Can we afford this house in California (just an example)? What "rules of thumb" or other measures should I use to determine what is "affordable"? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 20, 2009 - 17 answers

Why hasn't private mortgage insurance (PMI) softened the blow of the real estate implosion? [more inside]
posted by GatorFan2000 on Apr 6, 2009 - 14 answers

Buying a house soon: is it better to pay down my credit card partially, or pay off a small personal loan? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Apr 3, 2009 - 5 answers

What are the best ways to find and compare mortgage refi rates and fees? (web sites, or?) [more inside]
posted by msalt on Jan 17, 2009 - 10 answers

Is it really that much better to pay off a mortgage in bi-monthly payments rather than once-a-month payments? [more inside]
posted by Spyder's Game on Oct 4, 2008 - 13 answers

Should we save for down payment or pay off our student loans? and what about retirement? [more inside]
posted by esolo on Jun 11, 2007 - 20 answers

How can I Build Credit Quickly? And will taking a small loan out and paying it off way ahead of schedule be good or bad for my credit score? [more inside]
posted by ZackTM on Mar 30, 2006 - 14 answers

A friend of mine has just taken on a large amount of debt since splitting with his girlfriend. What can he do to keep on top of it? [more inside]
posted by jeresig on Aug 8, 2005 - 20 answers

How do I know if I am getting the best home loan available to me? [more inside]
posted by eggerspretty on Jun 29, 2005 - 9 answers

So yesterday my wife — Ms. We're-Not-Moving — found a house closer to Portland that she loves. We both love it. The only offer we can make, though, is contingent upon selling our home, which we hadn't even considered until yesterday. Help! Does anyone have experience with this kind of thing? What can we do to make a contingency offer more attractive? What about bridge loans? Anyone have experience with those? I need advice on hurried real estate transactions (other than "don't do them").
posted by jdroth on May 6, 2004 - 10 answers