Federal authorities have been investigating whether foreign buyers are using shell companies to buy luxury real estate in the U.S. to launder money. Lawmakers, however, are calling on the government to do more to determine the prevalence of such scams and find more ways to curtail it.Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, are calling on the Government Accountability Office to investigate the occurrence. The se
Some second home markets not only offer relaxing getaways, but could also prove to be a wise investment. Realtor.com® researchers recently ranked the most lucrative second-home markets, where sellers stand to cash out with some of the largest profits.Realtor.com® analyzed the 500 largest metro areas where second homes comprise at least 12 percent of the properties. They focused on the homes sold over the past 12 months and then compared the mos
Aspiring home buyers may be getting so desperate to qualify for a mortgage that they may be tempted to lie about how much they earn on their mortgage application.The problem is getting worse, reports show. Mortgage fraud has climbed more than 12 percent in the past year, according to CoreLogic. A recent report from the real estate data firm showed that one of every 109 mortgage applications was believed to contain fraud. The largest jump in mortg
In many areas of the country, rents just keep increasing. Some renters may pay hundreds of dollars in higher rent over the next year, according to a new report from RentCafe. For example, Chicago renters could pay $948 more for their rent in the upcoming year, which is half a month’s worth of rent now, the study warns.RentCafe looked at actual rents charged in the 252 largest U.S. cities and where rents are expected to rise. Cumulated price in
Housing costs have soared higher than what teachers can comfortably afford on their salary alone in San Jose, Calif. So California’s San Jose Unified School District identified nine district-owned properties that it wants to transform into affordable housing units for teachers and other school staff. But their plan is drawing criticism from parents and neighborhood residents, the Mercury News reports.The plan calls for closing several of the di
Will people trust the social network's new consumer device after all those data security problems?In a suite at San Francisco's Four Seasons hotel, Rafa Camargo, a vice president at Facebook's secretive Building 8 hardware lab, sits on a couch discussing the speed of light.He's explaining the physics behind how sound and video travel, and why there might be a delay if two people tried to, say, sing a song together over a video call. It isn't nec
A new program being piloted in west Denver sets out to help low-income homeowners build accessory dwelling units, or “granny flats,” onto their homes to then rent out and earn extra money as landlords. The program hopes to add more affordable units will help to address the area’s housing shortage.Mortgage financing giant Fannie Mae is funding the program, selecting it as one of three “innovative ideas” submitted by city officials this y
Borrowers saw a slight cool down in mortgage rates this week following last week’s seven-year high. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped for the first time after five consecutive weeks of increases, averaging 4.71 percent.But the higher rates may be deterring some would-be home buyers. “The strength in the economy has failed to translate to gains in the housing market as higher mortgage rates have contributed to the decrease in home purchas
U.S. home prices in the third quarter were at the least affordable level since the third quarter of 2008—a 10-year low, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2018 U.S. Home Affordability Report. Researchers calculate affordability based on the percentage of income needed to purchase a median-priced home compared to an area’s historic averages.Seventy-eight percent of the 440 U.S. counties analyzed had homes that were less affordable than th
Even if they’re part of an entertainment activity, you can still take tax deductions on your business meal expenses, the IRS clarified in temporary guidance issued this week. The real estate community has been anticipating this clarification, which REALTOR® Magazine reported on last week.The tax reform law, which was enacted at the start of the year, ended deductions for business-related entertainment, amusement, or recreation but created u
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