fairhousing

Racial, ethnic minorities face covert housing discrimination

Discrimination in housing is becoming a cat-and-mouse game of covert activity as African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians learn about disproportionately fewer housing opportunities than equally qualified whites.

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shadowinventory

Shadow inventory unleashed could be good for business

The federal government holds more than 1.7 million properties considered “shadow inventory” properties that many fear could disrupt the housing market if they were suddenly unleashed on the market. To the contrary, tn today’s inventory starved market, the opposite could be true. The shadow inventory could level the playing field for buyers.

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smokehouse

Third-hand smoke is killing your home’s value

Movoto reports brown, tarred, chemical residues of third-hand smoke can send 29 percent of the value of your home up in smoke. Smoking in a home worth $200,000 can shave off $58,000, reducing the value to $142,000. That’s a lot of money to blow.

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marcbellborg

Home Sweet Man Cave

As a kid, Marc Belll’s mom and pop carpeted the living room in white and banned their rugrat from the pristine area. He didn’t get angry. He got revenge. As an adult, he transformed much of his home into the mother-of-all-man-caves.

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deckcollapse

Site To See: Deck designs that don’t rock

Decks need regular inspection as well as solid initial engineering to keep them safe and in usable working order, according to Rich Bergman, editor of Ideas For Deck Designs. He offers a load capacity calculator on a web site chock full of safe deck building information.

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ratesrise

Fixed mortgage rates move higher for sixth week

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rose to 3.98 percent, with an average 0.7 point, the week ending June 13, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year FRM has been rising every week for the past month, and has increased more than half a percentage point since then.

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mancave

Basement deserves special inspection scrutiny

Basements aren’t considered as glamorous as a hi-tech gourmet kitchen, gleaming custom bathrooms or well-manicured landscaping, but, because of their location and use, they need an even greater level of inspection scrutiny.

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fsbo

Housing recovery lures FSBOs

Multiple offers, pocket listings, flash sales and rising prices, in the recovering housing market, are luring sellers into the FSBO mode, but they may be overlooking the big picture that comes with real estate agent skills.

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housingrecovery

Silicon Valley’s housing recovery, by the numbers

News about the housing recovery is blindingly bright, here in Silicon Valley and throughout much of the nation. Bolstered by burgeoning consumer confidence, rising stock prices and interest rates that remain near historic lows, national property values jumped nearly 11 …

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shortsalebutton

Short sale scammers still making the rounds

A short sale occurs, as an alternative to foreclosure, when a homeowner sells the property for less than the balance on the mortgage, provided the lender will accept the deal. Scammers try to squeeze in on the action, at your expense.

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Markets

fairhousing

Racial, ethnic minorities face covert housing discrimination

“To detect housing discrimination today, HUD and local fair housing organizations need to conduct proactive testing, especially in the sales market, where discrimination appears higher than in the rental market.” U.S. DEPARTMENT

housingrecovery

Silicon Valley’s housing recovery, by the numbers

News about the housing recovery is blindingly bright, here in Silicon Valley and throughout much of the nation. Bolstered by burgeoning consumer confidence, rising stock prices and interest rates that remain near

propertytaxes

Property taxes rising with booming home values in Silicon Valley

It was inevitable. For homeowners, the cost of higher home values is higher property taxes. In Silicon Valley, where the tech economy has pushed unemployment levels down to 6.6 percent, home prices are

housekeys

Home buyers’ interactive, online tool sorts 230 CA home buyer asssitance programs

More than 230 assistance programs in California can help home buyers overcome a top obstacle to home buying - the down payment. But finding them can be a dilemma. That's why the California

Finance

ratesrise

Fixed mortgage rates move higher for sixth week

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rose to 3.98 percent, with an average 0.7 point, the week ending June 13, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year FRM

shortsalebutton

Short sale scammers still making the rounds

RAE CATANESE - If you've been struggling with your mortgage payments, miss a few and then get a call from an "investor" claiming a desire to buy your home, beware. A short

modification

HAMP, MHAP programs extended through 2015

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have announced an extension on the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable (MHAP) Programs including the

lessdown

Down payment shrinkage not due to eased credit squeeze

The down payment amount home buyers are paying to buy a home is down nearly 10 percent over the past two years, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can fritter away

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