Don't Count on Rentals to Recoup Second-Home Costs
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Question: First I wanted you to know how informative my husband and I found your article "A guide to tax considerations on second homes." We have a condo at the beach and have been struggling to determine if it's worth renting.
Facing Default, Some Walk Out on New Homes
When Raymond Zulueta went into default on his mortgage last year, he did what a lot of people do. He worried.
A Tiny Beloved Home that was Built for Spite
COLLEEN SAMMIS recalls that “it came out at a restaurant” in early 2006. She, the man she later married and friends were having dinner, “and they were talking about a house Jack owned,” Jack being Jack Sammis.
January New Home Sales at 13-Year Low
The Commerce Department reported this morning (Feb. 27) that new home sales in January fell to their lowest level since 1995. Sales fell 2.8% from December to a seasonally adjusted rate of 588,000, 33.9% below January a year ago.
Key Home Price Index Shows Record Decline
NEW YORK - U.S. home prices dropped 8.9 percent in the final quarter of 2007 compared with a year ago, Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday, the steepest decline in the 20-year history of its housing index.
Colleges Teach 'Urban Development 101'
One of the most ambitious real-estate-development projects in Philadelphia involves revamping a 42-acre eyesore on the banks of the Schuylkill River into a hub featuring gleaming office towers, apartments, a hotel and restaurants. The catalyst for the $2 billion redevelopment: the University of Pennsylvania.
How Bad will the Mortgage Crisis Get?
The credit markets are seizing up and the uncertainty recently drove up short-term interest rates for municipalities and some rock-solid institutions such as New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to 20%.
UBS Sees Writedowns Hitting $600 Billion
The toll of the mortgage mess keeps rising.
Fannie and Freddie Smile Through Crisis
(Fortune) -- The housing bust is handing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a fresh chance to rebuild their battered images. But the hefty losses the firms reported this week, and worries about the health of the economy, show it won't be easy.
Furniture Company - or Hedge Fund?
(Fortune) -- Everybody's heard of mattresses stuffed with cash, or coins lodged beneath the cushions of a couch. But one venerable Virginia company seems genuinely confused about whether it's in the furniture business or the money business.
Four Pricing Tricks to Help Your Home Sell Faster
If you're selling a car or a house in today's sluggish economy, make sure the price is right.
Mortgage Woes Boost Credit Card Debt
Danielle Mathias-Lamb, a second-year nursing student, received a letter from Bank of America in January with a shocking message: The credit card she used to pay for her tuition was going to jump to a 28 percent interest rate from 10 percent.
Hearst Widow's Mansion Sells in Foreclosure Action
In another reminder that foreclosed properties are hardly just abandoned shacks, the Palm Beach Post is reporting that a 52-room mansion that had belonged to the widow of publishing heir Randolph Hearst, sold for $22 million at a foreclosure auction in a Palm Beach County courthouse.
The 'R' Word (And Some Other Stuffs) Hurting Home Sales
Is it consumers’ recession fears — or seeing their reflection in a deflating bubble — that is keeping home buyers away?
Is Your Credit Score as High as You Think?
It is common to assume that paying bills on time automatically means having a high credit score. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.
FROM AROUND THE REGION: DC-MD-VA
Rise in Assessment Value Generally Modest
Despite an economic slowdown, most of the District's 190,000 property owners will see a modest increase in their 2009 assessments, city officials said yesterday.
Land Value 'Correction' Surprises Homeowners
It was no surprise to Cathlin Bowman that the 2008 real estate assessment she received from Fairfax County this week showed a modest dip in the value of her three-bedroom McLean home, to $564,930 from $567,590 in 2007.
County Gets Money to Study Bus, Ferry Transportation
RICHMOND — Prince William County won two grants this month to study innovative transportation alternatives on land — and river.
A Potomac River ferry and bus rapid transit on U.S. 1 are two ideas that garnered the county $325,000 from the Secretary of Transportation’s Multi Modal office.
Monument Realty Calls Off Montgomery County Project
Although Monument Realty has decided to scrap its plan to buy up 60-home neighborhood near downtown Bethesda, a letter sent to the homeowners in the Sacks neighborhood leaves the door open for a future redevelopment.
Va. House Committee Unanimously Tables Homebuilders Plan
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A General Assembly panel Thursday tabled a controversial measure that sought to change how developers compensate local governments for growth, effectively killing the plan this year.
Charting the Market: January Sees More House Sales
January was a better month in which to sell a home than December. Sellers benefited from a modest increase in sales and an inventory that remained about the same. However, the price that sellers got for their homes last month was usually much lower than a year ago.
Manager Proposes 12.5-Cent Surcharge on Commercial Property
County Manager Ron Carlee has proposed adding 12.5 cents per $100 as a surcharge on real estate tax bills sent to commercial property owners this year, to help pay for transportation improvements.
Fairfax Home Assessments Down; Only Great Falls Buck the Trend
The average assessed value of homes across Fairfax County declined nearly 3.4 percent over the past year, but the county government's tax base was buoyed by increases in the value of commercial, industrial and multi-family units, and new growth.
Dulles Rail Could be Running Out of Time
With the end of the month looming, officials for the Dulles Rail Project are busy working with the Federal Transit Authority to get the project approved before the current construction contract expires.
