By Jim Woodard
Published: May 24,2013
The homeownership rate has reached its lowest point since 1995. Capital Economics predicts further declines before a rebound occurs. The analytics firm predicts that the homeownership rate will fall to a low of 64 percent. If and when it does, the market will have about 9 million more renters than when the homeownership rate peaked. [...]
By Scott Baughman
Published: May 24,2013
DEAR BENNY: I am the president of a 230-unit condominium. Our board has imposed a 13 percent restriction on the number of leased units in the building; our declaration is silent on that subject, offering only a restriction on the number of times a unit can be leased in a 12-month period. The number of [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: May 24,2013
DEAR MR. BERKO: I envy the politicians, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who invested money in the deals with The Carlyle Group and made millions. Now that The Carlyle Group has come public (May 2012), it has lowered the bar and will accept a minimum of $50,000 (I can afford $125,000), and I [...]
By Benny Kass
Published: May 21,2013
DEAR BENNY: I recently got engaged and have plans to have my new fiancé move into my house. I am currently the sole owner of the home. We have a wedding date scheduled for over two years from now. He makes much more money than I do and has a greater tax liability. Would it [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: May 21,2013
DEAR MR. BERKO: You have said often that the $85 billion a month the Federal Reserve injects into the banking system has forced stock prices to rise. Could you please explain why or how in simple layman’s English? Also, could you recommend some Japanese stocks that trade in the U.S. market? An article I read [...]
By Jim Woodard
Published: May 16,2013
It’s very unlikely that a significant housing bubble is forming, most experts say. For example, reports from Capital Economics and Redfin asserted no such bubble is forming – at least not on a national level. Capital Economics recently addressed concerns that home price increases, which are rising twice as fast as gains in income and [...]
By Benny Kass
Published: May 16,2013
DEAR BENNY: My father added my brother and I to the deed of his house he bought back in 1979. Now that he did his living trust, he wants to remove us from title (deed) so we don’t have to pay taxes in case something happens to him. I understand his property taxes will go [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: May 16,2013
DEAR MR. BERKO: I was thinking of buying another 100 shares of Altria Group Inc. because it pays a 4.95 percent dividend and because it seems to be a decent growth stock. I bought 100 shares in 2010 at $24, and it has been good to me. According to Yahoo Finance, its revenues will increase [...]
By Benny Kass
Published: May 15,2013
A RESPONSE FROM A READER: In your answer to the question about using the home equity line to pay off the balance of the person’s mortgage, I have something to add. You were very right about the dangers of a variable rate loan, but you neglected to mention two other factors which have to be [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: May 15,2013
DEAR MR. BERKO: I’m 76, and my husband of 51 years, who was a certified public accountant, died at his desk last February doing tax returns. My husband’s broker called to express his condolences and asked me to bring him a death certificate to transfer the joint account to a single account, which I did. [...]
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