Despite debt downgrade, mortgage rates may fall
At least one fear was not realized amid Monday's meltdown: the concern that mortgage rates would immediately shoot higher in response to...
Get the full story >>Giving property as a gift requires careful tax planning
I receive a large number of email questions on a monthly basis, and try to answer as many as I can. I wish I could respond personally to...
Get the full story >>Who gets tax credit for purchase of new home?
Q: My husband and I recently filed for bankruptcy after our home was foreclosed. My mother is willing to purchase a home in her name...
Get the full story >>Recoup costs of maintaining life estate property
Q: We have an unusual situation. When my dad died, he left a life estate in a house/rented duplex to his widow. My sister and I have...
Get the full story >>Confronting a grave situation about burial plots
Q: I was reorganizing my garage when I found a box of family memorabilia. In it was a deed for four burial lots that were purchased by my...
Get the full story >>Avoid tax bite in saving brother's house
Q: My brother bought his home about 15 years ago. He holds title only in his name, as a single man. He lost his job a couple of years...
Get the full story >>Deflecting illegal job questions
Q. What should I do about illegal questions in a job interview? If I say the question is illegal, I'm afraid they'll think I'm a...
Get the full story >>How to raise credit scores: Five tips
The higher your credit scores, the better shot you have of getting a loan or credit card application approved. Improving your credit...
Get the full story >>Homeowner might get tax relief from phantom income
Q: We lost my father last year and are taking his name off of the mortgage loan and adding my name. Our mother was granted a modified...
Get the full story >>Putting brakes on foreclosure
Q: I have been working with my bank on a loan modification, but just received a notice of foreclosure. I contacted the lawyer who is...
Get the full story >>Buyer finds creaky house unsettling
Q. I bought a home in April 2009. The house is relatively new, built in 1995. I purchased the home with an FHA loan, as a short sale. My...
Get the full story >>The realities of unloading a time share
Q: I recently read your suggestions on how to get rid of a time share. You suggested attempting to give your time share back to the...
Get the full story >>Seeking a smoke-free solution
Q: I know you usually deal with homeowner issues, but I hope you can at least give me an idea as to the feasibility of my proposal. I...
Get the full story >>Adding children on title raises tax questions
Q: After my dad died last year, my mom sold their house. During the title search, she was surprised to learn she didn't even own the...
Get the full story >>Will flex fuel save you money?
Spikes in gas prices often turn attention toward alternative fuels. Ethanol alcohol, in the form of E85, is occasionally in the news due...
Get the full story >>Board ignores majority vote, approves satellite dish
Q: We homeowners are having quite a problem with our board. A few weeks ago, all homeowners got a letter asking for us to vote "yes" or...
Get the full story >>Live-in mate could lose shared property in estate battle
Q. My mother and her boyfriend lived together for 18 years. He owned the house by himself. He has two surviving adult children. He always...
Get the full story >>Reverse mortgage puts risk on lender if home value sinks
Q: About two years ago I got a reverse mortgage on my house. After all upfront expenses, I got a lump-sum payout of $98,000, which I used...
Get the full story >>Association nails homeowner with repair bill
Q. We live in a town house. Many of the outdoor structures, fences, etc., outside many of the houses that I've seen are not in compliance...
Get the full story >>Generosity toward kin can be taxing
Q: I am retired and helping my son buy his first home. My credit is good, but his is not, so the mortgage is in my name. We found a fixer-...
Get the full story >>Weighing risks, rewards of adjustable-rate mortgages
Fixed mortgage rates remain below 5 percent, and these days fewer homebuyers seem to be opting for adjustable-rate loans.
Get the full story >>Joint tenants should redraw title for proper inheritance
QMy parents (now in their 80s) own a fourplex with my brother and his wife as joint tenants with right of survivorship. They agreed to a 50/...
Get the full story >>Determining the value of inherited house
Q. Where can a person find the value of a home on a particular date? My last surviving parent passed away on Sept. 29, 2005, and my...
Get the full story >>Gift tax keeps on giving until 2012
Q. In a recent column, you indicated that a giftor's lifetime tax exemption is $1 million. However, after searching this out, I believe that...
Get the full story >>Laws vary in dealing with neighbor's tree branches
Q. My neighbor has a Bradford pear tree that is probably about 15 years old. The other night during the heavy wind a branch of the tree...
Get the full story >>When a mortgage puts buyer at a disadvantage
For homebuyers who need to finance their purchase using a mortgage, a cash buyer can be their worst enemy.
Get the full story >>How to drive the hardest car bargain
Most new-car shoppers know that if they pay invoice price for a vehicle, they're getting a bargain. But does that mean the dealer makes no...
Get the full story >>How to polish your credit score
Sherelle Villacorta had a good credit score, but like many people she wanted a higher score.
Get the full story >>When the mortgage market goes private
In a rare instance of like-mindedness across the political spectrum, most everyone agrees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the infamous...
Get the full story >>New reverse mortgage opens options for seniors
Q. I have been a student of retirement living since 1962, when I was an executive with one of the major developers of active retirement...
Get the full story >>Prices are low! Mortgages cheap! But you can't get one
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Yep, mortgage interest rates are low, but there's a catch: It doesn't matter how cheap rates are if you can't get a...
Get the full story >>GAIL MARKJARVIS
Gail MarkJarvis is a financial columnist at the Chicago Tribune. E-mail her at gmarksjarvis@tribune.com.
Get the full story >>Tenants refuse to pay new owners of foreclosure property
Q. We purchased a foreclosure property. The tenants have not paid rent for the past 18 months while the bank was the owner. The tenants...
Get the full story >>Obama administration officials' personal finances 'more or less appropriate,' investing experts say
Obama administration officials are trying to steer the nation out of its biggest financial crisis in decades.
Get the full story >>Job hunting? Make your expenses count
When you're out of work, the last thing you need to do is waste money.
Get the full story >>Is lender being upfront about fee?
Q. On July 30, I had settlement on the purchase of my first home. It was an FHA mortgage and the mortgage insurance premium (MIP) was...
Get the full story >>THE JOURNEY
Janet Kidd Stewart if Your Money columnis. Have a retirement question? Write to yourmoney@tribune.com, or via mail at Your Money,...
Get the full story >>Surviving layoffs may mean new job responsibilities
Congratulations--you dodged layoffs, at least this time around. So why is the boss at your elbow wanting to talk? Because the job you've...
Get the full story >>Search for real estate document likely will reach dead end
Q. I seem to have misplaced my HUD-1 form when we bought our house back in 1972. What can I do to obtain a copy and where?
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