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Posted
Jul 20 2008, 10:47 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Do you want to purchase a Cape Cod with an asphalt front yard and an abundance of broken beer bottles and cigarette butts all about? Please, please buy this house and become the new neighbor of "Brainy Smurf," the blogger at Pants in a Can. You can't be any worse than the people who have the house up for sale. You'd think the very existence of these people would be enough to drive property values down (although, due to other factors, Brainy's property taxes have gone up).
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Posted
Dec 05 2008, 02:35 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Randall at Credit Withdrawal already liked Bank of America's online My Portfolio feature. And now the bank has added an even more fascinating option. You can sign on and watch the value of your home drop. Randall is hooked. "It's like driving by a car wreck," he wrote in a guest post at Cash Money Life. "You don't want to look, but you can't help but stare. As a people, we're fascinated with disasters, and my home value going down at this rate definitely qualifies as a disaster in my book."
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Posted
Sep 09 2008, 05:41 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If you closed on a house recently, prepare to kick yourself. One of the outcomes of the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is the lowest mortgage rate in five months.
According to Bankrate.com, the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped half a percentage point -- to about 6% -- on Monday after the takeover was announced. Rates dropped even further Tuesday, settling at 5.79%. (To figure out how long that rate will last, you will need a crystal ball.)
It's part of a mixed bag of results American consumers can expect now that the federal government has assumed responsibility for Freddie's and Fannie's debt. And it's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
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Posted
Dec 07 2007, 07:12 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Millionaire Mommy Next Door is the queen of the online calculators this week, presenting a substantial list to help you get a grip on your debt situation and your possible options. It includes several here at MSN Money, including the debt evaluation calculator and the Savvy Spending Quiz. Another interesting calculator can be found at another MMND post, and it's right up Mommy's alley. It indicates whether you'd be better off renting out your house or selling it if you had to move. (If you're a regular MMND reader, you know she's no fan of home ownership, is a millionaire and doesn't owe anyone a dime.)
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Posted
Aug 25 2009, 05:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This devil's advocate post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
A few years ago, when the housing market was sizzling hot, everyone and their mother talked about how their home was a fantastic investment. They talked about how a home that sold 10 years ago had quadrupled in value over the last five and cursed themselves for not buying more.
I knew someone who owned four rental properties, all bought with adjustable-rate mortgages, and was making a "killing" on the rents and appreciation. I knew someone else who was looking at his paper riches and marveling at how wonderful homeownership was.
Then the housing market stalled. ARMs reset. People were in rough shape. Those who overextended learned something the prudent have always understood: As much as your home is a great place, it's not an investment.
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Posted
Mar 19 2009, 05:27 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Tisha Tolar at partner blog Wise Bread.
Drive down residential streets and it is likely you will find one with multiple listings. It may look like a lot of possibilities if you are in the market for buying a home, but if your house is on the market, it can be frustrating to see so many signs in your neighborhood.
Because many people are selling their homes, it is increasingly important to make your home stand out. This is especially true if you and some of your closest neighbors are selling homes at the same time.
In this case, if you have innovative neighbors who are easy to work with, these multiple sales can work to your advantage -- and theirs too.
Here are some tips to take advantage of this selling opportunity:
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Posted
Oct 02 2008, 02:17 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Plenty of news stories point to gloom and doom in the U.S. economy, and "FMF" at Free Money Finance informed his readers about three: Car sales have tanked, bidding for a date with tennis star Maria Sharapova topped out at a mere $10,000, and -- the craziest by far -- a woman bought an old vacant house in Michigan for $1.75.
FMF said in his tongue-in-cheek way, "I knew things were bad in Michigan, but never thought they were this bad."
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Posted
Jun 03 2008, 05:48 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The grocery shopper's beloved BOGO -- buy one, get one (free) -- has moved into the realm of home sales. Yes, home sales. In yet another sign of how anxious sellers have become in today's housing market, a San Diego real estate developer has offered a free $400,000 row home to anyone who buys one of his estate homes starting at $1.6 million. "We want to reduce our inventory," Mark Connal, a vice president at Michael Crews Development, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We're prepared to bite the bullet. ... Right now, every builder I know is selling houses at less than it costs to build them."
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Posted
May 19 2008, 02:19 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
You don't need to have a crazy interest-only or adjustable-rate mortgage to feel the pain of the housing slump. A reader who posted a question at Free Money Finance wisely put 20% down and got a fixed-rate mortgage in Las Vegas when that housing market was sizzling hot. Now it's not, and he's upside down -- he owes more on the house than it's worth because of dropping values. His problem is that he wants to move.
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Posted
Nov 14 2008, 05:12 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Miss M" at M is for Money has a sense of humor about her predicament. She called her post "If my house is underwater, where is my ocean view?" This post will help people who live where housing prices are reasonable and stable -- yes, these places exist -- to understand how others could owe more on their homes than they're worth. For those of you who have firsthand experience with this problem, maybe you won't feel so all alone.
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