Clik here to view.
Lower Home Values Aren’t Translating Into Lower Property Taxes
Property tax bills were never tied precisely to the market. Because they are usually calculated as a portion of the home’s value, and allowed to rise at only a certain percentage per year, many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Luxury Homeowners in Default Face Lower Risk of Foreclosure!?
If you want to work up a bit of 99% steam, read Felix Salmon’s excellent opinion piece in Reuters, called “Why banks are reluctant to foreclose on expensive homes.” Yes, the once-rich guy down the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Buying a Foreclosure Home With Tenants? Important Cautions
If you’re among the many would-be homebuyers looking for an affordable place among the vast stock of foreclosures, here’s an important tip: Factor into your research whether the foreclosure home in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Millionaires Stay Put in Their Homes: Should You?
“Take a cue from the rich,” advises the July, 2012 issue of Money magazine, and “practice patience” when it comes to homeownership. According to Money, millionaires tend to live in their homes for over...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What These Crazy-Low Mortgage Interest Rates Mean for You
If you’re new to the housing market, take my word for it: Today’s interest rates are eye-poppingly low. A 3o-year fixed rate mortgage at 3.44%? A 15-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.83%? (Figures from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Maybe Money DOES Grow on Trees
Neighborhood trees have been getting a lot of good press lately. First there was writer Tim De Chant, who created an Internet sensation last summer after posting his “Income inequality, as seen from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How the Fiscal Cliff Deal Helps Homeowners
The fiscal cliff deal (“H.R. 8″) reached on January 1, 2013 contains a couple of beneficial provisions for homeowners — tax-relief extensions that aren’t getting as much press as the rest of the bill....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Will This Be Your Year for Home Improvements?
No points for originality will be awarded to anyone currently thinking, “Gee, we can’t afford to move, so let’s remodel or add on to this place.” The amount of spending on such projects is set to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Do the Math Before Buying a House With a Pool
I love to swim — but I would never, ever, buy a house with a pool, particularly an outdoor one. Oh sure, they’re convenient, they look pretty, and almost nothing gets people to your house faster than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Was Your Neighbor’s Dog Overlooked for the “Loudest Bark” World Record?
Whenever I mention the recent news story about Charlie, the golden retriever in Australia who got the Guinness world record for having the loudest bark on the planet (and who can resist mentioning said...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Your Home’s Value: Who Wants to Know?
I normally don’t push syndicated content produced by nameless writers at marketing companies, but this article, “What’s your home’s price tag now?” makes some good points. (Despite an inappropriate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Or, You Could Paint Your Kitchen in Downton Abbey Colors
Don’t say I never brought you any useful information here. True, it’s not exactly in line with Nolo’s mission of putting the law into plain English, but how about painting your walls in plain English?...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Floodwaters May Not Be Rising Yet, But Flood Insurance Rates Are!
No one can say FEMA didn’t warn us. Its website offers pages of information about how flood insurance rates might go up in 2013 due to the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. Every...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Of Mice and Moss: Tales of Unexpected Homeowner Expenses
I’ve been doing a little research lately on how much a homeowner should expect to spend on home repair and maintenance. The experts have actually come up with a number: They predict you’ll pay out 1% –...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Unpermitted Construction by Former Homeowner May Affect Current Owner
Remember last week’s blog post, “Of Mice and Moss: Tales of Unexpected Homeowner Expenses“? A significant number of people contributed tales of — to quote one of them — “stupid repairs and improvements...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Underwater No More, for Over Three Million Homeowners
Journalist Ken Harney calls the gains in homeowner equity the “biggest story in American real estate in 2013,” and I’m inclined to agree. For the past several years now, millions of Americans have felt...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Putting Your House on a Clutter Diet for the New Year?
Are you among the many people I know (or pretend to know, on Facebook) who spent a goodly part of New Year’s Day going through closets and basements, figuring out what stuff can be gotten rid of? I’ve...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Perk of Homeownership: You Can Get a Dog!
Dog adoptions went up over the holidays, according to local shelters. Probably even more people would adopt if they didn’t live in rentals with “No Pets” policies. But if you’re buying a home, now may...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Good Laws Can Make for Good Fences
I’ve heard of at least three fence disputes among friends and neighbors within the last several weeks — enough to have me rushing to the Nolo website to see what we’ve got on the matter. A lot, as it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chances Are, You’re Buying Into an Underfunded HOA
The financial troubles faced by homeowners’ associations — those being the governing bodies of many new-home or condo developments — have gotten worse over the last decade, according to Association...
View Article
