5 tips if you have to sell your home in winter

It may not be an ideal time, but there are some things you can do to help yourself         

Steven Senne  /  AP

Sometimes a job transfer, lease or personal circumstances require plunging into making a sale in the dead of winter.

By DAVE CARPENTER

updated 11/13/2011 12:19:59 PM ET

CHICAGO — Just your luck — you have to sell your home in winter, the slowest and dreariest sales season of all.

But cheer up. You can use staging, the reduced competition and some seasonal opportunities to your advantage.
"You wouldn't necessarily choose to sell your home in winter," says Katie Severance, a broker for ReMax in Upper Montclair, N.J. "But there are certain extra steps you can take to really help your chances."
Many homeowners pull their houses off the market by year's end if they haven't sold. That's understandable.

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Late mortgage payments rise in 3rd qtr for first time since 2009; may show start of new trend

View Photo Gallery — How does your city stack up?: The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index offers a monthly assessment of how home prices are faring from city to city. In the most recent report, Washington, D.C. saw the greatest gains in prices.

By Associated Press, Published: November 7 | Updated: Tuesday, November 8, 7:48 AM

NEW YORK — While lawmakers in Washington debated the debt ceiling and consumer confidence dropped, more homeowners in the U.S. were having a harder time making their mortgage payments.
The rate that mortgage holders were late with their payments by 60 days or more rose in the June-to-September period for the first time since the last three months of 2009, according to TransUnion.

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Linda Bond’s house in Chevy Chase

View Photo Gallery —  How a dark, dreary and dated house became light and elegant.

By Terri Sapienza, Published: October 26

Two years ago, when Linda Bond had the chance to buy a house she had admired for a long time, she jumped at it.
But the house had one flaw: a dark, outdated interior. The look she imagined for the five-bedroom French manor home in Chevy Chase, Md., was light, airy and elegant.

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Ten things you need to know about buying or selling a home

By Deborah K. Dietsch, Published: October 26

After staying put during the economic recession, you might be tempted by stabilizing real estate prices and low mortgage interest rates to sell your house and buy your next place. What you might not realize is how long and complicated the process of buying and selling a home has become. New lending regulations, appraisal procedures and consumer expectations can throw up roadblocks for even the most seasoned flipper. Many homeowners who haven’t sold or bought a home in the past few years will find that many of the old “rules” have changed. Residential real estate experts suggest homeowners become aware of the new rules before listing their current property and searching for a new home.

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How to find the best refi rate? Shop around

By Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin, Published: October 21

Q:
I heard you on the radio last weekend talking about refinancing. It sounds like you got a really good interest rate. My problem is that I don’t know how to find a good mortgage lender.

There are so many ads online that I don’t know who to trust. What are your thoughts about trying out an online refinance company vs. working with a trusted bank? Where do I start? And can you recommend someone you trust?


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Mortgage lenders could soon take homes’ energy costs into account

Dozens of housing, energy and environmental groups have endorsed the new legislation including appraisers, large home builders, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Green Building Council, the Natural Resources Defense Council, green-designated real estate brokers, the Institute for Market Transformation and the National Association of State Energy Officials, among others.
Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber are backing the legislation because they see it as an employment generator that requires no federal budget outlays, no new taxes or programs. A joint study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Institute for Market Transformation estimated that 83,000 new jobs in the construction, renovation and manufacturing industries could be stimulated by the legislation if the new underwriting rules were phased in over a period of years.

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Getting your home ready for the big chill

Winter wonderlands are cute and all, but they get pretty cold too.

By Zillow
While September brings the first day of fall, October can be the harbinger of the winter and all of its frigid pitfalls. It's best to be prepared for the frost and snow with a few simple tasks that will prevent drafts, frosty windows and every homeowner's nightmare: Busted pipes.Click here for full article