Wire Real Estate

QUESTION: I am refinancing my mortgage and was told there were no out-of-pocket costs. Now as we approach the closing, the lender wants me to pay several hundred dollars. What's the deal?

Data may show that the housing markets are in recovery, but a lot of people are still asking: Why buy a home anyway?

SEA BRIGHT, N.J. - When Hurricane Sandy roared ashore last fall, causing billions of dollars in damage and ruining tens of thousands of homes, Bernard Bertino felt like the luckiest guy on his block. His relatively new house was the only one spared.

We are now officially in the peak spring home buying season. I was asked the other day for advice on what should be at the top of the list for homeowners after they move into their new home.

The last time Yasmin and Adil Degani bought a home, they took the traditional route. They went with a commission-based real estate brokerage to show them homes and guide them through the homebuying process.

Raj Aurora has been searching to buy his first home for the past three months but hasn't wasted time looking at condos he knows he won't like and hasn't even needed to meet his agent, all thanks to real estate applications that Aurora downloaded on his iPhone 5.

Don't let misconceptions prevent you from paying down your mortgage balance. In today's market, it is the best investment most borrowers can make.

My last column discussed homeowners carrying a mortgage rate above the current market rate who could refinance profitably but haven't - for reasons that don't make sense. Now we'll discuss how those who do intend to refinance or finance the purchase of a home can find the best possible deal.

QUESTION: The empty condominium next to mine is now owned by a lender. I don't have a contact number for someone at the bank. I am concerned that the property is not being cared for, and anyone can break in and vandalize it. Or the water heater will burst and flood me out. What can I do?

Home equity lines of credit, which soared in popularity during the housing boom but faded as residential real estate values crashed, are starting to make a comeback.

A year ago, a $25 billion settlement ordered banks to do a better job helping troubled homeowners, and to end the stories of borrowers trapped in a confusing web of mortgage negotiations leading to foreclosure.

Scavenging the remnants of South Florida's housing crisis, a partnership called Presscott Rosche appeared to gobble up almost three dozen foreclosed homes in Miami-Dade County last year. The company is currently listed as the owner of 12 homes worth about $3.5 million, according to the Miami-Dade property appraiser.

The overseer of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is directing mortgage loan servicers this summer to begin offering a simplified mortgage modification to some struggling borrowers whose loans are backed by the two enterprises.