November 2006
Monthly Archive
29 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Home Prices Fell at Record Pace in October
U.S. existing home prices dropped a record 3.5 percent last month, compared with the same month a year earlier, while the total number of residences sold fell 11.5 percent compared with October 2005, according to an industry report released yesterday.
27 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Commercial Boom Softens Housing Bust
To understand why the housing slump hasn't dragged the economy into a recession, it helps to visit the Smoketown Plaza in Woodbridge, where the thumping of hammers signals the healthy pulse of a building boom that's still going strong.
25 Nov 2006 12:00 am
30-Year Rates Dip to 10-Month Low
Mortgage rates around the country fell this week, with rates on 30-year mortgages sinking to their lowest level in 10 months.
25 Nov 2006 12:00 am
In the Loop, and Next to the Vice President
Observatory Circle in northwest Washington is filled with people who live by the clock.
25 Nov 2006 12:00 am
House of Sweden, a Multifunctional Space With a Sense of Place
Thanksgiving weekend can bring to mind the word "smorgasbord," one of those wonderful nouns that somehow sound like what they represent.
25 Nov 2006 12:00 am
If the IRS wants to spot large numbers of people who are stiffing the tax collectors, it might want to consider auditing a fast-growing segment of the home-mortgage market.
25 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Getting the Facts Straight About ‘IRC 121′
Q: DEAR BOB: We own two houses and meet the 24-out-of-last-60-month ownership and occupancy requirement for the Internal Revenue Code 121 principal residence sale tax exemption on both. One house is now listed for sale.
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Home Construction Drops 14.6% in October
U.S. home construction plunged in October to its lowest level in more than six years, according to government data, sending a chill through the slumping housing market.
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Cultivating 4 Square Miles Of Charm
The atmosphere in Walkersville's compact core seems much further removed from downtown Frederick than the six miles between the two would suggest.
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Deep Throat may have helped bring down a president, but that's not enough to bring out home buyers.
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
The price was solid, but otherwise the offer that real estate agent Jane Fairweather's clients received for their house last month was far from a good one.
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Rates on 30-year mortgages fell sharply this week to the lowest level in eight months, reflecting easing inflation concerns.
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
A Helping Hand In Builder Disputes
When home builders behave badly, some of their customers may have an unexpected resource: The federal government's "RESPA police," who say they have become increasingly active in resolving consumer complaints through nonpublic interventions with builders.
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Lenders Expect to See Tax Returns, but Read the IRS Forms Carefully
Q: We recently went to settlement on our first home. The lawyer conducting the process handed us a large pile of papers and asked us to sign them. One of them was a form that would authorize our lender to get our personal financial information from the IRS.
18 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Q: DEAR BOB: I rent an apartment in a large complex. About six months ago, I accidentally left my dinner cooking on the stove and it overheated. It caused a fire that resulted in about $15,000 damage to my apartment. Fortunately, nobody was injured.
15 Nov 2006 06:00 am
Protect Your Home from Winter’s Chill
As fall rolls in with winter close behind, home improvement experts say homeowners should take preventive measures and prepare for cold weather. Protecting the outside of your home can lower energy costs, while updates to the interior can warm up spaces where family will gather for the holidays.
15 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Kristy LaLonde, who rents an apartment in Crystal City, spent the past four years "freaking out" as home prices here climbed relentlessly. She feared she would never be able to own the kind of place she had been raised to expect.
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Scaling the Final Steps to Closing
Even when home buyers and sellers think they have found the perfect match, there's still work to do. ยท Remember the market. Sellers need to understand that the market has changed greatly in the past year or two. Sellers aren't automatically receiving offers above their asking price. They're not......
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Who would have expected contemporary glass-walled houses in a parklike setting just 800 yards from George Washington's Mount Vernon estate?
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Realtors See ‘Perfect Alignment’ Of Low Interest Rates, Ample Listings
There's a bright side to the decline in the U.S. housing market, says the National Association of Realtors: plenty of choice.
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
High home fuel prices have Americans looking for some big-ticket ways to save energy.
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Giving Credit Where Credit’s Due
Picture this: You have lived in this country for 15 years, earned a decent wage, raised a family, and always paid your rent, utilities, cellphone charges and other bills on time, month after month. But you made little or no use of the conventional banking and credit systems -- avoiding bank loans,...
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Now Comes the Real Test: Putting the Southwest Development Plan Into Action
"Make no little plans," proclaimed 19th-century Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham, "they have no magic to stir men's blood."
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
In the District, Tenants Get First Dibs When Their Homes Go Up for Sale
Q: We own a single-family house in the District that we have been renting for several years. We retained a real estate broker to assist us in selling the house, and we were told that we have to provide our tenant the right to purchase.
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Homebuying Basics: Refinancing Your Mortgage
Q: DEAR BOB: We just refinanced our condo, receiving part of our equity in cash. Is the money we received taxable? -- Sheila D.
11 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Here are some events that builders and developers have scheduled locally for would-be home buyers in the coming weeks. All are free and open to the public.
08 Nov 2006 01:36 pm
In the summer of 2005, Arlington County handed Arlington deputy sheriff Jun Emmanuel Gan what amounted to a golden ticket redeemable for a discounted $220,000 two-bedroom condo, which had a market value of $232,000.
04 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Defending A Lifestyle, If Not a Republic
Many house hunters in search of the perfect neighborhood make a list of amenities they would like. Just in case that list includes a community with its own anthem, passports, currency, navy, militia and flag, there is always Eastport.
04 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Fair Housing Act Could Provide Relief for Disabled Condo Owner
Q: I recently purchased a condominium unit in a complex that has a large number of assigned parking spaces. I advised the board of directors that I am handicapped and requested that they assign me a parking space near the entrance of my unit.
04 Nov 2006 12:00 am
Unethical Contractors Can Slip Through the Cracks
Q: DEAR BARRY: I disagree with some of what you have written about the state agencies that license and regulate building contractors.