Wondering what threats await real estate this year (and in the future)? Scott Muldavin, Chair of the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), ran down his annual list at this year's National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) conference, in Denver. This story features the first 5 threats to real estate. Real Estate Threat #1 - [...]
Home buyers are out in force. Sellers are scarce. The number of homes for sale on the market is as low as it was more than twenty years ago. As a result of supply and demand, half of all housing markets are overvalued in terms of price. The median home price in San Francisco is [...]
What might be hiding in the fine print of your mortgage documents? In this reader’s case, a prepayment penalty that they may not be able to get out of. Q: I recently took out a mortgage to purchase my first home. It’s a condo. I went with a non-traditional lender that offered a loan about [...]
Parents, children, estates and house titles: how does property title pass after death. What happens when a parent adds you to the title for estate planning. Q: My dad died quite some time ago and I have three siblings. We all get along but we all have different ideas on how to handle money. When [...]
When you get a low appraisal in a hot real real estate market, it could kill your deal. But there are a few things you can do before having to lower the list price or kill the deal. Q: I heard Ilyce recently on WBEZ radio. I'm moving to Chicago from Minnesota and was blown [...]
Real estate is always on my mind and in this article, I take a look at the current state of the US real estate market and what factors may be contributing to odd selling behaviors in certain markets. As we drove around the North Shore of Chicago this weekend, home to some of the most [...]
It doesn’t often happen that the lender declines to do a mortgage modification six times, and then out of the blue cancels the loan balance and releases the lien. In this case, the lender did just that, but the homeowner is still worried she might lose her mortgage. Q: I’ve been working with my bank [...]
My husband is going to take out a mortgage with my mother-in- law, put the house into a trust, name themselves as the trustees, and my husband and his siblings as the beneficiaries. Is taking out a mortgage with my mother-in- law a good idea? Q: My husband and I made on offer to my [...]
ThinkGlink.com publisher Ilyce Glink was recently interviewed by MoneyLife Radio host Chuck Jaffe about her latest book, 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask, fourth edition. Chuck, who for decades was a columnist and blogger for MarketWatch, said that the book is what he's going to give his own children when the time comes [...]
How do I measure house square footage? Square footage is measured in surprising ways, and is done differently around the country, here’s what you need to know. Q: I'm buying a house in Pawling, NY. The measured indoor space (all rooms, closets, hallway, vestibule) equals 1,430 square feet while the house is listed at 1,680 [...]
