Recent Articles
Homeowners

594 articles

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Brightly painted home prompts debate in earth-toned La Palma

California | Local | By Paloma Esquivel | August 31, 2008
When Adnan Essayli set out to paint the outside of his La Palma home, he wanted a color resembling gold-toned travertine, like the stone-walled homes in his native Beirut. Read more
 

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Less-known housing tax changes

Business | By Kathy M. Kristof | August 10, 2008
Tax breaks for owning real estate are undergoing another shift, thanks to the Housing and Economic Recovery Act recently signed into law by President Bush. Read more
 

Law narrows home sellers’ use of tax-free exclusion

Business | By Kenneth R. Harney | August 10, 2008
– Deep in the nearly 700 pages of the new housing bill just signed into law is a complicated tax code change that could affect substantial numbers of people who purchase second homes or rental investment real estate in the coming decade with an eye to occupying them as their main residence later. Read more
 

Friday, August 8, 2008

Builders’ loan units faulted

Business | By Annette Haddad | August 8, 2008
One of the biggest construction workers unions on Thursday warned of more housing problems ahead – particularly for borrowers living in new-home communities – and lays much of the blame on the nation’s home builders. Read more
 

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Green energy financing OKd

California | Local | By Margot Roosevelt | July 23, 2008
Berkeley and Palm Desert may be poles apart when it comes to politics. Read more
 

Sunday, July 20, 2008

A refi lifeline, with strings

Real Estate | By Kenneth R. Harney | July 20, 2008
WASHINGTON – After six months of haggling and political gamesmanship, a massive housing-relief bill is heading for final approval. Read more
 

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Housing bill may get boost

Business | By Janet Hook | July 15, 2008
The Bush administration’s emergency move to shore up the mortgage market will reap another dividend on Capitol Hill: It’s helping propel into law a broader housing bill that was threatened by wrangling between House and Senate Democrats. Read more
 

Sunday, July 13, 2008

The superhero with a hammer

Real Estate | By Jane Hulse | July 13, 2008
With his brawny build, he looks a little like Mr. Read more
 

DIGGING It’s your job

Real Estate | By Jane Hulse | July 13, 2008
WHEN Jody Costello and her husband, Don, set out to add 700 square feet to their San Diego hillside home, they thought they knew what they were doing. Read more
 

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Mortgage crisis takes toll on children too

Real Estate | By Lew Sichelman | July 6, 2008
WASHINGTON – Everyone realizes the cost of foreclosure can be staggering. Read more
 

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Refinancing spurred sub-prime crisis

Business | By Maura Reynolds | July 5, 2008
Vicki Miller bought her childhood home in Altoona, Pa., from her mother’s estate for $32,000, using a nice, traditional mortgage from the local savings and loan. Read more
 

Sunday, June 29, 2008

She hopes to land a deal by trading her ‘floating condo’

Real Estate | By Frank Nelson | June 29, 2008
AS PEOPLE warm to the idea of home swapping, some are taking the creative concept to the next level. Read more
 

Let’s swap homes

Real Estate | By Frank Nelson | June 29, 2008
DANNY BRAGG and his wife, Danika, who own a modern, four-bedroom home in San Bernardino County, are thinking of moving. Read more
 

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The kitchen, revisited

Home & Garden | By Sean Mitchell | June 19, 2008
HIDDEN behind a downturn in the stock market, pain at the gas pump and historic home foreclosures, the high-end designer kitchen gleams on. Read more
 

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Home will sell (if priced right)

Real Estate | By Lew Sichelman | June 15, 2008
WASHINGTON – You can spruce up the outside of your house to the point where it stops passersby in their tracks. Read more
 

Don’t fret over equity report

Real Estate | By Kenneth R. Harney | June 15, 2008
WASHINGTON – As a homeowner, seller or buyer, what should you make of the Federal Reserve’s latest report on Americans’ home equity positions? Read more
 

Short sale, tall order

Real Estate | By Diane Wedner | June 15, 2008
RESIDENTIAL short sales sound like a picnic: Owners need to sell their homes for less than they owe, lenders forgive the difference and buyers grab a good deal. Read more
 

Amid housing-market slump, prospects for renters perk up

Real Estate | By J W. Elphinstone | June 15, 2008
Renters may be the big winners in the housing slump, especially in places like Southern California, Las Vegas and Florida, which have thousands of vacant for-sale and foreclosed homes and condominiums on the market. Read more
 

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Arm yourself with info before mortgage rate resets

Real Estate | By Lew Sichelman | June 8, 2008
WASHINGTON – Borrowers who opted for an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, in return for a lower starting rate often fear that when the mortgage resets, they’ll either have to refinance – possibly at a higher rate – or face a big kick in their pocketbooks. Read more
 

Friday, June 6, 2008

Wildfires heat up debate on rising rebuilding costs

Business | By Marc Lifsher | June 6, 2008
Stan Newman figures it will cost him close to $400,000 to rebuild his three-bedroom home, which burned to the ground in the fall when a wildfire swept through his neighborhood in the San Diego County community of Rancho Bernardo. Read more
 
Email This | Print This | Text Size: Increase Decrease