I received the following in an email from a reader: I’m writing to thank you for your tireless work keeping my wife and I informed and entertained about the Seattle housing market. I specifically remember asking my real-estate agent friend in 2007 if she thought there were legitimate concerns about the housing market and her…
Category: Features
Running the Numbers on the Flat Homeowner Deduction
[Read Part 1: Proposal: Replace the Mortgage Interest Deduction with a Flat Homeowner Deduction] In the comments on the proposal I made yesterday, Doug asked a reasonable question: Have you figured out what the deduction would be if you did this, and made it deficit neutral? That would be an interesting exercise. Good question. Let’s…
Proposal: Replace the Mortgage Interest Deduction with a Flat Homeowner Deduction
In our discussion on Sunday’s poll about whether government policy should be steering people into homebuying, I had an interesting idea that I thought was worth sharing with the whole class. The Problem There are numerous problems with the methods the government has used and is using to promote homebuying. One-time homebuyer tax credits just…
Reader Question: How to Make an All-Cash REO Offer?
A reader asked a question on the Mid-Week Open Thread that I thought deserved more discussion here: I’ve been a long time reader of the blog and it has given me great support in waiting for the right house to buy. I have found an REO recently and am interested in making a Cash offer….
Cheapest Homes: October 2011 Edition
Let’s check in again on the cheapest homes around Seattle proper. Here’s our methodology: I search the listings for the cheapest homes currently on the market, excluding short sales, in the city of Seattle proper. Any properties that are in obvious states of extreme disrepair based on listing photos and descriptions will be excluded. This…