The kitchen and bathroom are at the top of most home remodeling project lists. But homeowners intent on remodeling should also consider investing in the exterior of their homes - maybe even start there.
That’s the advice of Sarah Susanka, one of the nation’s leading voices for redefining the American …

A: Yes. Among the most popular:
• Title 1 Home Improvement Loan. HUD insures the loan up to $25,000 for a single-family home and lenders make loans for basic livability improvements – such as additions and new roofs – to eligible borrowers. 

• Section 203(k) Program. HUD helps finance …

The low interest rates secured by borrowers recently on FHA mortgages may become valuable in a different way in the future. FHA and VA mortgage are assumable at the existing interest rates subject to buyer qualification.

Buyers wanting to assume an existing FHA mortgage must be owner-occupants and …

By John Voket, RISMedia Consumer Confidant

If you are planning to sell your home this year, I want to bring you up to speed on an important responsibility—to present your home in as positive and honest light as possible. 

Joy Watts, a real estate professional in Kalamazoo, Mich., …

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing fixed mortgage rates following bond yields lower to new all-time record lows. The 30-year fixed averaged 3.75 percent setting a new all-time record low for the fifth consecutive week. The 15-year fixed averaged an unprecedented 2.97 …

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing fixed mortgage rates following bond yields lower to new all-time record lows. The 30-year fixed averaged 3.75 percent setting a new all-time record low for the fifth consecutive week. The 15-year fixed averaged an unprecedented 2.97 …

Mortgage applications decreased 1.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 25, 2012. This week’s results do not include an adjustment for early closings on Friday before the Memorial Day holiday.

The Market …

Real Estate Market Goes Up as Home Sales are on the Rise. Pending home sales are on an upward trend, which has been uneven but meaningful.

As a matter of fact, "Compared with February, prices fell just 0.03% in March" According to Wall Street Journal.

…

Do you find these familiar?

• Health and safety issues
• Roofs with a short life expectancy
• Furnace / A/C malfunctions
• Foundation deficiencies
• Moisture / drainage issues

Yes, these are services needed for home inspections - Checklist it is!! Doing this maybe time and money hassle …

At the end of 2012, a number of tax and spending policies are scheduled to change. Taken together, these changes may exert a strong fiscal drag on an already fragile macroeconomic environment depending on the actions of Congress. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke calls this the “fiscal cliff.” Tax policy …