Mortgage rates are higher after the Federal Reserve released the internal notes of its September 22-23, 2009 meeting.

Known as the “Fed Minutes”, the report details the conversation and cross-currents that led to the Federal Reserve’s decision to vote “unchanged” on the Fed Funds Rate after its last meeting.

The Fed Minutes are the lengthy [...]

For the seventh consecutive month, foreclosure activity in the U.S. was dominated by a tiny subset of states.

As reported by RealtyTrac.com, more than half of September’s foreclosure-related activity occurred in just 4 states:

California Florida Nevada Michigan

These states represent just

When you own a home with a spouse or partner, the issue of what’s mine, what’s yours, and what’s ours can be a divisive one.

Each household has its own money management methodology and, according to financial talk-show host Suze Orman, most leave significant room for improvement.

In

Sometimes, it’s not the yard work that’s so tough. It’s fighting the garden hose.

Tangles, kinks and hassle can turn watering the yard into a chore unto itself.

Especially if you have store your hose in the garage. Coiling water-logged, dirty tubing can be a real pain.

Enter the 100-foot retractable hose from Frontgate. [...]

According to the Freddie Mac weekly mortgage rate survey, the relative cost of a 5-year ARM is dropping versus its 30-year fixed-rate cousin.

During the first 5 months of 2009, the products ran neck-and-neck. Today, they’re a half-percent apart.

On a $200,000 home loan, that’s a difference of [...]

An escrow account is a designated savings account into which funds get deposited for a specific purpose.

With respect to real estate and home loans, escrow accounts are used to pay real estate tax bills and homeowners insurance payments.

Escrow accounts are managed and disbursed by lenders.

When a homeowner “escrows” his mortgage, along with [...]

Beginning November 17, 2009, the FHA will make it harder to qualify for its popular Streamline Refinance program.

Available exclusively to homeowners with existing FHA home loans, the streamline program is meant to help homeowners reduce mortgage payments as simply as possible.

As such, the program carries minimum eligibility requirements.

In fact, the FHA Streamline [...]

Buoyed by a generous tax credit, affordable homes, and low mortgage rates, the Pending Home Sales Index posted its seventh consecutive monthly gain in August.

It’s the longest winning streak in the index’s history and the highest reading in 2-1/2 years.

It’s also another signal that [...]

If you haven’t changed your home’s air filters lately, this 1-minute video will demonstrate just how much energy your HVAC unit is wasting. A clogged air filter operates with a lot less efficiency.

Air filters should be changed at least once per quarter. In certain circumstances, however, more frequent replacements are [...]

It’s a sensational headline — “The Sellers’ Deadly Sins” — but the message is clear. Home sellers make mistakes that not only cost themselves thousands, but sometimes cost the sale, too.

NBC’s The Today Show lays it out cleanly in this 5-minute video:

How [...]