Scott Skinner's (scottskinner) Blog

  When it comes to foreclosures, bank owned (REO) and Short sales , 'Short Sales' are probably the most difficult to facilitate a successful transaction for both buyers and sellers. These days, the seller is usually cooperative. Unfortunately, that is just the small first step towards a close of ...

remember the reasons you are buying a home. Is it a place to live? A place to raise your family? Are you planning on retiring? Do you need the favorable tax advantages? Are you looking for a hedge against inflation? Are you looking for long-term appreciation? A place to live and call home? (I alw...

cash-back transaction scenario is where a buy pays more than a home is worth with the extra money being paid from the seller (outside of escrow) back to the buyer Wikipedia defines Mortgage Fraud Cash-Back Schemes: "The buyer and seller or the buyer and real estate agent collude to deceive the le...

As the profit party ends on Wall Street, the American impulse to celebrate could lose its fizzle like day-old champagne. Company parties will still go on this holiday season, say caterers, event planners and others, but many businesses are caught between the need to scale back costs and a desire ...

A closely watched index shows home prices tumbling by the sharpest annual rate ever in July, but the rate of decline is slowing. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index released Tuesday fell a record 16.3 percent in July from the year-ago period, the largest drop since its incept...

Congressional leaders, with advice from their parties' presidential nominees, scrambled Tuesday to find out what changes are needed to sell the failed $700 billion financial system bailout to rank-and-file members. John McCain and Barack Obama offered long-distance help from the campaign trail. T...

remember the reasons you are buying a home. Is it a place to live? A place to raise your family? Are you planning on retiring? Do you need the favorable tax advantages? Are you looking for a hedge against inflation? Are you looking for long-term appreciation? A place to live and call home? (I alw...

After , a  stunning vote that shocked the capital and worldwide markets, the house will try again on Thursday the House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation's financial system, ignoring urgent warnings from President Bush and congressional leaders of both parties that...

Today after news of The plan's defeat came amid more reminders of how troubled the nation's financial system is - before trading began came word that Wachovia Corp., one of the biggest banks to struggle due to rising mortgage losses, was being rescued in a buyout by Citigroup Inc. It followed the...

Wall Street's worst fears came to pass Monday, when the government's financial bailout plan failed in Congress and stocks plunged precipitously — hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 780 points in their largest one-day point drop ever. The selling was so intense that just 162 stocks ros...