Ray's Blog

It happens suddenly, over a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper, or perhaps as you make your way across the obstacle course of clutter that was once your living room. Your house doesn't fit your needs, and you can't deny it anymore.It's time to make a hard decision, one potentially worth thou...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of U.S. home construction rose 0.8 percent in March to a rate that beat analysts' predictions but the rise was well below the previous month's increase and the rate was sharply off the year-ago figure, a government report showed on Tuesday.The Commerce Department s...

In their unique book, "Outside the Not So Big House; Creating the Landscape of Home," best-seller author Sarah Susanka and noted landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy team up to show landscape ideas for "completing" modest-sized homes. Along the way, they share the benefits of sound landscape te...

REUTERS: The number of mortgage default notices sent to California homeowners last quarter rose to its highest in nearly 10 years as home prices stagnated and rates on adjustable loans pushed higher, a report released on Monday said.Mortgage lenders filed 46,760 notices of default from January th...

Looking for a valuable, tax-favored way to help minimize your current and future taxes, as well as build real wealth for your entire family? You may need to super charge your retirement plans. Retirement plans are one of the best legal tax savings strategies for most self-employed real estate age...

Consumer groups believe that lenders should be held liable if they allow borrowers to take home mortgages that aren't suitable for them. In prior articles in this series, I concluded that a suitability standard was not an effective way to deal with bad mortgage selection, unaffordable loans or re...

Some sellers get sidetracked in their effort to attract buyers, especially in a market that no longer decidedly favors sellers. For instance, some sellers think the best way to attract buyers to their home is to offer an incentive to the buyer's real estate agent, such as a trip somewhere at clos...

Talk about letting your fingers do the walking! The Internet is certainly the information highway, but just because information comes to you over the Web doesn't mean it's accurate or reliable enough for you to bet your hard-earned savings on. Take real estate valuation Web sites, for example. We...

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today reached a $60,000 settlement with a Springfield, Ill., development company and the estate of its former principal officer to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed in November 2005. The settlement resolves allegations that the defendants refused...

The Department of Real Estate (DRE) clarified yesterday that it is a mortgage broker, not real estate broker, who is obligated to discuss loan terms with his or her clients. This clarification comes by way of revisions to an article about payment option adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) featured i...