<< Return to Real Estate New main menu Washington Post Realty News Many still owe taxes on forgiven home-equity debt With hundreds of thousands of homeowners having negotiated loan modifications or short sales or been foreclosed upon during the past year, the Internal Revenue Service has issued fresh guidance on how to handle canceled mortgage debt in the coming tax season. Ask the builder: Fixing water-damaged drywall Q. A water line burst in our home and created a significant leak. We were home and able to contain most of the water, but quite a bit got through the floor, ruining the drywall ceiling in the basement. Is there an easy way to deal with water-damaged drywall? Can we just wait for it to dry and the... 'Net zero' house to be built in Maryland should produce as much energy as it uses It sounds like an idea out of a sci-fi novel: a house that can produce as much energy each year as it uses. But most buyers aren't interested in houses from a sci-fi novel, and they aren't much interested in paying extra for them, either. Behind the foreclosure crisis, big banks' reign of error The problem in the nation's housing market now isn't subprime lending. It's subpar lenders. Borrower has second thoughts about that second chance Q. I was going into foreclosure, but the bank gave me a loan modification. I agreed to the modification at the beginning, but now I see it was a mistake and think foreclosure would be better. What do I have to do - just stop paying? Six steps to upgrading a kitchen without boosting the cost Q. I'd love to move to a new home, but the economy is preventing that. So I've decided to do some kitchen remodeling, as it seems to be the center of activity of our current home. Based on the bids I'm getting, remodeling costs seem high. What can be done to keep the total cost as low as possible... Federal Housing Administration leader David Stevens will leave post David H. Stevens plans to leave his post as head of the Federal Housing Administration by the end of April after guiding the agency through its toughest financial challenges in one of the housing market's darkest periods. Details on the Sherwood Forest neighborhood Take precautions before signing a remodeling contract When planning major home renovation, there are many steps you have to take to find the right professionals, including the contractor and perhaps an architect. It's equally important to take steps to protect your legal interests - and to do so early in the process. Fill out the form below to subscribe to my monthly newsletter....It's real estate news you can use!  Subscribe First Name: E-Mail: Last Name: Zip: Michael Kabis Finding the Keys to Your Real Estate Dreams Telephone 888.702.9172 Mobile 763.257.9249 Contact Michael

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