These days, the question isn't how much you need to put down in cash on a property - but how little.The answer depends on how much cash you have on hand, how big a loan you can qualify for, and how desperate the seller is.While developers have recently shown new flexibility when it comes to the size of a down payment, they still expect buyers to put down something. If you're buying off the plans, ... [full story]

Q: I want to refinance my home and use the money to fix up my house. I'd replace my deck, add a screened porch, and either landscape the front yard or put in a laundry room.My credit score is around 800. I am 58 and plan on working until at least 62, but I will most likely need to work all the way to 65 or 66. At that point I want to sell my ... [full story]

Q: Is it possible for a person with power of attorney over the financial matters of a person with Alzheimer's to regain title to a property that person quitclaimed to four relatives (I'm one of the relatives)?We want the patient to sell the property to have cash to pay for her care. She is not eligible for Medicare for another two years, and her financial resources are coming to an end. Although she quitclaimed the ... [full story]

PORTSTEWART, NORTHERN IRELAND - The release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the final book in the Harry Potter series, has momentarily diverted the public's attention from certain realities: The weather, which normally depresses during winter months when there is less sunlight, has been crying unmercifully on Britain, bringing what the Daily Telegraph calls "chaos and misery" as homes are flooded, flights are canceled, or delayed, and train and subway service is disrupted.A government ... [full story]

Credit CNN with trying to shake things up in an otherwise dull, exasperating and too-long campaign season with its YouTube Democratic presidential "debate" Monday night. There was a good deal of silliness, like Sen. Chris Dodd claiming he has white hair because he's a hardworking senator (what does that make senators with dark hair, dyed hair or no hair?).There were also poignant moments, like the woman who suffers from breast cancer wanting to know more ... [full story]

Recently forced out as president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, one of the primary architects of U.S. President George W. Bush's Iraq war, is heading back to familiar surroundings. And the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the United States' premier conservative think-tanks, is more than pleased to welcome him back. Earlier this month, AEI President Christopher DeMuth announced that Wolfowitz would be coming on board as a visiting scholar to work on ... [full story]

Game: "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" Publisher: 2K Games System: Sony PlayStation 3 Cost: $60 ESRB rating: E Review rating: 1 1/2 stars   'FANTASTIC FOUR' - Superheroes can be so, well, super-draining, as 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' players will discover. CNS Photo courtesy of 2K Games.    HEROES - Some of the maneuvers in 'Fantastic Four' look really cool, like Sue telekinetically lifting enemies or objects in the air and tossing them ... [full story]

As selfish as the next actress, Holly Hunter read the first couple of dozen pages of the pilot script for "Saving Grace" and decided that she was the only person in the known universe who could play the part the way God intended it to.   HOLLY HUNTER - Holly Hunter stars as Oklahoma City Police Department Det. Grace Hanadarko in the drama 'Saving Grace.' CNS Photo courtesy of Frank Ockenfels. Failing that, she would make sure ... [full story]

Dear Mr. Berko: I need high income. But I don't want to invest my money in bonds or preferreds, which are fixed-interest issues so the income never increases. I'd like to invest between $90,000 and $110,000 in common stocks that pay dividends and have at least a 10 percent dividend yield. I want common stocks because the dividend is not fixed and can go up (fall too) if the company does well. I want to ... [full story]

Dear Mr. Berko: I have just a bit over $100,000 that I can speculate with in the market. I want to buy a portfolio of issues that have yields of 10 percent or better. It's my intention to hold these issues for a year and hopefully the dividend payouts will increase and hopefully the share values would also increase. So please recommend 10 to 12 top-quality issues that have 10 percent or better yields. And ... [full story]