We're into the Christmas Run Up. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P are all over the place, affected in large part by confusion in the EU. And as usual, providing personal finance advice, real estate advice and consumer advice on the Ilyce Glink Show December 11, 2011 on WSB Radio. How can December 25th be just [...]
Refinancing is hard these days, but if you have a small or low balance loan, it may be harder and the refi costs are more important than ever. Q: In 2003, I refinanced my home with a $100,000 15-year mortgage at 5.25 percent. My balance now is about $50,000 and I have six years left [...]
After divorce, home equity in former marital home may be lost without good planning and consideration of housing market downturn. Q: My ex-spouse and I own a home together that sits on a big piece of property. When we divorced, he opted to continue to live in the house. Our divorce decree gave him he [...]
Paying down mortgage balance may be beneficial for many homeowners, but if your loan is underwater, is it still worthwhile? Q: I cannot find a straight answer to this anywhere. Is it worth paying extra on the principal on our loan if my home is underwater? We plan on being in the home for at [...]
With good timing and a good offer, you should succeed in negotiating with a seller. Our friends received an offer for their house while they were away on vacation. The initial offer came in about 12 percent below their asking price. They thought it was low. We thought it was a good initial offer. They [...]
There's enough blame to go around in this housing crisis. Q: Politics aside, if that's possible, to what do you attribute the decline in real estate values? During Carter's administration a law was enacted whereby lenders were required to lend without documentation and, during Clinton's administration, Congress put teeth in it by suing and fining [...]
Home price may be biggest issue when selling a home in the current real estate market. Q: I have a problem. My property was appraised about five years ago for 50 percent more than what it’s worth now, according to the local assessor’s value. I’ve listed the home for sale significantly below that number over [...]
FHA streamline refinancing may not be as easy as may have higher costs than anticipated. Q: I read your recent Real Estate Matters column regarding FHA streamline refinancing. There is one glaring mistake. You wrote "If you have 25 years left to repay your loan, you'll still have 25 years - you'll just pay interest [...]
Real estate mortgage outlook in the news does not appear so good even with HARP 2.0 coming online. According to a recent study by Fiserv, the typical mortgage costs 40 percent less than it did in 2006. That just about mirrors the drop in home prices over the same period. But there’s more going to [...]
NBA Agreement Reached. Black Friday sale recap. And as usual, providing personal finance advice, real estate advice and consumer advice on the Ilyce Glink Show November 27, 2011 on WSB Radio. The big news, for sports fans and business interests alike on this Sunday after Thanksgiving is that an NBA agreement has been reached. The [...]
