Have the mortgage-modification floodgates opened? For the one-in-four American homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, a reduction in the mortgage's principal balance can shift the borrowers' math and their mindsets in favor of staying in the game: Drop the amount of...

Imagine what must go through the minds of America's soldiers as they fight on fronts from Afghanistan to Iraq: the terrors they've seen, the dangers lurking around the corner, their concerns about their families, and so on. The last thing they should have to think about? Whether their home will...

Many a homeowner has been "inspired" to do-it-yourself-dom by a traumatic encounter with a bad contractor (traumatic to the psyche -- or the pocketbook). In the same vein, the spate of loan modification scammers who have taken thousands from already struggling homeowners in return for false...

You've heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, in real estate news this week, a picture has been painted by what seems like a thousand numbers -- and the picture ain't pretty, people. Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) announced that sales of...

Florida can't seem to catch a break these days, especially when it comes to its housing market. First, the news (or not-so-news, if you actually live there) broke that Florida had the highest rate of foreclosures of any state in the union during the last quarter of 2010. And now, in a striking...

Billionaire. Oracle of Omaha. The most successful investor in the world. All of these are used frequently -- and accurately -- to describe Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company with upward of $130 million. Though his stock in trade is, well, stock and trade, over the...

Recent movements in Congress to deactivate some of the federal foreclosure-prevention programs are getting a lot of press, despite the fact that these programs are probably safe for the time being. What gets much less publicity are the billions of dollars that are still available to help distressed...

If you've been saving your pennies and primping your FICO score in hopes of getting into the housing market while the getting's good (i.e., while home prices and interest rates are low), it must seem like there's a "new rule" of the new, post-bubble market to learn every time you turn around. And...

Have you ever gotten your hopes way up about something, only to have them shattered? Thought you were getting a new puppy for Christmas, and got one -- but it was stuffed? Multiply that infinitely and you'll begin to grasp what homeowners around America are feeling as they contemplate the latest...

Ask a roomful of homeowners what's so great about owning versus renting, and you'll hear them holler in unison: "the tax deductions!" And it's true -- homeowners who itemize their taxes are able to deduct 100% of their mortgage interest and property taxes from their income tax returns. That means...