When shopping for a home, you may notice that certain listings are labeled as short sales, short pays or pre-foreclosures. All of these terms mean the same thing: the seller is upside-down on his or her mortgage and is attempting to negotiate a deal with the lender in the hope of avoiding foreclosure. In this type of sale, the bank (lender) agrees to accept less than the amount owed on the mortgage.

This weekend I’ll throw $1,100 down the drain. That is to say, I’ll pay my rent. Pop-finance pundits have long used the drain cliché to describe how renters like me waste money, while homeowners with mortgages “pay themselves” and “build equity.” In April 2007 I argued something different: Renting Makes More Financial Sense Than Homeownership.

If you purchased a house after April 9, 2008 you might be eligible for a tax credit of up to $7,500 on your 2008 federal tax return. But like all things tax, there are rules and so-called “catches”.

The National Association of Home Builders has released their Housing Opportunity Index covering the most and least affordable cities in the country. Here's a quick rundown of the top 10 metropolitan areas with a population over 500,000.

Once you’ve done your research on reverse mortgages and gained a more complete understanding of the product, the next step is to decide if a reverse mortgage is right for your situation. If you’re eligible (a homeowner 62 years of age or older with equity in your principal residence), this may be a quick decision or one that requires a bit more consideration. As with any decision, it’s always helpful to get the perspectives and experiences of others who have faced similar situations and asked themselves the same questions.

American entertainer Pearl Bailey once said that “the world needs more love and less paperwork.” It wouldn't surprise MainStreet if Pearl said that after buying a house. Though the task is daunting, if you plan ahead, know what to expect and know what you’re doing, applying for a home mortgage doesn’t have to be the financial and organizational equivalent of root canal. These six guidelines are designed to put you down the road to mortgage approval success:

As the economy worsens, more and more families are facing the harsh reality of home foreclosure. According to the FDIC, one in every 200 homes will be foreclosed upon. Every three months, 250,000 more families enter foreclosure. And to make matters worse, some “stop foreclosure now” companies with shady business practices are preying on families who feel they have no where else to turn.

If you have a fixed-rate mortgage and mortgage rates are falling, it only makes sense to consider trying to refinance at a lower rate. But as with most things in finance, it isn’t always a simple answer. Refinancing can certainly make sense, but it also costs money to refinance a mortgage. Depending on your specific situation, a refinance may actually end up costing you more money instead of saving money.

When times are tough, scam artists know just how to exploit a desperate situation. That's especially true when it comes to the housing industry, which has been decimated by a record number of foreclosures and defaults in the past year. One of the rip-offs that has emerged in this mess: fraudulent loan modification companies.

For two years, Christopher Burkhardt paid close to $750 a month to rent a one-bedroom home in Calaveras County, Calif. Like many renters, the 24-year-old was irritated to spend the majority of his income on housing, without the benefits of home ownership or the equity that can come with it.