This featured blog is by RealtyJoin member Jeff Adams We are all aware that the economy has taken a nosedive over the past couple of years. Businesses are closing their doors, employees are being downsized, and the current market value of houses has been consistently dropping. Although, the recession is damaging the current market, it [...]

What do you do if you have the money to pay your mortgage, but your property is so severely underwater that you don’t believe it will get right side up for 20 years or more? Strategic default is one of those topics that always seems to raise hackles in real estate conversation. While strategic defaults [...]

Hopefully you filed your taxes on Monday, or at least filed an extension, but just because you’re done filing doesn’t mean you can forget about your taxes. There’s always the paperwork left behind. It’s probably taking up space in that old file cabinet of yours. If you’re doing some spring cleaning you might be wondering [...]

Homeowners who owe more than their home is worth may be receiving some help from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). A recent speech by Edward DeMarco, acting director of the FHFA, alluded to the possibility of implementing write-downs for underwater homeowners. The idea stems from the findings of an FHFA study which showed that [...]

Is the housing news we’re getting good? That’s the question the New York Times asked in an editorial this week. And if you look at some of the press releases that have been issued recently, you might think that the housing market has indeed turned the corner. The National Association of Realtors announced that pending [...]

The federal government and 49 states have reached a landmark $25 billion foreclosure settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders, the Department of Justice announced Thursday (February 9th). The joint agreement is the largest federal-state civil settlement ever obtained. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Housing (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, Iowa Attorney General Tom Mill and [...]

Just one week after President Obama promised “no more red tape” for homeowners looking to refinance, there’s news that mortgage insurance giant Freddie Mac could benefit if banks stonewall their customers. According to an investigation by NPR and ProPublica, the government-sponsored enterprise has spent billions betting homeowners won’t be able to refinance their high-rate mortgages [...]

A recap of the 2011 real estate market and the top 4 real estate New Year’s financial Resolutions with real estate and personal finance advice. Over the past 18 years that we’ve been writing this column, we’ve offered New Year’s Resolutions for home buyer and home sellers, plus New Year’s Financial Resolutions that everyone can use to start [...]

Question: I signed a contract two months ago for a newly-built house with a leading builder. The home will take about four months to build. The builder has not applied for the permit and has not done any of the ground work on the home. The builder told me that until I pay him about [...]

Last week, unemployment claims fell below 400,000 for the fourth week in a row. Which seems like good news, especially since the ranks of those receiving unemployment benefits declined to a three-year low, but the job market is still pretty bleak.