Alex and Deirdre Silberman's (asilberman) Blog

Most home owners would not dream of selling their bedroom or the bathtub in their bathroom, but when they take out the equity in their homes, they are doing just that. One of the most revered goals in our great nation has been the promise of home ownership. People taking the plunge and little by...

You’ll be reading about this all day!!!Yesterday (November 4, 2009) the Senate officially passed a six month extension on the first time home buyer tax credit of $8,000, which is intended to encourage more people to buy homes and spur economic activity. The bill has expanded to include ‘trade up...

Thanks to everyone that commented on 'How Much Is My House Worth?' post. Certainly what one's home value might be is a topic near and dear to many people, but I was surprised at all your responses and kind words, thank you. Some of you were wondering how the numbers might affect your particular ...

As it frequently happens when I’m at a party, the subject of occupation comes up and when people discover I’m a realtor, the conversation usually gets very personal because people immediately want to know from an insider how they’ve been affected.This weekend was no exception. We were at an exce...

Bloomberg news is reporting that congress is about to not only extend the first time home buyers tax credit, but also will expand it to include trade up buyers!!! Trade up buyers can see $6500 coming to them. The program, if approved (which the article said was very likely), would include homes t...

Unless you’ve been under a real estate rock, you’ve heard about the first time home buyers credit that’s about to expire. Unless that rock is under a larger rock, you’ve also heard about the $700 Billion dollar bank bailout (TARP). What gets much less press is the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility ...

When we love what we do, it's not work. Labors of love don't quite feel like labor, and sometimes good deeds do go unpunished.This is about a very small contribution I'm very proud of. About a year ago, I started a not for profit collective of musicians to bring live music back to our community....

Regardless of market conditions, no buyer in the history of buyers has wanted to pay a dime more for a home than absolutely necessary**. In the equal history of sellers, no seller has wanted to sell their home for a nickel less than they possibly could get.* Buyers and sellers each has had to fa...

How Buyers Can Find Their Money SoonerOctober 2009 - Category: Business | BuyersOne of the scariest financial mysteries to many home buyers surrounds the tax advantages of mortgage interest and property taxes. Although most buyers conceptually get that there are advantages to home ownership, the...

Many elements of real estate are counter intuitive and even sophisticated buyers can get caught making poor choices because they can't manage the media overload around them.I love Google as much as anyone, but two major problems constantly crop up on the web when it's your main source of informa...