second homes

Lawmakers Eye That Home Mortgage Deduction To Balance Budget

By Candy Evans / December 1, 2010 /

The Presidential, bi-partisian committee scrutinizing ways to cut our huge budget deficit brought on by the housing market collapse, Wall Street firms going under, and the biggest government bail out in the history of the world, may end the U.S. home mortgage¬† deduction. It could certainly end the mortgage interest deduction of second home properties.…

How To Save Money for a Home Down Payment: Eat Squirrel, Not Turkey

By Candy Evans / November 29, 2010 /

Thanksgiving is over and for most of us, those turkeys from last Thursday are going to make excellent sandwiches for a few days. But the inspiration for this post truly came from an article I came across on the BBC: is squirrel the perfect austerity food? I mean, we are trying to make ends meat…

Second Homes and Love Affairs

By Candy Evans / November 28, 2010 /

I want a second home in a city where I can have a love affair — a love affair with that city! Though I have no doubt there are some people who do buy second homes to indulge actual romance — a love nest pied a terre — I am talking a love affair with…

Get a New Job, Get an (Unplanned) Second Home

By Candy Evans / November 26, 2010 /

Kind of like an unplanned pregnancy, more folks these days are ending up with¬† two or more homes on their real estate hands, making a lot more of us second (or multiple!) home owners. Real estate market conditions have practically stranded homeowners in their homes, which is not the end of the world if you…

Aspen: 60% Second Homes, Suitcase Town

By Candy Evans / November 26, 2010 /

Let’s face it: the value of property in places like Aspen just doesn’t tumble. It may take a hit from peak pricing, but honestly, will the average price of an Aspen home ever go back to $50,000, where homes were years before the boom? The average Aspen home is now about $6 million and the…