After 18 years at home, your child is striking out on his own, whether to attend college or start an exciting new job. Though you may not be ready to do so immediately, you’ll probably want to convert the now-absent teen’s bedroom into a space you can use. One of the best and most popular strategies is to remake the space as a guest bedroom. That may seem like a tall order — especially if you’re peering into a chaotic, poster-lined teenager’s haunt — but you’re closer to the finish line than you might think. With luck, you can get the job done in only one weekend. Here’s how to organize the effort: 1. Clear out what’s left behind. Before your child leaves, or the next time he or she is home, ask them to help you pack all the stuff they’re not taking with them. From sports trophies to old textbooks, there’s likely a wide and assorted range of keepsakes arranged (or strewn haphazardly) around the room. At least for the time being, pack these belongings into large plastic bins and then relocate those bins to an out-of-the-way storage area, be it the attic, basement or garage. Once you’ve finished packing and stacking the bins, the bedroom — free of all clutter — should already begin to look a lot more adult. 2. Introduce a new wall color. Your goal now is to alter the mood of the space and give it a fresh identity. There’s no quicker or […]

At-risk homeowners who took advantage of the federal government’s emergency plan to help them stave off foreclosure during the housing crisis have a new problem: looming interest rate increases. Banks began sending notices in June, warning that rates for these homeowners will soon rise, and with them, monthly mortgage payments — by an average of about $200, or nearly 25 percent. Both the increases and the number of homeowners hit by them will be staggered, however, so government officials are hoping the impact will be muted. Still, four states will be hit with half the nearly 800,000 mortgage payment increases overall — California, Illinois, Florida and New York — and monthly payments will eventually rise as much as $1,724, so there is certain to be some struggle when the resets hit. Median monthly payment on the loans will climb from $773 to $989, according to a report issued by the Special Inspector General of the Trouble Asset Relief Program. The Home Affordable Modification Program, also known as HAMP, born at the height of the housing crisis in 2009, gave struggling homeowners the chance to modify their mortgages through a series of adjustments — most commonly, interest rate relief that decreased rates to as low as 2 percent. Banks received incentive payments from the government for each modified loan. The rate relief was not permanent, however. The HAMP program calls for modified loan rates to climb back up to market average rates on the five-year anniversary of the adjustment, 1 percent each year. The maximum rate will vary, but […]

Hotels with the fewest amenities are proving among the most attractive to U.S. lodging investors as they search for higher returns. Blackstone Group LP (BX), the world’s largest alternative-asset firm, is close to an agreement to buy a group of select-service hotels from Clarion Partners LLC for about $800 million, adding to its already sizable portfolio of such properties, a person with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NRF)said earlier this month that it bought 47 limited-service hotels for $933.9 million in a joint venture with Chatham Lodging Trust. Investors are drawn by the lower operating costs and higher returns at select-service hotels compared with more upscale properties. The segment — which lacks restaurants and have limited beverage and other service offerings — includes brands such as La Quinta, Super 8 and Days Inn. Purchasing such properties and boosting their profitability is often easier than acquiring and remaking higher-end hotels. “The returns are very attractive and the financing for these deals is much easier and cleaner to underwrite,” said Samantha Fisher, a Los Angeles-based senior vice president at investment-services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. “Limited service doesn’t have a big food and beverage component. These things can almost run themselves. Whoever is the buyer doesn’t have to put much into them to see returns quickly.” Last year’s $6.2 billion in select-service hotel deals was the highest total since before the last recession, according to Jones Lang LaSalle data. The sector accounted for 30 percent of all U.S. […]

Getting a mortgage can mean keeping track of a lot of moving parts. Savvy shoppers know to ask lenders about interest rates, closing costs and how much they can borrow. But even seasoned buyers may not know to dig a little deeper. Here’s a look at five key things homebuyers often forget to ask mortgage lenders: What’s the Annual Percentage Rate? Interest rates get advertising attention, but you need to pay equally close attention to the annual percentage rate, or APR. The interest rate, or note rate, is stated on the mortgage note and is used to calculate your monthly payments. But it may not reflect the overall cost of borrowing. Let’s say Lender X offers you a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.5 percent interest. Lender Y offers the same mortgage for 4.25 percent. This would seem to be a no-brainer. But we’re missing some key information, namely all the other costs associated with the loan, from closing costs and origination fees to mortgage insurance and more. Lender Y may have the lower rate, but this loan could cost you more in the long run if their costs and fees are higher. That’s why you need to look at the APR, which factors in those costs beyond just your interest rate. It’s also why lenders are now required to disclose APR. Otherwise, they could hide fees and charges behind an incredibly low — yet ultimately misleading — interest rate. Do I Have to Escrow Taxes and Insurance? Homeowners paid on average about $800 per year for homeowners insurance in 2008, […]

Political battles very often have real economic consequences, and the current skirmishes over the federal budget and raising the nation’s debt ceiling are no exception. The budget battle, in fact, could result in a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1. To date, the housing market recovery has proven it is on solid ground, and it should be able to weather a short-term shutdown of the federal government fairly well. But a default on the nation’s debt would cause far more economic harm. Here are a few key points to keep in mind: Mortgages The reason housing, in particular, might be more isolated from the impact of shuttered federal coffers is because it is funded largely outside the federal government. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, though technically under government conservatorship, fund their operations through fees collected from private lenders, not through taxpayer funds. So the backers of the majority of mortgages in this country should continue to operate more or less normally. Other government sources of funding for the housing market, including the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), may be impacted more directly. If applications for funds from these agencies aren’t approved before the government shuts down, then those applications likely won’t be processed until the government reopens. But a short-term disruption in these funds, while certainly detrimental, shouldn’t have much long-term impact on either demand or housing affordability. Consumer confidence Where a government shutdown does have an impact, especially on housing, is in consumer […]

When real estate agents decide it’s time to find a new place, they have a unique advantage: they can work for themselves.  Luckily for home-seeking real estate agents, there aren’t many stringent laws designed to prevent them from selling their own homes.  They are simply required by the National Association of Realtors’ code of ethics to disclose that they own their listings.  Most agents choose to list their own homes so that they won’t have to pay commission fees and because they have the expertise to handle it on their own. According to Freakonomics authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, real estate agents who choose to sell their own homes earn 3% more than the actual sale price.  Self-listed homes take about 10 more days to sell than the average home but agents are able to sell them at an overpriced listing.  In some cases, agents have difficulty setting an objective listing price for their home because “It it’s your home, it’s almost impossible to be objective,” as associate broker Janice Leis points out.  While selling one’s own home can be advantageous, some real estate agents still choose to work with a colleague to sell their home.  As anyone who has gone through the process before knows, selling a house is an extremely stressful process.  This is no different for agents.  As Leis explains, “Having someone else to keep you on track and help you maintain perspective is really important, because there are a million little details that […]