Every house has its story. What's yours?

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, it turns out that your mortgage lender will not have to pull a second full credit report on you hours before closing on your home purchase or refinancing.

Tina Lambert and her husband wanted an investment that would help them pay for their kids' college tuition someday. When he insisted on paying $49,000 for a condominium in Ocean City in 1997, she worried. But by the middle of this decade, when housing markets were in full boom, the condo's value ...


Business - United States - Travel and Tourism - Lodging - Caribbean

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, it turns out that your mortgage lender will not have to pull a second full credit report on you hours before closing on your home purchase or refinancing.


Credit score - Business - Financial Services - Mortgage - United States

Just a few miles northeast of the bustling center of downtown, the District has a neighborhood where the buzz of lawnmowers is more common than siren wails, Victorian homes perch on sprawling lawns, and children sell lemonade and oatmeal cookies.


Washington DC - United States - Northeast Washington D.C. - Brookland - Neighborhoods

Q: My parents "gifted" their house to us more than five years ago to avoid having the home sold to pay for Medicaid expenses. Now they are 87 and need to move. They may buy a smaller house. My four siblings and I own the home, but the home is occupied and used by my parents. Since we inherited th...


Education - Gifted education - K through 12 - Special Needs - Organizations

Q: Is there a time by which a condominium board of directors must reply and set a date for a special meeting? A number of us unit owners are concerned about the lack of disclosure of serious financial conditions and possible bylaw infractions by the board. Our bylaws require that the board call a...



Associations - Organization - Board of directors - United States - Non-profit organization

DEAR TIM: I'm moving from one house to another and am overwhelmed. There seems to be so much to pack and I'm not sure how to proceed. I've received several bids from moving companies, and the cost for them to pack my possessions took my breath away. I've studied the "u-pack" moving options, but I...


Programming - Languages - C++Builder - C++ - Business

BOUNDARIES: Northeast's Brookland is bordered by Michigan Avenue to the north, Rhode Island Avenue to the south, Ninth Street to the west and South Dakota Avenue to the east.


Brookland - United States - Neighborhoods - Washington DC - Mercedes-Benz

Homeowners who had mortgages modified recently are faring better than those who did so earlier in the housing crisis, according to a report released Tuesday, possibly debunking predictions of a huge wave of defaults to come.


Foreclosure - Business - Mortgage - Mortgage loan - Real Estate

If you are a middle-class family with school-age children interested in urban rather than suburban living, and if you prefer an apartment rather than a house, then your chances of finding a dwelling that meets your needs are practically zero.



Urban area - Environment - Growth and Sprawl - Social Sciences - Urban and Regional Planning

The American dream has become a foolish fetish -- and yet to end it, we need to make haste slowly.


Social Sciences - Psychology - Dreams - United States - Products and Services

The Obama administration is grappling over how much to force private lenders to pay for apartments and homes for the poor as it presses ahead with a major overhaul of the government's housing policy, officials said.


Affordable housing - Real estate - Business - Residential - Housing

Issues concerning transportation, education, the environment and land development affect decisions about where we live. Here's how some of these topics were reported this week in the Metro section or at PostLocal.com.


Real estate - United States - Business - Services - Property Law and Real Estate

Shoppers browse in Savage's antique shops. Neighbors gather by the community hall for summer-evening concerts. Children play in local recreation leagues. It all seems so peaceful.


Howard County Maryland - Maryland - United States - Howard - Counties

Homebuilder takeovers may increase as tumbling demand for new houses and a faltering U.S. economic recovery spur companies to consolidate to gain market share, according to Citigroup.


Business - Mergers and acquisitions - Consulting - Business Services - Meritage Homes Corporation

BOUNDARIES: To the north, Madison Street (and a small jag of Woodward Street). To the east, Route 32. To the south, the Little Patuxent River. To the west, Savage Park.



Maryland - Howard County Maryland - United States - Counties - Howard

DEAR TIM: I'm at my wits' end with toilet bowl cleaners. My toilet has light and dark stains in the bottom of the bowl, as well as up under the rim. I've tried the usual brands of toilet bowl cleaner, but none does anything to cut the stains. What's causing the stains? And what, if anything, can I...


Hard water - Shopping - Water - Water Resources - Environment

This summer has been a challenging one for keeping plants growing. Record-breaking temperatures in July and August have created heat stress for plants. According to the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, the May-to-July period was the warmest on record for the Northeast and Southeast...



Gardens - Home - Organizations - Master Gardeners - Business