Real Estate News
Source: Wash Post Real Estate
Washington Post's Real Estate section is your source for buying and selling a home and finding open houses in Washington,DC,Maryland and Virginia. DC,Virginia and Maryland. Post Real Estate also includes discussions and blogs on DC metro area real estate issues.
Treasury hopes new rules send short sales to the rescue of underwater mortgages
With new Treasury Department rules designed to expedite short sales set to take effect April 5, relief can't come soon enough for some area buyers, sellers and real estate agents who have waded through a long and arduous process to get short sales approved by the bank.
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New round of foreclosures threatens housing market
The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize.
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Landover Hills: location, affordability still draw first-time buyers
When Mike Walker and his wife, Kathy, found an affordable house in Landover Hills back in 1979, they were looking for an upgrade from their apartment in nearby Bladensburg. The house was advertised as a "fixer-upper," Mike Walker recalled, and cost $39,500.
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Steven Pearlstein reviews 'The Big Short' by Michael Lewis
"The Blind Side" and "Moneyball" author Michael Lewis turns his attention to the U.S. financial crisis.
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Green Scene: Pruning tips, groundhog repellent and other gardening advice
As daylight saving time begins this weekend, it's a reminder that spring is just around the corner. So we have an assortment of questions that spans the winter-spring boundary.
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Expenses incurred buying a house can be a risk
I tried to buy a house. I applied for a loan, and the bank processed it as a Federal Housing Administration loan instead of a conventional loan. The house I was buying failed the FHA inspection, and I did not buy it.
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Mortgage interest rates down for second week as home loan applications rise
Mortgage interest rates declined for a second consecutive week as the number of home loan applications rose.
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Affordable housing needs some public funding
Fairfax County aspires to greatly increase the amount of affordable housing at Tysons Corner for workers who now must commute there from afar, consuming time and fossil fuel while contributing to traffic congestion. But this newspaper reported recently that achieving Tysons's affordable housing...
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How to paint and protect steps
DEAR TIM: I stopped by a friend's house the other day as she was painting the wood steps leading to her basement. She was using a stencil, and it looked fantastic. What's the best paint for steps? How do you keep the steps from getting scuffed? -- Pam W., Green Bay, Wis.
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Source: Baron Briefs
Real estate news and commentary from RealtyBaron.com
Announcing the RealAnswers WP Plugin: Own the Real Estate Q&A Conversation
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Top REALTORS Featured in Home Search Results
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The World’s First Risk-Free Listing
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Introducing the ListingHedge(TM)
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Tweet Your AgentRank(TM), Realtors
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ReferralAuction Scenario #2: Personal Referral
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ReferralAuction Scenario #1: Client Referral
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Four Reasons for Agents and Brokers to Use ReferralAuctions(TM)
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Introducing the ReferralAuction(TM)
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“My current Realtor raised her commission…
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Source: About Home Buying / Selling
Get the latest headlines from the About.com Home Buying / Selling GuideSite.
How to Find Out If Your Agent is a Neighborhood Specialist Wednesday, March 17, 2010
With the explosion of real estate websites and blogs over the past few years, it's becoming increasingly hard to figure out who online is a neighborhood specialist, since everybody...
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Tips for Staging the Bathroom Monday, March 15, 2010
If a seller can manage nothing else while staging the bathroom, at least get rid of personal hygiene supplies in the bath or shower. Because one of the main goals to...
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Explanation of Greenwashing and Green Home Advertising Thursday, March 11, 2010
Greenwashing is a term I had not heard before, not until David Syring of Listed Green brought it to my attention. Yet, now that I know what it is, I see...
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Tearing Down a House Tuesday, March 9, 2010
It costs less than you may think for tearing down a house. While it's often sad to witness the demise of a long-standing structure, sometimes tearing down a house is the...
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Why Wachovia Short Sales Are Special Sunday, March 7, 2010
I can't begin to sing the praises loudly enough of a Wachovia short sale. It's not that so many short sale banks are so totally messed up that they can make...
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Writing Off a Home Loss When Turning a Residence Into a Rental Thursday, March 4, 2010
Since so many sellers are taking a financial hit to sell in our soft real estate market, it really adds insult to injury if a seller can't write off that...
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Advertising Words for Home Selling Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Before you place an ad in the newspaper to sell your home or post an online listing, stop to think about the advertising words you choose. Choosing the wrong advertising...
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Dangers of Buying a Foreclosure Flipper Home Sunday, February 28, 2010
There is a huge difference between buying foreclosure flippers and homes that regular owner occupants have remodeled. If your agent hasn't done a little research on the history of the home,...
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Removing Assets From Homes in Foreclosure Thursday, February 25, 2010
A seldom-discussed issue concerning homes that are in foreclosure is the rising practice of removing assets from foreclosures. Many home owners do not understand what constitutes a fixture in the home...
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Ways to Stop a Foreclosure Before It's Too Late Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The best way to stop foreclosure is to make up your back payments before the bank forecloses. But not all home owners realize that foreclosure is pending when they miss making...
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Source:
Source: Real Estate / South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Get all the latest real estate news from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Florida's courts seek $9.6 million to help clear backlog of home foreclosure cases
Judges fear bottleneck will further drag down property values
A crushing backlog of foreclosure cases has pushed Florida's courts to request a one-time payment of $9.6 million to help purge the system and quicken a market recovery.
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Home buying checklist: What you need to know before you buy
Here's a helpful checklist all home buyers can turn to
Wouldn't it be great to have a home buying checklist? Something you could stick in your pocket that would remind you to ask all the right questions and make a smart home buying move?
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FEMA won’t offer aid to Florida homeowners with Chinese drywall
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has indicated it won't offer relief to homeowners with tainted Chinese drywall.
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Mortgage plan aids only 16 percent of borrowers
WASHINGTON The Obama administration's mortgage relief plan has helped only about 16 percent of borrowers who signed up since its launch last year, while hundreds of thousands of homeowners remain in limbo.
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Condo flipping pays off in about 20 minutes
Transaction is 'example of well-connected condominium bulk buyers '
It could be one of the quickest profits made in Miami's condo market.
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Florida among states to rush $1.5B plan in housing funds
PHOENIX (AP) — The five states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis have been given only weeks to plan how to spend $1.5 billion in federal funding announced by the Obama administration last month.
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Florida insurer agrees to lower fees paid to affiliate
The Office of Insurance Regulation struck a deal with Southern Oak Insurance Co. three days after threatening to suspend or revoke its license for "excessive" profit and management fees.
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What can a condo owner do about a smoking neighbor?
Jeff in Oakland Park is steaming mad about how his condo neighbor's cigarette smoke is permeating his unit, turning it into an ashtray-smelling abode.
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Homeowners with Chinese drywall need financial aid
Money would be capped at $29,900 per family
Florida's interim emergency management director sent a letter this week to federal disaster officials, asking that they provide financial aid to thousands of households affected by Chinese drywall.
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New life in downtown Miami as condos fill up
Condos in downtown Miami are no longer ghost towns as young professionals move in and drive new business to area stores and restaurants.
Out of the ashes of the downtown Miami condo collapse, a bright spot is emerging: a community of full-time residents slowly starting to turn the area into a 24/7 city.
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