Do you ever REALLY own your home?  What I want to discuss is the modern version of homeownership as compared to traditional factors that caused people to buy homes in the past. On that front, much has changed in the past 30-40 years, so much so that the entire purpose for owning a home might be unr… Continue Reading

As we detect signs of housing recovery - and rumors of housing recovery – you have to wonder how long it will be before we once again hear the chorus of everyone should be a homeowner. Despite the still lingering wounds from the last housing bubble, it seems to be a staple of economic recoveries t… Continue Reading

One of the most compelling reasons for owning a home is the heavily touted tax benefits of homeownership owing to deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes. Real estate agents will play this benefit for all it’s worth in extolling the idea of homeownership for all. However for three r… Continue Reading

If you’re thinking of buying a new home in the near future, there’s something you need to think about first. Before you even sign a purchase offer to buy a new home, you first need to sell your house - as in the one you own now. During the brighter days of the real estate market—the 1980s, … Continue Reading

Ominous question, isn’t it? There are all kinds of implications that go with that possibility, and none of them fit neatly within the economic progression of the past 30-40 years when it seemed the entire economy was running largely on the back of the real estate industry. But whether we like it… Continue Reading

And other questions you should ask before buying a home... Many articles have been written on the buying vs renting question when it comes to buying a home, but most of the analysis tends to center on the dollars and cents side of the question. We read about tax advantages, investment potentia… Continue Reading

Many of us know people who are facing imminent foreclosure. Millions of people have confronted this dragon, and chances are you know a few. Have you ever been asked for advice by one of them? I have; by more than one. No, I’m not an attorney, or even a debt counselor. But I have spent man… Continue Reading

Despite hints and statistics showing a somewhat improved housing market, now is not the time to merely assume that the market is teeming with good deals and that a return to the real estate price spiral will soon cover any mistakes made in the purchase. The market remains sluggish in many areas, an… Continue Reading

We’re going to go back to the future – or is it the past – with this idea. Now that we’ve experienced the mortgage meltdown and the real estate collapse, maybe it’s time to re-examine the whole concept of home ownership. I’m going to make a radical proposal here: the next time you’re l… Continue Reading

For generations the conventional wisdom on housing was always to buy the most (or more) house that you can afford. The rationale—which worked for decades—was that a house was the closest thing to a guaranteed investment, and by buying the most expensive property you could afford you we… Continue Reading