Updated Articles and Resources

By Elizabeth Weintraub, About.com Guide

Updated Articles and Resources

Protecting Your Home from Wildfires and Forest Fires - Home Fire Prevention Created: 2007-10-26 @ 16:45:06 EDT Updated: 2012-02-15 @ 16:52:40 EST
How to protect your home from wildfires and forest fires. How to prevent fires from destroying your home. Home fire safety advice. Evacuation tips.
Will a Short Sale Ruin Credit? - How Credit is Affected by Short Sales and Foreclosures Created: 2008-05-22 @ 14:23:47 EDT Updated: 2012-02-12 @ 18:12:36 EST
Will a short sale ruin your credit rating? What is better: a short sale or a foreclosure? Length of time before a home owner can buy another home after a short sale or foreclosure.
Biography of Catherine Coy Created: 2008-05-22 @ 15:17:53 EDT Updated: 2012-02-12 @ 18:12:10 EST
Biography of mortgage broker Catherine Coy.
comparable sales - what are comparable sales Created: 2012-02-11 @ 20:30:08 EST Updated: 2012-02-11 @ 20:38:55 EST
Explanation of comparable sales. Tips for how to find comps and why you need to know the comparable sales before buying a home. How to use comparable sales for selling a home.
Home Buying Spring - Buying a Home in the Spring Created: 2012-02-04 @ 20:53:47 EST Updated: 2012-02-09 @ 10:19:15 EST
Tried and true tips for buying a home in the spring. Why spring time home buying is a popular time to buy and tips for beating the competition. Why multiple offers are a bone of contention with spr..
Principal Reduction - Principal Reduction Programs for Mortgages Created: 2010-10-24 @ 18:54:41 EDT Updated: 2012-02-09 @ 10:16:09 EST
How to determine if a principal reduction company is legitimate. Warning signs that the principal reduction program is a scam.
Lowball Offers - How to Make Lowball Offers - Making Lowball Offers Created: 2007-05-01 @ 19:09:20 EDT Updated: 2012-02-09 @ 09:46:33 EST
How to make a lowball offer that is not insulting to the seller. Tips on getting lowball offers accepted.
What Are Short Sale Taxes? Video Created: 2011-11-14 @ 17:01:36 EST Updated: 2012-02-01 @ 16:08:20 EST
It is important to learn about short sale taxes before you consider this option for your home. Here are some tips on short sale taxes and the tax forms you will need to fill out when you conduct a ..
As Is Short Sale - Buying an As Is Short Sale Created: 2012-01-28 @ 21:44:39 EST Updated: 2012-01-28 @ 21:52:29 EST
Explanation of buying an As Is short sale. Why most short sales are sold in As Is condition and what As Is means to a short sale buyer.
Buyer - First-time Home Buyers - Tips for First-Time Home Buyers Created: 2006-06-23 @ 13:54:29 EDT Updated: 2012-01-25 @ 17:25:20 EST
Buying a home for the first time can be overwhelming for a first-time home buyer because few home buyers know where or how to begin the search to buy a home. The first home buying step should be to..
HARP - Home Affordable Refinance Program - Government Refinance Created: 2011-12-03 @ 19:14:47 EST Updated: 2012-01-23 @ 10:27:00 EST
Overview of the Home Affordable Refinance Program, HARP. Why it might not be a good idea to refinance an underwater mortgage through the Home Affordable Refinance Program. Little known quirks about..
Delinquent Short Sale - Delinquent Mortgage Payments for Short Sale Created: 2012-01-21 @ 20:50:13 EST Updated: 2012-01-21 @ 20:51:38 EST
When the bank rejects your short sale because your payment are current, if you become delinquent, is there a guarantee your short sale will get approved? Why a delinquent short sale has a better ch..
SB 458 - Senate Bill 458 - California Civil Code 580e Created: 2011-12-03 @ 21:11:56 EST Updated: 2012-01-21 @ 12:27:09 EST
How a seller can make a contribution to effect a short sale in California without violating SB 458, which amends CA Civil Code 580e. Drawbacks to SB 458. How CA Civil Code 580e affects a short sal..
Short Sale Price - How Flexible is That Short Sale Price? Created: 2012-01-14 @ 22:09:07 EST Updated: 2012-01-14 @ 22:14:25 EST
How you can tell if that short sale price is real. Explanation of why a bank will accept a certain price on a short sale and how to compute the short sale price just like a bank will do it.
Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale Created: 2011-07-23 @ 16:03:27 EDT Updated: 2012-01-09 @ 18:04:30 EST
Is it worth your while to apply for a Bank of America cooperative short sale? Step-by-step explanation of how to qualify for and how to apply for a Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale. How Bank ..
Offer Acceptance -- How Long Do We Have to Accept a Purchase Offer Created: 2012-01-07 @ 19:44:24 EST Updated: 2012-01-07 @ 19:46:18 EST
Length of time sellers can wait to accept a buyer's offer to purchase their home. Once a buyer makes an offer, is it good forever? How long do sellers have to accept a purchase offer? Description o..
Prepare to Sell a Home - How to Prepare to Sell a Home Video Created: 2011-12-29 @ 11:06:40 EST Updated: 2011-12-29 @ 11:06:40 EST
Want to learn how to best prepare to sell a home? Here see tips and tricks before you put the house on the market.
Get Ready to List Home - How to Get Ready to List Your Home Created: 2011-12-23 @ 12:35:17 EST Updated: 2011-12-23 @ 12:36:36 EST
How to get ready for your real estate agent. Before listing your home for sale, tips for getting ready to list. Ways to make a good first impression on your listing agent.
2012 Real Estate Predictions - Housing Forecast and Real Estate Predictions for 2012 Created: 2011-12-17 @ 22:12:11 EST Updated: 2011-12-18 @ 12:27:58 EST
Real estate predictions and housing forecast for 2012. What's in store for home buyers, home sellers and investors in 2012? How accurately do Elizabeth Weintraub's predictions forecast the 2012 rea..
Short Sale Problems - Types of Short Sale Problems Created: 2011-12-10 @ 19:20:39 EST Updated: 2011-12-10 @ 19:28:47 EST
Types of problems that can crop up in a short sale and cause a short sale to be rejected. How to prevent short sale problems. Dealing with short sale problems that stop a short sale from closing.
Short Sale Procedure - What is the Short Sale Procedure? Created: 2011-12-10 @ 17:35:44 EST Updated: 2011-12-10 @ 17:51:11 EST
What is the short sale procedure? Is it better to first ask the bank for a short sale or should you send an offer for the short sale to the bank and then ask? The standard short sale procedure expl..
HOPE for Homeowners FHA Refinance - HOPE for Upside-Down Homeowners - FHA Refi Created: 2008-10-14 @ 18:19:44 EDT Updated: 2011-12-10 @ 14:15:56 EST
The HOPE for Homeowners program allows an FHA refinance for upside-down home owners, touted as relief from foreclosure or short sales, providing home owners qualify for the FHA program.
Short Sale Alternative - 10 Alternatives to Short Sales Created: 2011-11-26 @ 14:53:22 EST Updated: 2011-11-26 @ 15:31:25 EST
A short sale alternative to selling a home when you owe more than it is worth. Top 10 alternatives to short sales and options for selling that impossible to sell home.
short sale investment - doing a short sale on an investment property Created: 2011-11-25 @ 21:25:03 EST Updated: 2011-11-25 @ 21:32:14 EST
Procedure for an investment property short sale. Tips for doing a short sale on a rental property. Drawbacks to short selling a non-owner occupied home.
Preapproval Letter - Preapproval Letter for Mortgage Created: 2011-10-22 @ 15:26:10 EDT Updated: 2011-11-25 @ 21:04:14 EST
When the seller is a bank, can the seller demand that the buyer get a preapproval letter from that bank? How REO lenders and short sale banks can make some borrowers get a preapproval letter from t..
Biography of Dan Tharp, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist Created: 2008-04-13 @ 20:41:31 EDT Updated: 2011-11-25 @ 13:46:46 EST
Bio of Dan Tharp, CMPS® at Comstock Mortgage, Sacramento.
Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Fed Rate Cut Affect on Mortgages - How Mortgage Rates are Determined Created: 2008-04-22 @ 18:28:07 EDT Updated: 2011-11-25 @ 13:43:12 EST
Explanation of how Federal Reserve rate cuts affect mortgage rates. How mortgage rates are determined and why they fluctuate. What a fed rate cut means to a mortgage customer.
Best Places to Live - Find Your Own Best Place to Live in America Created: 2008-04-22 @ 22:09:35 EDT Updated: 2011-11-25 @ 11:53:17 EST
How to choose the best places to live. If you could live anywhere in the United States, which places would you choose that are best for you? Here's how to help you decide where you would love to li..
Short Sale Success - 7 Steps to Short Sale Success Created: 2011-11-19 @ 21:15:45 EST Updated: 2011-11-19 @ 21:17:53 EST
Tips used by highly successful short sale agents to close that short sale. 7 unique tips for short success, tips that are guaranteed to help you to close that short sale with the first buyer.
Short Sale Negotiator- What is a Short Sale Negotiator? Created: 2011-11-19 @ 19:26:00 EST Updated: 2011-11-19 @ 21:16:43 EST
What is a short sale negotiator? Where do you find a short sale negotiator? What does a short sale negotiator do? How to tell if short sale negotiation if right for you.
Short Sale Counter Offer - How to Handle a Short Sale Counter Offer Created: 2011-11-12 @ 20:23:37 EST Updated: 2011-11-19 @ 16:52:34 EST
Anticipating, preparing and negotiating a short sale counter offer. Whether the bank issues a counter offer for the short sale or the seller counters the buyers' offer, tips for handling the short ..
What Does it Cost to Close Escrow? Video Created: 2011-11-14 @ 17:28:25 EST Updated: 2011-11-14 @ 17:28:25 EST
Learn what it costs to close escrow on a home to help you determine if you can afford to buy a home. Here are some tips on what it costs to close escrow.

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