difficult."
It"s a mystery. Your home is only a year old and the creamy-colored carpeting has taken on a dark line at the perimeter of every room and even at the base of every door.
You"re renting an apartment - a great apartment, and then your company asks you to do a six-month assignment in another state. It"s a good opportunity
When tenants move out of a rental unit, you’re responsible for cleaning, spraying for pests, repainting and attending to anything else in order to prepare for the next renters. When you have a painter, a fumigator and a cleaning crew bustling in and out of the apartment, it’s difficult to remember who has the keys. A sign out sheet may work most of the time... but if someone forgets to sign out, how are you going to track down the key? The process is time consuming and can leave you, your employees and your tenants frustrated.
If you read my last article, you learned all about packing and what you"ll need to gather up to prepare for your move. Now that everything"s boxed up and ready to go, you"ll want to tackle those mystery stains in the hallway and dingy bathroom tiles. If you have enough people helping you move, some people can be cleaning while others help finish packing up. Just like packing, there"s a method to cleaning up your old place:
Paperless offices are becoming more common thanks to cable modems and faster computers. Now, property managers and owners can enjoy the benefits of a clutter-free workspace through the Rentals.com on-line property management system.
The House and Senate may have left Capitol Hill for their August break, but housing lobbyists are busy at work gearing up a major campaign to extend the $8,000 home buyer tax credit.
Investors who own units in condominium projects could benefit if a push by the National Association of Realtors to change FHA funding rules proves successful.
You may live in a great apartment under not-so-great circumstances. Whether you’re dealing with an unprofessional landlord, a disruptive tenant, parking or security problems, tenant associations can help you out. If your apartment complex does not have a tenant association already, you may consider organizing one on your own.
Biting her keys in her mouth, Phyllis jiggled the condo door open with her free fingertip. Peeking over bags of groceries, she stumbled through the living room and into the kitchen. Step. Step. Step. Squish......? Setting the groceries down, her line of vision shifted to her feet... now immersed in a lukewarm puddle of water, and as she scanned the room, she saw that her couches... chairs, and coffee tables were also about to set sail.
When you live in an apartment, you have to expect thin walls. You might get used to the band next door that likes practicing until midnight on Fridays. You could probably even learn to live with the Tejano bass from your downstairs neighbors. But what if the sounds of shattered glass, crying, harsh words, and body punches filter through your vents? Abuse is an uncomfortable issue, but learning to live with it is not an option.
When you move into an apartment, you and your landlord have to have a lot of
An organization called the National Multi Housing Council has released a new study promoting the virtues of renters,
You"ve just moved into your new apartment. As you look at the uniform white