A 2004 study showed that 4 out of 5 credit reports contained at least one error. The errors were of various types with different implications. A quarter of the errors, for example, were of the “serious” nature; errors that could lead to a credit denial because of a false-reporting delinquency or collection. A much larger [...]

In an election year, voting for a presidential candidate can be a lot like buying a home. Both require a fair amount of analysis but — in the end — the decision is still highly emotional. Using Bankrate.com’s side-by-side candidate comparisons, some of that emotion could be replaced by fact. In a gridded format, candidates [...]

Ok, I stumbled across this amazing argument today and just had to write about it. The thing I most pulled from it is this: You must have an wavering, belief in yourself. It must be beyond time, people and mass opinion. Why do I say this, because there is so much misleading information out there [...]

Many homeowners are entitled to two major tax deductions — one for annual interest paid on a home loan, and another for real estate tax bills paid to government. Calculating your approximate tax credit is basic: Add mortgage interest paid and real estate taxes paid together Find your marginal tax rate Multiple your tax bracket [...]

The end of the Super Bowl kicks off the Real Estate Spring Buying Season. As home sellers should prepare for the season’s upcoming homebuyers, they could do worse than to watch this four-minute home staging video from Barbara Corcoran. Barbara offer simple steps that “won’t cost you a lot of money but could make a [...]

We entered the New Year uncertain of the country’s economic future. With January over, it’s a little more clear. Last week’s data and events helped firm expectations. In the near-term, we can expect weakness: The economy is shedding jobs Consumer sentiment is low Home sales continue to slump nationally In the intermediate-term, however, the picture [...]

When buying a home, you pay for more than just physical property at the closing table. You also pay a series of charges. Commonly, homebuyers lump all of these charges under the heading of “closing costs”. That’s a miscategorization. Many changes on a HUD-1 Settlement Statement are specifically not closing costs. They are more appropriately [...]