So if you’ve been thinking about buying a house (condo, townhouse, duplex, etc.) but weren’t planning on putting any money down, the time to do that would be now. As in right now. Why? Because, according to the provisions of the “Housing Rescue Act”, no-down-payment loans will be disappearing. Actually, these types of loans have been gone for some time now, but there was a loophole. Up until now, there have been a handful of loan programs in which a 3% ... Read More

Today, President Bush signed the “Housing Rescue Bill.” So it seemed like as good a time as any to learn about it. There’s a lot to it, and a lot of fine print. But a couple of things stood out to me, as someone who represents buyers and sellers here in the real world: Foreclosure “rescue”: Homeowners facing foreclosure can refinance into low-cost fixed rate loans insured by FHA. But “can” is a tricky word. There are a lot ... Read More

I saw on the news the other day that the "seats" at Red Rocks Amphitheater are going to be replaced. If you've ever been to Red Rocks, you understand why I use the term "seats" loosely. They're really just long wooden ledges that run along the edge of the deep concrete "steps" that run from the top of the hill down to the stage of the most beautiful concert venue that God ever created. Back in my earlier days, we didn't have much ... Read More

So the PMI Mortgage Insurance Company, released its Summer 2008 U.S. Market Risk Index yesterday. The list looks at the top 50 U.S. housing markets, and assesses the likelihood that home prices will be lower in that market it two years than they are today. At the top of the list, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario California, with a 95.5% chance of lower prices in the next two years. In other words, they're nearly 100% sure prices are going to drop. ... Read More