Real Estate Blog LA

This week, President Bush signed the "Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008" into law. This $300 Billion rescue plan is aimed at helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure, as well as boost confidence in the housing market. Although the bill is several hundred pages long and contains a number of far-reaching provisions, here are ...

First up:The loss of tax deductions. In most cases, people who lack a mortgage pay more federal and state income taxes than those who qualify for a mortgage deduction.  A Mortgage Calculator illustrates this point: Assume that a buyer is currently paying $1,500 per month on a rental. If the buyer purchases a $300,000 property with $30,000 ...

In April of 1973, mortgage rates were about the same as they are today. Since that time, we have only had mortgage rates this low during 2001 and 2002, the height of the seller's markets where there was little inventory. In the last two major buyer's markets, one in the early 1980s and the other in the early 1990s, the rates were much ...