Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Friday Housing News

It's this type of lackadaisical business mindset that has gotten major home builders like KB Home a bad reputation and fines from the FTC. Building codes and zoning regulations aren't "guidelines" or "suggestions," they're rules. If they don't get followed, it's the buyer who suffers in the end.

Robert Kuttner over at the American Prospect posted an insightful entry in June on the underlying reasons for the bubble, and how it won't be as bad as people think. Insightful reading, especially the sections regarding the policy decisions that may be artificially pushing prices up.

On the other hand, the new bankruptcy legislation is about to become law, which may mean hard times ahead for people who want to use the homestead exemption to escape crushing debt, or for those whose minimum credit card payments are about to double. If you haven't been saving or budgeting for a house, now is the time to start. Take a critical assessment of your budget and what it will take to make your down payment, mortgage payments, closing costs, inspection fees, and so on. You can make your money stretch a lot farther than you think, but only if you're prepared to tighten the belt and plan ahead for all the possible costs that come with home ownership.

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The Mississippi Sun-Herald reprints a useful article from Bankrate.com on the unforeseen problems of building in the country. It's this type of lackadaisical business mindset that has gotten major home builders like KB Home a bad reputation and fines from the FTC. Building codes and zoning regulations aren't "guidelines" or "suggestions," they're rules. If they don't get followed, it's the buyer who suffers in the end. Robert Kuttner over at the American Prospect posted an insightful entry in June on the underlying reasons for the bubble, and how it won't be as bad as people think. Insightful reading, especially the sections regarding the policy decisions that may be artificially pushing prices up. On the other hand, the new bankruptcy legislation is about to become law, which may mean hard times ahead for people who want to use the homestead exemption to escape crushing debt, or for those whose minimum credit card payments are about to double. If you haven't been saving or budgeting for a house, now is the time to start. Take a critical assessment of your budget and what it will take to make your down payment, mortgage payments, closing costs, inspection fees, and so on. You can make your money stretch a lot farther than you think, but only if you're prepared to tighten the belt and plan ahead for all the possible costs that come with home ownership.