Ilyce's Views You Can Use

What: A celebration of cinematic creativity, art and innovation that you do not want to miss.  Films by women, for women.  Great parties, a chance to hear from the film makers, and a nice way to support the fight against breast cancer. 50% of all proceeds from ticket sales at the festival will be...

Option 4: Lease-To-Own With a lease-to-own, you essentially lease a home, but make larger payments in order to begin accumulating a downpayment. For example, if a house would normally lease for $800, you might lease it for $1,000/month, with $200/month going into a special account. At the end of...

Option 3: Owner Financing Owner financing means exactly that: the owner (or seller) finances a portion of your home purchase. For example, you might borrow 80% of the value of a home from a lending institution, and "borrow" the other 20% from the owner. In this situation, the owner "carries back...

Option 2: Special Loan Programs Special loan programs come and go quickly. There is many available right now that will allow the seller to provide up to 6% towards the down payment and/or closing costs required for a home loan. That means no money out of your pocket if you know how to negotiate ...

Option 1: FHA Loans Although there isn’t a "No Money Down" option yet, the FHA loan is by far one of the best alternatives for people who want to buy a home and don’t have much money to put down. With an FHA loan, you could put down as little as 3%. Plus, FHA loans are easier to qualify for. Now...

With all the credit tightening going on, many programs will require that buyers come up with at least some small downpayment. Even if you are able to secure 100% financing, you will still need to pay closing costs (if the seller does not agree to pay for you). So, here are some ideas that may hel...

On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its employment report for the United States.  Last month, the jobs report showed that the economy actually lost jobs for the first time since 2003.  The total loss of jobs equaled 4,000 and contributed to the Federal Rese...

Where does your money go?  If you're like most Americans, more than half of it goes towards housing and transportation alone.  This is according to the Consumer Expenditure Survey performed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The most recent study shows American household spending habits from 20...

Effective November 7, 2007, the Federal Housing Administration is expected to ban home buyers' use of most seller-financed Downpayment Assistance programs. The Nehemiah program has been granted an exception through March 31, 2008. DPAs are (were?) very popular in FHA mortgage circles as a way to...

So, what does it cost to buy a 2,200 square foot home with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and a 2-car garage?  It depends on where you live. In a study of 317 U.S. markets, Coldwell Banker concluded that the average price for such a home is $422,343. Beverly Hills, CA ($2,206,883) sits on one end of ...