Reggie Nicolay

There was a time when it seemed that everyone owned a vacation home -- or at least dreamed of owning one, anyway. Vacation homes were seen as cash cows that would reap easy money in quick appreciation, plus the added bonus that rental money would bring in. Oh, how times have changed. These days, you could probably pick up a vacation home for a relative bargain, but not so many people are buying them these days -- at least compared to the heyday of the housing boom. “Second homes have become an ugly stepchild in an environment [where] people aren’t even buying first homes,” the Wall Street Journal quotes Cicily Maton, a financial planner for Aequus Wealth Management Resources LLC in Chicago. Vacation homes have become financial burdens to some homeowners, the Journal says, adding that according to data from the National Association of Realtors, the median price of a vacation home dropped 23 percent from 2007 to 2008, with sales falling about 31 percent from 2007. If you are struggling... - Reggie Nicolay

If you haven’t done any remodeling yet this year, now may be the time. The Wall Street Journal reports that thanks to the economic downturn and slow housing market, homeowners are paying as much as 20 percent less for home improvement projects, compared to what the same projects would have cost them a few years ago. On average, remodeling prices are down 5 percent to 10 percent from their peak across the U.S., the Wall Street Journal says. This is because contractors now looking for jobs are willing accept less for their work and because the cost of some materials -- like plywood and insulation -- are down, the Journal says. Tax credits increase savings Couple the lower of cost of remodeling projects with federal tax credits that are now available for energy-saving projects like adding insulation or energy efficient windows to your home, and you can see substantial savings for home improvement projects that you take on. Also, because contractors are scrambling for work, it's also more... - Reggie Nicolay

The bill to extend the $8,000 tax credit to first-time homebuyers and open the program to move-up buyers easily cleared the House of Representatives by a 403-12 vote Thursday. The House vote came a day after the Senate passed the measure 98-0. President Barrack Obama is expected to sign the bill on Friday. This new program will replace the one that was part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That program is set to expire after Nov. 30 and offered up to an $8,000 tax credit to only first-time buyers. Here’s a look at the new tax credit program for homebuyers: • To qualify, homebuyers have until April 30, 2010 to be under contract for a home purchase and until June 30, 2010 to close the transaction. • Move-up buyers can qualify for 10 percent of the purchase price with a maximum $6,500 tax credit. Move-up buyers must have owned their home for at least five years. First-time buyers can still qualify for up to $8,000. • The bill also expands the income levels to qualify.... - Reggie Nicolay

My fellow blogger, Heather Boerner, recently wrote a story for Cyberhomes about how in today's slow economy, some people are bartering for home services. I have recently found out -- quite by accident -- that bartering can work. I have done very little to update my home since purchasing it seven years ago. However, I recently had custom curtains designed and installed by a local New Jersey interior design shop, Pat's Decor, of Cranbury, N.J. The owner and I got to talking, and before I knew it, she had commissioned me to create a Facebook page for her business. It seems that with the economy down, fewer homeowners have been enlisting her interior design services. She's hoping that the Facebook page (which will be regularly updated with news about the shop and its promotions, etc.) will help her reach out to new clients. In exchange for getting her Facebook page started for her, the shop owner is visiting my home next week to help me pick out new window coverings for my kitchen. It... - Reggie Nicolay

Singer Whitney Houston may be on the comeback trail (click here to see the filming of her "Million Dollar Bill" video), but apparently, all isn't well in the pop star's world. The singer has put her 12,561-square-foot home in Mendham, N.J., on the market for $2.5 million -- significantly less than its assessed value of $5.6 million, according to published reports. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has the listing. The singer/actress, who starred in the movie, "The Bodyguard" with actor Kevin Costner, purchased the property for $2.7 million in 1987. It was at the home, which sits on 5 acres at 22 North Gate Road, that she wed her abusive ex-husband, singer Bobby Brown. Whitney, 46, nearly lost the home in 2006, when a mortgage company filed a lawsuit against her for $1.04 million, and foreclosure papers were drawn, says NJ.com. Whitney was able to avert foreclosure, however. The contemporary residence has round living spaces, floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights. Perhaps Whitney... - Reggie Nicolay

The Senate appears to have sifted through the myriad proposals to extend the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit and draft a program that will include those who have owned their home for at least five years. The Senate agreement is similar to an earlier proposal that was gaining traction. The final version calls to extend the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers for contracts signed from Dec. 1 through April 30, 2010. Buyers will have until July 1 to close. The proposal allows for current homeowners to receive a tax credit, although it will be for a maximum of $6,500 and they have to have lived in their current residence for at least five years. Expanding the credit to current homeowners is likely an attempt to spur activity in the move-up market. Although the entry-level market has seen significant activity, which the real estate industry attributes to the tax credit, the move-up markets have been lazy at best. The reason is that the vast majority of entry-level homes being... - Reggie Nicolay

Sometimes news with the biggest potential impact finds little interest. So, it wouldn’t be surprising that most of America took little, if any, notice that the U.S. Government has wrapped up its seven-month orgy of bond buying that totaled $3 billion. So what does that have to do with mortgage interest rates? Well, the Federal Reserve has kept mortgage rates artificially low by manipulating the market. It did this by allowing banks to borrow money at from 0 to .25 percent interest rates to guarantee that money is available for consumers to borrow. This is called liquidity. Liquidity is only one part of the equation. Banks may have money to lend, but they also need someone to sell the mortgages to. Lenders do not usually keep the mortgages they make; they sell them at a profit and reuse the money to make more loans. Because the marketplace had no interest in buying these mortgage-backed securities, the government instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to do so. The government’s plan is... - Reggie Nicolay