buying a home

Houses are cheap. Interest rates are low. And the economy is improving. Even Warren Buffett says that housing might be the best investment today. So should you run out and buy a home? Not necessarily.

It might not be the right method for everyone seeking a home loan, but it worked for one Georgia couple: A music video that went viral got Bank of America to close on Ken and Meredith Williams' long-delayed mortgage.

It's never easy to decide on buying a home, certainly not in a time of such economic uncertainty. Here, we break down the five essential questions that, once answered, will smooth your progress towards domestic contentedness. Read on to get started.

Even before the latest stock-market plunge, U.S. consumer confidence was already sliding downward, according to a Fannie Mae survey released Monday. Some 70% of respondents say the economy is heading in the wrong direction.

America is DIY Nation, but in certain financial situations, a do-it-yourself strategy can make a bad situation much worse, because in investing and money matters, most of us don't know what we don't know. Here are eight times in your life when the high stakes demand that you call in the experts.

Once was, you could buy a home without much worry about how long it would take to recoup your upfront investment in the down payment and closing costs. Today, home prices have actually rolled backward to 2004 levels sinse their 2006 peak, according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price...

Buyers still waiting for home prices to scrape rock bottom (hint: they will never return to1953 levels) or interest rates to hit zero (I know, it feels like they're headed there) might want to consider that conditions for buying a home are better today than at any time in recent memory. The...

While nobody should hold their breath here, the most recent Harris Poll on consumer spending plans found that things haven't changed much since May -- with a few notable exceptions. Those who expect to buy a new house or condo are up from a puny 7% to a measly 10%. Those who expect to buy a boat...

Do you dream of owning your own home? With interest rates near rock bottom (if you can qualify), housing prices down hugely from three years ago, and the government dangling a hefty tax credit in your face, how can you resist? Our friends at Fixr.com have prepared this nifty flow chart to help you...