Archive for September, 2008
Can I Sell “As Is” A House I Inherited?
Question: I’ve been offered a reasonable price on a house I inherited. I want to sell it in “as is” condition. What things should I look out for to protect myself during escrow and after closing? Answer: The matter of “as is” sales has evolved during the past decade or so. The best advice used [...]
21Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Why Have Piggyback Mortgages Disappeared?
We usually define a “conventional” mortgage as financing with 20 percent down. Since most people don’t happen to have 20 down much less 20 percent plus closing costs, there has always been a market for mortgages that somehow require fewer dollars up front. The way you get loans with less down is to find a [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Will Your Home Equity Line of Credit Be There When You Need It?
If you have a home equity line of credit — what the industry calls a “HELOC” — you probably think of it as a financial safety net, quick cash you can access in times of emergency or when you face a big expense that can’t otherwise be paid all at once. Unfortunately, HELOCs have been [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Here’s A Fact: Predatory Lending Is Not A Crime
Speaking before big-shot investors on Wall Street last week, assistant Treasury secretary Anthony Ryan said the marketplace needs to be protected against financial predators. “While predation is the law of the jungle in nature, as civilized society, we need to have laws in place to protect investors and consumers,” Ryan told the Securities Industry and [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Can You Profit From The Real Estate Meltdown?
Hardly a week goes by without the announcement that some major bank has just succeeded in raising billions of dollars in new capital from hedge funds or overseas investors. Given the huge sums being invested in U.S. banks you have to wonder what they’re doing with such new dollars. One good use might be to [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
10 Ways To Buy Homes In A Down Market
At first it may seem like a no brainer, low-hanging fruit and child’s play, but purchasing in a down market is not as easy as it may seem. The problem is not a shortage of homes or a lack of sellers willing to bargain, rather it’s that buying in such a market can be risky. [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
How To Buy 200 Foreclosures A Year
For many people it’s not the best time to be in real estate. Markets have slowed or declined in most local areas and financing is tougher to get than a year ago. Chicago’s Joseph Varan is also cutting back — this year he expects to buy no more than 200 homes. Varan is the president [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Hey Buddy, You Owe Us Money
You can imagine my surprise when in the morning’s mail there arrived a note which said I was late on my mortgage payment. “Several attempts to contact you by phone and mail regarding a delinquency of your mortgage account have elicited no satisfactory response on your part to remedy this situation,” said the letter, ominously. [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Up or Down — How To Measure Your Local Real Estate Market
The past year has seen a slowdown in real estate markets across the country — and an outright slump in many. But such terms as “slowdown” and “slump” are relative and should be used with care — as should “boom” and “hot”. Given the localized nature of real estate, it pays to ask if there [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Refinance Today! Act Now! (But Watch Your Wallet)
I’m always pleased when people want to help me, when they want me to get ahead. Surely such motivations describe the many folks who write with ideas that will allow me to make smaller mortgage payments and thereby save money, cut costs and better my life. Because such suggestions are made with only my best [...]
20Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
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