real estate investing
Do Lenders Manipulate Mortgage Rates?
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In recent posts we’ve discussed the current state of mortgage interest rates on the US housing market as a whole and where those rates might be expected to go in the coming months. But the topic bears revisiting since mortgage rates are tied to a number of constantly changing factors, including the...
The Defense Industry An Investor’s Friend?
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For years, the defense industry has boosted the economy in areas all over the country – and in some cases, the world. Large installations move personnel in and out in numbers that rival a small city, and short and long term assignments mean a constant search for rental housing. But defense cuts still...
Managing Capital Gains: An Old Strategy is New Again
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Among the dreaded tax changes ushered in by the New Year, changes in the capital gains tax structure and rates will affect investment property income for investors on both sides of the wealth divide. Although the tax rate rose only for those on the high end of that divide, anyone seeing capital gain...
The Medicare Tax Hits High-Earning Investors
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Among the flurry of changes in tax laws that took effect on the first day of 2013, some new and amended rulings affect property owners – both homeowners and investors in income property. While some of these changes apply to anyone who owns residential real estate, the Medicare Tax affects only those...
The Shadow Inventory: Skewing Recovery Numbers?
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Is the housing market really recovering from the subprime mortgage crisis of a few years ago? The answer might lie in the shadows –the “shadow inventory” of distressed properties that remain unresolved, lurking behind the scenes of transactions moving houses through and off the market. The shadow...
Home Rentership: New Demographics in Housing
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Although mortgage interest remains at a record low and low cost homes remain on the market, a major shift is taking place in the US housing profile: more people are choosing to rent rather than buy dwellings. With rental occupancy rates soaring and rents rising in response throughout the country, real...
Mortgage Backed Securities and Interest Rates
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The term “mortgage backed securities” may be far from a household word (or three), but the movement of these securities plays a large role in the up or down swing of mortgage interest rates. The Federal Reserve has been making headlines in housing news for the past few months with plans to buy up...
Jumping Off the Fiscal Cliff: Where Do Investors Land?
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Soft descent or splat at the bottom of the ravine? With only a few days of 2012 remaining, the “fiscal cliff” of financial budget troubles remains unresolved, and, according to recent reports, is likely to stay that way, except for small adjustments that lawmakers can put in place before the year’s...
The National Mortgage Database: Too Much Information?
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If you have a mortgage, a lot of people already know a lot about you. Your credit scores, your income, and other information is routinely collected by banks and loan servicers as well as the real estate professionals you work with to purchase your investment property. Now, as part of the continued fallout...
The Fed Unveils New Mortgage Securities Plan
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As part of its ongoing effort to sustain the US economy’s iffy economic rebound, the Federal Reserve has rolled out a new round of buying up mortgage backed securities. This new initiative comes in addiction to the Fed’s plan to continue its plan to buy $40 million in mortgage-backed securities monthly...
