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Noteworthy Articles Re: Condo
Ownership
real-estate-map type in 21401
for Annapolis
The Fuzzy
Math of Home Values
Collection
of NY Times Mortgages Columns
New
Md. law says condo associations can require that unit owners
have insurance
Paying for Title Insurance Comparison shopping for this
specialized kind of insurance may not be worth the
trouble
Housing Counsel: Partners seeking title
to property have options
By Benny L. Kass, Page E07
WashPost
When planning major home renovation ,
there are many steps you have to take to find the right
professionals, including the contractor and perhaps an
architect. It's equally important to take steps to protect
your legal interests - and to do so early in the
process.
By Harvey S. Jacobs, Page E01
In the Washington area, when we think of
parties, it's practically first nature to think of Democrats
and Republicans. But for people buying or selling a home,
other parties are of critical importance, namely the "parties
of the first part" and "parties of the second part," also
known, respective...
Page E01
Home mortgage shoppers should see an
unexpected addition to the application paper blitz starting
Jan. 1 -a mandatory alert on how their credit scores might
affect the rate quote and terms they receive from their
lender.
By Kenneth R. Harney, Page
E01
Tens of thousands of condominium unit
owners across the country may not know it, but their ability
to sell or refinance could be jeopardized by a rolling series
of federal government deadlines
By Kenneth R. Harney
You've probably seen the pitches on TV
and the Internet or found them stuffed in your mailbox:
official-looking communications complete with logos and
letterheads that look vaguely like those used by the Treasury,
Internal Revenue Service and other federal
agencies.
Click the
following URL for an informative article about finding a
refinancing calculator you can trust:
By Harvey S. Jacobs, Washington Post,
Page F02 7/10/10
The federal government's Home Affordable
Foreclosure Alternatives program, or HAFA, announced in April,
may actually achieve some success where its predecessors have
failed.
.
By Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin,
Washington Post,6/19/10, Page E04
We are selling our home in Maryland, and
it is listed for $499,900. We're willing to offer $10,000 to
the buyer, and we're wondering whether we should offer to pay
$10,000 toward closing costs or reduce our price by $10,000.
Which benefits us most as sellers?
By Kenneth R. Harney, Page E01
If you're thinking about applying for a
home mortgage, here's some important news: Beginning June 1,
your lender is likely to order a second full credit screening
immediately before closing.
Kenneth R. Harney, Page E01
With the Obama administration and private
lenders actively considering mortgage principal-reduction
programs to help financially distressed homeowners, the
Internal Revenue Service has issued a new advisory to
taxpayers who receive -- or seek to receive -- such
assistance.
What sellers can expect from
participating lenders starting in April:
By Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin,
Page E05
By Kimberly
Lankford, Page G03
Q: We lived
in our house for about 1 1/2 years. Then we moved out of state
and did not sell our house because the price would have been
less than what we owed on our mortgage. So we rented it out
and sold it for a big loss almost two years later. Now we're
wondering whether we can claim the loss
on...
Kenneth R.
Harney, Page E01
If you're
thinking about applying for the new $6,500 federal tax credit
for repeat home buyers or the extended $8,000 version for
first-time buyers, here's some news: The IRS has just issued
its first formal guidelines for
you.
By Benny L. Kass, Page E03
If you plan to buy into a condominium
association -- or if you already own and plan to refinance the
mortgage -- you should be aware of the new rules published by
the Federal Housing Administration.
By
Benny L. Kass, WashPost 10/16/09 Page E06
Q After
living in the Washington area my entire life (I'm now 68), my
wife and I retired to another state in January 2007. We tried
to sell our Virginia condo while purchasing a new home where
we now live. The D.C. market was in bad shape, and we were
unable to sell. We decided to rent our
condo...
By Kenneth R. Harney, Page E01
You might assume it's just another
boring-looking piece of the paper blitz you're hit with when
applying for a home loan. But given the new prominence of IRS
Form 4506-Ts in the fraud-shocked mortgage market, it's much
more than just another document to sign.
With Cautious Banks and New Rules, a
House's Valuation is No Longer a Sure Thing
By Renae Merle, Page E01
By Kenneth R. Harney, Page E01
If you're applying for a loan to purchase
a primary or secondary home, or planning to refinance, you
should be aware of a little-publicized new set of federal
consumer-protection rules that takes effect
July 30.
Jack Guttentag
The relationship between making
extra mortgage payments and refinancing.
DIY
Rental Repairs Fixing up an
apartment without permission from the landlord can be a costly
mistake.
Assessing Your Options
Here are
some tools to help you sort through the decision to
refinance
By Alan Zibel, Page F07
If you love to cook, but are afraid of
buying or renting a place with a kitchen the size of a phone
booth, fear not. A small kitchen doesn't have to be a big
drawback if you use your space creatively.
Enlarge Small Rooms With Fold-Up
Furniture, Shelving
By Alan Zibel, Page F07
If you have a tiny room that you're
thinking about as a bedroom for your child or a guest, getting
the most out of a small space is a challenge but not an
insurmountable one.
It's
Taking Longer and Longer to Sell. Here's How Some Owners
Cope.
By
Kirstin Downey, Page F01
With
Credit Tight, Buyers, Sellers Rediscover Renting to
Own
By
Alejandro Lazo, Page F01
By
Kenneth R. Harney, Page F01
By
Benny L. Kass, Page F04
Two of
the most important documents for home buyers are getting a
long-awaited overhaul.
How Best to Sell Vacant Home Depends on
Why It's That Way
By Dan Rafter, Page F01
By Anne Kates Smith, Page
F03
Appraisers are supposed to be the
market's gatekeepers. But who are they really working for?
Good overview by Rob Pegoraro, Page
D02
How to survive a computer's hard drive crash.
By Kenneth R. Harney, Page F01
By Benny L. Kass, Page F02
If you are planning to sell your vacation
home in the next few years, you might want to move in and
treat it as your principal residence as soon as possible. This
summer's housing stimulus legislation changed a tax law that could
affect you.
If You
Find a Great Rate, Grab It, Consumer Advocates Say
By Dina
ElBoghdady, Page F01
Just about anyone who cares knows that
interest rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage have dropped
recently.
By Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin,
Page F08
When it comes to getting a home loan, the
game has changed dramatically.
By
Kenneth R. Harney, Page F01
(Second of two articles) When an investor
offers you $50,000 or $100,000 in exchange for 30 percent to
50 percent of your home's future appreciation, is it a good
deal?
Ask About Fees, Rules and Lawsuits Before
Buying
By Alex Veiga, Page G02
For many aspiring homeowners, buying a
condominium is an affordable way to transition from being a
renter and begin reaping the benefits of homeownership without
a lot of the added costs involved in maintaining a house with
a yard.
By Jack
Guttentag, Page F09
Aborrower negotiating the terms of a
mortgage with a lender or mortgage broker is in what
economists call a "bilateral bargaining process." Only two
parties are involved, and the terms arrived at depend in part
on their respective bargaining power.
By Jack Guttentag, Page F07
Over the past year, the mortgage market
has changed more rapidly than in any comparable period since
the Great Depression. From the standpoint of borrowers, two
changes are of paramount
importance.
A Sham of a
Tax-Avoidance
Idea
By Benny L. Kass
By Benny L. Kass, Page F08
Q I signed a contract to buy a
condominium unit in the District, but the seller apparently
has changed his mind. I think I am getting a good deal and
don't want to let him off the hook. What remedies do I
have?
By Benny L. Kass, Page F08
Maryland's highest court this spring
ruled that condominium associations
aren't required to pay for damage to
individual units, a ruling that may please
association directors but not individual
unit owners.
By Jack Guttentag, Page F07
Last week I reported favorably on one
part of HUD's reform proposals.
By Ilyce R. Glink with Samuel J. Tamkin,
Page F10
Q. I recently entered into a contract to
buy a house, but the deal went bad because the house did not
appraise for the negotiated price.
Upgrades to the common areas over
the years can affect the amount of tax you owe when you sell.
It's a tax break that many people overlook.
By Kenneth R. Harney, Page
F01
A legal brawl is breaking out over how
homes are appraised, at what cost and by whom. The outcome
could directly affect how much you pay for your next piece of
real estate and how much money you can
borrow.
By Kenneth R. Harney, Page
F01
If you own or plan to buy a condominium,
an ominous new phase of the mortgage-credit squeeze could be
looming for you.
Standard Form Would Provide Details on
Terms and Costs to Borrowers
Page D01
In a mortgage refund, the bank holding
the loan reimburses all interest, closing costs and broker
fees to the borrower. The borrower pays the balance of the
loan, usually with a new mortgage.
At Builders Show, a Quest for The
Ultimate Gadget
By Allan Lengel,
By Jack Guttentag, Page G02
I have been spending time recently
kicking the tires of a new Web site,
http://www.mortgagegrader.com, which has excellent
credentials.
By Elizabeth Razzi, Page F05
How much is it worth for your condo or
homeowners association to keep its money safe?
Page F05
A month ago, I had never heard of a
wireless digital readout monitor for home electricity use, but
now that I have used one for several days, I would recommend
it for every household.
By Robert Griswold, Steven R. Kellman and
James McKinley, Page T13
Q: I am a tenant, and the owner of my
apartment complex recently sent notification to the residents
that as a condition of our lease, we are required to have
$100,000 in renter's insurance coverage in case of damage to
the apartment.
Condo Owners, Renters Often Don't Know
Limits of Insurance
Make a record of the contents of your
home with a written list of items backed up by photos or a
video.
The Insurance Information Institute has
free downloadable software at http:/ /
www.knowyourstuff.org
that it says can help owners tally the
value of personal property.
By Benny L. Kass, Page F14--WashPost
8/4/07
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently
dealt a serious blow to dissident community association
homeowners there, ruling that protections for free speech and
freedom of assembly don't apply to a private community
association.
About 57 million people live in
communities governed by associations, including homeowners
associations, condominiums and cooperatives. A 2005 survey of
association members by Zogby Research found:
By Benny L. Kass, Page F14
What is a point? What is a margin? What
does "due on sale" mean? Did you comparison shop and review
the APR? What's APR, anyway?
By Robert
J. Bruss, Page F09
Q: DEAR BOB: About two years ago,
I set up a revocable living trust and included my checking,
savings and stock brokerage accounts. I recently realized that
the title
to my condominium is not in my living trust. What must
I do to place my condo into my living trust to avoid probate
after I die?
By Benny L. Kass, Page F13
Real estate commission rebates are back
in the news.
By Robert
J. Bruss, Page F15
Q: DEAR BOB: As a real estate
agent, I want to thank you for your recent item about the
drawbacks of cutting home sales commissions below the
customary rate.
By Robert Griswold, Steven R. Kellman and
James McKinley, Page T13
Q: I own a condo that I have rented out
for 13 years. I'm concerned about my property
manager.
By Benny
L. Kass, Page F16
By Robert J. Bruss, Page F04
Q: DEAR BOB: Which home mortgage fees are
proper for a lender to charge borrowers?
By Benny L. Kass, Page F05
Q: We own and live in a small condominium
in the District. The tenant who lives below us smokes, and the
smoke is entering our unit. We plan to have a baby soon and do
not want the smoke to create health problems for us. What can
we do?
Page F10
Setting ground rules is a critical part
of managing a remodeling project. David Lupberger, author of
"Managing the Emotional Homeowner," suggests some issues
homeowners should discuss with their builders before a project
begins:
By Kenneth R. Harney, Page F01
Page F08
What happens when the owners of a
two-story house can't manage the stairs any
longer?
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10 ways to make your
house more valuable