Q: I bought my home, which is surrounded by other property. The house included an easement that allows me ingress and egress for my property. My neighbor bought the lot next door with full knowledge of the easement.The easement was properly recorded with the county. My neighbor wants to park on the easement. We informed him that it would impair our use. He's seeking permission from the courts to grant him the right to park ... [full story]

Affluent Men and Women Differ on Views about Homeownership, Luxury Brands and Retirement PORTLAND, Ore. – Over the past year, the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area’s luxury home market has seen a continued increase in the number of homes sold, number of new listings, and total new listing volume when compared to May 2006. As a result, luxury homeowners remain positive about the market, according to the 2007 Coldwell Banker Previews International Luxury Survey. A full 56 percent ... [full story]

Q: I am looking into buying a new townhouse. The developer's sales representative told me I would need to put down $10,000 for a good faith payment after I sign the purchase agreement. I told him I'd think about it.But I just talked to a co-worker who just bought a condo unit with similar square footage. He had a real estate agent with him and only had to put down $2,500 after he signed the ... [full story]

Q: We are in the early stages of litigation on a preconstruction condo. We want out of our contract. We have a large amount of money held in escrow.I'd like to know what happens to that money while we are in litigation, and what happens to the money if the closing date approaches and we don't close while the litigation is in progress?A: If you are currently in litigation, the escrow company has been notified ... [full story]

Mortgage rates climbed to an 11-month high, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hitting a 10-month high of 6.84 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.27 discount and origination points.  The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage popular for refinancing increased by a similar amount, to 6.53 percent. With larger loans, the average jumbo 30- year fixed rate soared to 7.12 percent. ... [full story]

The implosion of the subprime mortgage market is likely to prolong the national housing slump, Harvard University researchers said recently in their annual report on the state of the nation's housing. "At a minimum it will slow any recovery," said Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, which issued the report. "Add to that the overbuilding and the inventory correction and you can see why it appears, particularly for the new-home ... [full story]

Home values are still increasing, but only at a crawl. Today's values, on a national average, are only 4.4 percent up from what they were a year ago. If the rate of home price increases during the first quarter of this year continues through the year, we will only see prices increase this year by 2.8 percent. That would be the slowest price appreciation rate 14 years, according to a study and report by Freddie ... [full story]

Mortgage rates increased for the sixth consecutive week, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hitting a 10-month high of 6.61 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.26 discount and origination points. The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage, popular for refinancing, increased by a similar amount, to 6.33 percent. With larger loans, the average jumbo 30-year fixed rate climbed to 6.86 percent. ... [full story]

Considering the sluggish home sale market, it's not surprising that some real estate brokers are seeking other ways to supplement their sagging income. Some are turning to selling and originating mortgages. Some mortgage firms are quick to harness this large manpower pool and potential sales force. Below is a spam e-mail message, in part, I received the other day, targeting Realtors. The e-mail list compiler apparently thought I was a Realtor, which I am not. ... [full story]

Q: My husband and I are actively trying to sell our home on the Oregon Coast. We have put $50,000 down on a new home that is under construction at this time. It is scheduled to be completed in about nine months.Here's our problem: If we don't sell our current home, we will not have the money to close the deal on the home being built.If we back out of the deal now, my husband ... [full story]

Q: I own a house with a mortgage. My sister owns vacant land as an investment that she purchased with a home equity loan on her primary residence. We want to sell my home and her land and combine the money to purchase one residence with both of our names on title.I've been told that she can buy the house as a 50 percent owner and I can lease it from her, but she cannot ... [full story]

Until this May, the last time I had visited the Los Angeles metropolitan area was about 16 months ago. During that trip, I spent a night in Sherman Oaks and another night in Agoura Hills before heading back home to Chicago.Recently, I arrived for a conference and spent time again wandering around these two communities.The only things that seem to have changed are the home prices (which appear to be dropping slightly) and the amount ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - A forward-looking indicator based on pending home sales shows the housing market could edge down but appears to be in the process of leveling out, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in April, stood at 101.4, down 3.2 percent from an upwardly revised March reading of 104.8, and is 10.2 percent lower than April 2006 when it registered 112.9. The revised March index ... [full story]