Taxes: Paying With Plastic

Are you filing your taxes electronically this year? If so, and you happen to owe the IRS money… chances are you'll be among the those who'll pay with their credit cards.

Money reporter Stacy Johnson has some advice on a less taxing option. (Runs 1:37)

Are you going to owe taxes this year?  Getting a refund?  We'd love to hear from you.  Use the "comment" link below.

Housing: The Next Shoe to Drop

The credit crunch has finally hit the traditional mortgage market.

Investors are now shunning mortgage-backed securities issued by government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been critical in keeping the real estate market from completely falling apart.

For those who can still get a loan, the tremors in the mortgage-backed securities market has made loans more expensive for borrowers. As the prices of mortgage-backed securities have fallen, their yields have risen, leading to higher mortgage rates.

Rising defaults and delinquencies effectively shut down the subprime and jumbo mortgage markets last summer, but borrowers with good credit could still get conventional loans that met the agencies' criteria. That's because investors continued to buy securities - backed by Fannie and Freddie.

Federal regulators said recently they would allow mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the capital they are required to keep on hand, a move that could pump $200 billion into mortgage markets.

The rule change was announced by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, (OFHEO), a normally low-profile agency which sets rules for the two government sponsored companies that between them hold or guarantee nearly $5 trillion in mortgages.

Both firms have been working in recent years to clean up accounting problems. During that process, the agency has been requiring them to keep 30% extra capital in reserve. The rule change allows them to reduce that excess capital to only 20%.

Experts said they don't think traditional mortgages will disappear. But if they are harder to get, it will take longer for the housing market to recover as a glut of unsold houses could lead to even more declines in real estate values.

Interest Rate Cut: Bad for the Economy?

The Fed just "keeps on cutting".  The most recent three-quarters of a point cut was welcomed (for a day anyway) on Wall-Street, but is the cure (the Fed is looking for) worse than the disease?

We personally believe these continued interest rates cuts are going to be bad for us all long term.  We'd love to hear what you think.

Crude oil prices rose sharply.  So did gold prices.  Interest rates rose for the 10-year treasury note, a key benchmark for home mortgages.

Those divergent market reactions underscored the tough task that confronts the Federal Reserve. The Fed has slashed interest rates to invigorate a struggling economy and ward off a recession.  But the Fed's action to chop rates also raised the specter of inflation.

We believe the Fed is almost in a no-win situation.  What do you think?  Leave us your comment about this by clicking on the "comment" link below.  Your privacy is protected.  We NEVER publish anyone's email address when they leave a comment.  Go ahead… sound off and tell us what you think.

Interest Rate Cut: Bad for the Economy?

The Fed just "keeps on cutting".  The most recent three-quarters of a point cut was welcomed (for a day anyway) on Wall-Street, but is the cure (the Fed is looking for) worse than the disease?

We personally believe these continued interest rates cuts are going to be bad for us all long term.  We'd love to hear what you think.

Crude oil prices rose sharply.  So did gold prices.  Interest rates rose for the 10-year treasury note, a key benchmark for home mortgages.

Those divergent market reactions underscored the tough task that confronts the Federal Reserve. The Fed has slashed interest rates to invigorate a struggling economy and ward off a recession.  But the Fed's action to chop rates also raised the specter of inflation.

We believe the Fed is almost in a no-win situation.  What do you think?  Leave us your comment about this by clicking on the "comment" link below.  Your privacy is protected.  We NEVER publish anyone's email address when they leave a comment.  Go ahead… sound off and tell us what you think.

People to Know in the Real Estate Transaction

When you're thinking about buying a house… there are a lot of people you need to get to know who will assist you along the way. 

This video clip will give you a quick summary of some of the people you'll get to know when buying a home. (runs 4:22)

If you have questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you.  Just click the "comment" link below and fire away.  And don't worry, your privacy is protected with us.  No emails or web site URL's will be divulged here when you leave your comments.