Washington, DC Real Estate

Treasury hopes new rules send short sales to the rescue of underwater mortgages
With new Treasury Department rules designed to expedite short sales set to take effect April 5, relief can't come soon enough for some area buyers, sellers and real estate agents who have waded through a long and arduous process to get short sales approved by the bank.


Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

New round of foreclosures threatens housing market
The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize.


Posted: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Landover Hills: location, affordability still draw first-time buyers
When Mike Walker and his wife, Kathy, found an affordable house in Landover Hills back in 1979, they were looking for an upgrade from their apartment in nearby Bladensburg. The house was advertised as a "fixer-upper," Mike Walker recalled, and cost $39,500.


Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Steven Pearlstein reviews 'The Big Short' by Michael Lewis
"The Blind Side" and "Moneyball" author Michael Lewis turns his attention to the U.S. financial crisis.



Posted: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Green Scene: Pruning tips, groundhog repellent and other gardening advice
As daylight saving time begins this weekend, it's a reminder that spring is just around the corner. So we have an assortment of questions that spans the winter-spring boundary.


Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Expenses incurred buying a house can be a risk
I tried to buy a house. I applied for a loan, and the bank processed it as a Federal Housing Administration loan instead of a conventional loan. The house I was buying failed the FHA inspection, and I did not buy it.


Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Mortgage interest rates down for second week as home loan applications rise
Mortgage interest rates declined for a second consecutive week as the number of home loan applications rose.


Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Affordable housing needs some public funding
Fairfax County aspires to greatly increase the amount of affordable housing at Tysons Corner for workers who now must commute there from afar, consuming time and fossil fuel while contributing to traffic congestion. But this newspaper reported recently that achieving Tysons's affordable housing...



Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

How to paint and protect steps
DEAR TIM: I stopped by a friend's house the other day as she was painting the wood steps leading to her basement. She was using a stencil, and it looked fantastic. What's the best paint for steps? How do you keep the steps from getting scuffed? -- Pam W., Green Bay, Wis.


Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Featured Advertiser

Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Lender blames escrow shortage for $400 increase in monthly mortgage payment
Q: We have owned our house for many years, and the lender has always escrowed money to pay our real estate taxes and insurance. This year, we received a notice from the lender that our monthly mortgage payment will increase by over $400 because there is an escrow shortage. Can we cancel the escrow...


Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Some tax issues to consider on mortgage write-downs
With the Obama administration and private lenders actively considering mortgage principal-reduction programs to help financially distressed homeowners, the Internal Revenue Service has issued a new advisory to taxpayers who receive -- or seek to receive -- such assistance. The IRS gets involved in...


Posted: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST