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.
Brick facades are sturdy, but keeping them that way requires care
As old as dirt, the sturdy brick is. Long before fairy tales with pigs and wolves came along, ancient peoples knew the strength, fire resistance and durability of the humble clay brick. Modern people know that it adds value and the aura of prestige to a home.
Business - Construction and Maintenance - Materials and Supplies - Masonry Units - Masonry and Stone
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Lender could end up paying if all fees were not revealed at buyer's closing
Q: My wife and I purchased a house in Florida last April. This past weekend we received a letter and an invoice from the law office that acted as the parties' closing agent, informing us that we owed fees for "additional endorsements requested by the lender after the closing."
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Where We Live: Ashburn Manor in Virginia's Loudoun County
Ashburn Manor is a neighborhood best defined by what it is not.
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In down economy, owning a vacation home may be more business than pleasure
Tina Lambert and her husband wanted an investment that would help them pay for their kids' college tuition someday. When he insisted on paying $49,000 for a condominium in Ocean City in 1997, she worried. But by the middle of this decade, when housing markets were in full boom, the condo's value ...
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The living is easy in Northeast Washington's Brookland neighborhood
Just a few miles northeast of the bustling center of downtown, the District has a neighborhood where the buzz of lawnmowers is more common than siren wails, Victorian homes perch on sprawling lawns, and children sell lemonade and oatmeal cookies.
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Fannie Mae's national lending program HomePath is worth a look
If you fit the profile -- typically buyers with little cash on hand or small-scale investors looking for a deal on a foreclosed house -- a little-publicized national lending program could be just what you need this fall.
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Brickmaking employs methods old and new
There are three ways to make bricks, explains Gary Clark, a sales manager for brickmaker Glen-Gery Corp., headquartered in Wyomissing, Pa.
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A thick lawn can be yours with just a few steps
It is said, "To everything there is a season," and we just reached one of those times of the year. If you want the greenest, healthiest lawn possible, fall is the season to obtain your best results by stimulating strong networks of roots and growth on turf. Your grass doesn't have to be the non-w...
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With family's cooperation, inheritance of home can happen without will
My widowed grandmother passed away recently without leaving a will. She owned her home free and clear of any mortgages. My grandmother left five surviving children: my mother, two aunts and two uncles. I am the only grandchild. My grandmother always wanted me to have her house when she passed awa...
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Leave that brush alone! Experts say masonry facades are 'happier unpainted.'
Masons aren't big fans of painting brick, for aesthetic reasons as well as maintenance and structural integrity issues.
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If you need to redirect hot air, ordinary fans will work just fine
Q: My house doesn't have an attic, so a whole-house fan isn't practical, but I am looking for a way to use a fan to help cool my upstairs. I know there are fans that fit in windows to exhaust hot air and pull in cool night air, but I can't find anything to fit my sliding windows. Any ideas? -- A....
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Details on Ashburn Manor in Virginia's Loudoun County
BOUNDARIES: Route 677 (Partlow Road) to the north, Ashburn Road to the east, Beaver Creek to the south and Cedar Lane Elementary School to the west.
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Housewatch: Doctors prescribe a daily dose of nature
When cognitive psychologist Paul Atchley wants to take a break during his workday, he steps outside to roam a few of his 26 acres near Lawrence, Kan., and contemplate the vast expanse of the Great Plains. Although many have derisively characterized his landscape as being "flat as a pancake" and b...
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Moving your TV can require some complicated maneuvers so the signal isn't lost
DEAR TIM: I want to rearrange the furniture in our family room. This requires us to move the television set, which gets its signal from our cable TV provider. My husband says it will be very difficult to extend a new cable line behind the walls. The cable company just wants to staple a new line t...
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Think ahead when doing work on a home about wiring rooms for TV cables
If you're doing remodeling work or building a new home, it takes very little extra work to extend traditional cables to the various walls in a home that might eventually have a TV on or near them. Be sure to include in your budget money needed to extend these cables. If you can't do that, at leas...
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Rebuild the path to the American homeownership
Here's how lawmakers can help the mortgage industry evolve.
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Whether the struggle is saving for retirement, organizing your bank files, or talking about money responsibility with your spouse or loved one, Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary offers her advice and answers your questions.
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Source: Baron Briefs
Real estate news and commentary from RealtyBaron.com
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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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Source: About Home Buying / Selling
Get the latest headlines from the About.com Home Buying / Selling GuideSite.
Fannie Mae Launches Foreclosure Help Friday, September 3, 2010
The nice thing about Fannie Mae's new website, Know Your Options, is the talking head speaks only one sentence before giving you the option to click "continue." So, if you're...
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Cash-in Refinances Are on the Rise Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Lots of borrowers lately, says the New York Times, are opting to do a cash-in refinance. As opposed to a cash-out refinance, in which a borrower pulls money out of...
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The Rules Are Strict for a Condo Loan Monday, August 30, 2010
If you're not paying cash, then you're definitely getting a condo loan to finance a condo. It's not as easy as you may think. Condo loans aren't like regular loans. You've...
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Federal Reserve Bans Yield Spread Premiums Paid to Mortgage Brokers Friday, August 27, 2010
In a story reported by the LA Times last week, the Federal Reserve, as expected, banned the practice of lenders paying brokers yield spread premiums in exchange for getting borrowers...
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Bank of America To Roll Out Cooperative Short Sale Program Wednesday, August 25, 2010
An unnamed source at Bank of America has verified the buzz throughout the short sale community. He says it is true. Bank of America is rolling out a new program...
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California First Mortgages to be Exempt from Deficiency Judgments After a Short Sale Monday, August 23, 2010
A quiet little bill with huge implications for short sale sellers in California, Senate Bill 931, passed unopposed last week and is headed for the Governor's desk. I guess media...
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Volume of Short Sales Triple Since 2008 Friday, August 20, 2010
The Los Angeles Times chased down a report released last week by Core Logic that projects short sales will mushroom in 2010. It says short sales have tripled in the...
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Are Cheap Condos Worth Buying? Tuesday, August 17, 2010
CNN scoured the Trulia website last week to find a bunch of cheap condos offered for sale for less than the cost of a new Prius. As a side note,...
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It's Hard to Sell a Unique Home Monday, August 16, 2010
It's not difficult to sell a unique home if it sits in a neighborhood of unique homes, each with its own set of unique qualities. But it's almost impossible to sell...
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Fannie Mae Offers Relief to Dead or Dying Homeowners Friday, August 13, 2010
I don't mean to sound so gruesome about this, but the facts are what they are. If your military spouse was injured or killed in action, Fannie Mae will step...
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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.
Insurance commissioner: No hurricanes, but property rates up
It's been more than four years since Florida was directly hit by a hurricane, but many Florida homeowners face insurance hikes.
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HUD program to help communities buy foreclosed homes
The nation's top housing official on Wednesday announced the expansion of a program that gives municipalities and nonprofit agencies the chance to buy foreclosed homes before they're made available to private investors.
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Castle Key premiums to rise about 18 percent on average
Rate will jumps 18 and 19 percent
Homeowners' insured by Castle Key Insurance Company and Castle Key Indemnity will see higher rates effective Nov. 28, under a plan state regulators disclosed Friday.
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Ask a real estate pro: What's driving up closing costs?
Louis Spagnuolo of WCS Lending in Boca Raton answers reader questions about the housing market. To ask a question that Louis may answer next week, click here.
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Pending home sales rise in July
Pending home sales increased 5 percent in July from June but remain 19 percent lower than a year ago, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
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Settle law disputes with owners or associations instantly
Mobile devices, smart phone apps and state-sponsored Websites make it easy to access information about Florida condo, homeowners and co-op association law.
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NACA: 17,000 homeowners sought loan modifications
Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of American Chief Executive Officer Bruce Marks said late Tuesday that more than 17,000 people had been through the doors at its marathon mortgage modification event in West Palm Beach.
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Many South Florida homes priced at $50,000 or less
Investors are buying, fixing up and reselling for a profit
The collapse in South Florida home prices has left bargains for the taking, but many properties are shoe-box tiny, or have some major flaw.
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Event shows unemployment is driving foreclosures
There was a big difference between the Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America mortgage modification event that just ended and the one NACA held earlier this year.
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What effect have foreclosures had?
A two-day national summit on foreclosures begins Wednesday at the Federal Reserve in Washington.
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