Q: My tenant caused a kitchen fire that required me to make an insurance claim. My deductible was $1,000, which the tenant flatly refused…

Inflated appraisals swelling mortgage-fraud schemes
Have inflated appraisals helped fuel the current surge in foreclosures by credit-strapped borrowers? Are they at the core of many mortgage-fraud…

More houses are being built for multigenerational living
When homebuilders and architects look to the future, they see people like Marc and Gail Scott and Vernon and Marla Alexander. The Scotts share a…

It’s time to pay property taxes
It’s semiannual property-tax time again. If you pay your own taxes, you have until midnight April 30 to get your payment postmarked and…

Some borrowers qualify for aid, some not
Several lenders and financing organizations this month said they are developing loan bailouts for some homeowners with subprime mortgages…

Cozy setups swelling price tag of title insurance
Title insurance typically is a mandatory and large cost for most home purchasers and mortgage refinancers…ften in the $1,000 to…

Watchdog needed for loan disclosures
Would mandatory disclosure rules about loans keep people from getting mortgages that aren’t suitable for them? The conventional wisdom is…

Preds are down to final out
Nashville Tennessean – It was San Jose’s size/speed combination that Preds GM David Poile had in mind when re-tooling his team. Hope grew as the Predators beat the Sharks three games to one in the regular season. One was a 5-0 pasting, and the Preds outscored the Sharks 14 ‘Step It Up’ offers [...]

Kitchens in U.S. getting bigger, greener
homeowners continue to want larger kitchens, and now they also increasingly want eco-friendly materials for their floors and space for recycling…

Tactics in place to deter buyers from flipping
Investors who attempt to buy into a newly built community with plans for a quick resale may face tougher screening by sales agents and lending partners as well as strict language in sales contracts.