Ken Harney
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IRS may be stepping up scrutiny of mortgage deductionsFeb 17, 2017 5:00 am - WASHINGTON - If you're like millions of homeowners, you recently received a familiar, innocuous-looking document from your lender. It's called Form 1098 and it totes up ...
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Realty kickbacks prompt penalties by consumer agencyFeb 10, 2017 5:00 am - WASHINGTON - If your real estate agent requires you to get a mortgage preapproval from one specific lender as a condition of submitting an offer to buy a house - even if...
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Credit, debt dings don't always doom mortgage applicationsFeb 03, 2017 5:00 am - WASHINGTON - How tough is it to get approved for a mortgage? How low can your FICO credit score go before your lender shows you the door? And how much monthly debt can y...
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Tax reform could knock your investment plans off trackJan 27, 2017 5:00 am - WASHINGTON - The small-scale owners of millions of rental homes, parcels of investment land and income-producing commercial and business real estate might not know it, b...
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Premium reduction is good news -- but might be fleetingJan 20, 2017 6:00 am - WASHINGTON - Here's some potentially good news for anyone seeking a low down payment mortgage without high credit scores: The Federal Housing Administration is cutting i...
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Average real estate commissions dropping to low 5 percent rangeJan 13, 2017 5:00 am - WASHINGTON - The average commission rate paid on American home sale transactions continues to decline and could dip below 5 percent within the next few years. That's the...
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Escrow-free home loans open new options to buyersDec 09, 2016 5:00 am - WASHINGTON — If you've got a home mortgage, you probably also have an escrow or impound — a savings account incorporated into your monthly payment and managed by your lo...
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Congress could play Grinch this Christmas for homeownersNov 25, 2016 5:00 am - WASHINGTON - Could it be a grim and grinchy December for thousands of homeowners facing ongoing challenges with their mortgage payments and property values? Could popula...
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Freddie Mac planning appraisal-free mortgagesNov 11, 2016 5:00 am - WASHINGTON - Can computers, big data and advanced analytics replace real live humans when it comes to accurately valuing the home you want to buy? One of the two largest...
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Court ruling could encourage realty payoff scheme revivalOct 21, 2016 5:00 am - WASHINGTON - A decision by a federal appellate court last week is casting new light on practices in the real estate field that buyers and sellers often know little about...