North America boosts Ford in 4Q, but other markets suffer
Washington Post
Now it needs to show it can manage a myriad of challenges outside its home region. North America was the only region where Ford Motor Co. saw profits rise in the fourth quarter and in all of 2011. Everywhere else the automaker lost money or saw profits ...

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A lesson on real estate deductions
Washington Post
For example, if you bought your home in 2008 and claimed the tax credit for first-time home buyers, you must repay the credit over a 15-year period. If you sell the home (or if it ceases to be your principal residence) you must repay any outstanding ...

Customs rules: Tips for when you reenter the US
Washington Post
●If you visit a farm or a ranch, clean the dirt and muck off your shoes before you transport them home. Inspectors will disinfect your footwear if they have time (be sure to tell them of your rural outing). However, they also have the right to ...

Washington housing prices fall in 4th quarter
Washington Post (blog)
By Sara Kehaulani Goo Washington area home prices fell 5.5 percent to $382353 in the last quarter of 2011 compared to the same period a year earlier, as the availability of jumbo loans and economic uncertainty caused many buyers and sellers to stay out ...

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Foreclosure sales fell in 3Q, but still made up 20 percent of all homes sold
Washington Post
Foreclosures, often in need of repair, typically sell at big discounts and weaken prices for neighboring homes. Homebuyers who purchased a foreclosure in the third quarter paid an average of $165322, representing a discount of 34 percent from the ...

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Gifts received by ex-Romanian dictator Ceausescu to be auctioned off
Washington Post
In the past, auctioneers have offered custom-made sports utility vehicles which were used by the Ceausescu couple, and even pajamas which were snapped up, with unsold items donated to an old people's home. Buyers from Japan, the US and Britain have ...

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Pending home sales drop from 19-month high hit in November, but remain at ...
Washington Post
But the reading is still the second highest since April 2010, the last month that buyers could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit. After big gains in October and November, a modest correction “was always in the cards for December,” said Ian ...

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Quinn's Auction Galleries in Falls Church a hit with 'urban beachcombers'
Washington Post
Just like that, the bookends had found a new home. Interest in auctions has exploded, thanks to eBay and reality TV shows such as PBS's “Antiques Roadshow” and the History Channel's “American Pickers,” and with the “silver tsunami” of baby boomers ...

Breaking down the State of the Union 2012
Washington Post
At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. My grandfather, a veteran of Patton's Army, got the chance to go to college on the GI ...

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Gingrich and Romney say regulations are making the housing crisis worse. Are they?
Washington Post (blog)
But their warnings may be premature: While it's true that uncertainty about the forthcoming regulations may already be affecting the market, the biggest changes that could affect potential home buyers and home owners haven't been put into effect.

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Paper: DC housing program subsidized purchases low-income buyers couldn't afford
Washington Post
The paper says housing officials have routinely subsidized home purchases that low-income buyers could not afford. City officials defended the Home Purchase Assistance Program, saying the 35-year-old program has helped more than 12500 buyers. ...

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Foreclosures, liens and financial hardships
Washington Post
DeAngelo McDonald sorts through papers related to the purchase of his three-bedroom home. “At any minute, we could be out on the street,” he said. “It's heartbreaking.” DeAngelo McDonald declared bankruptcy in 2009. “I was a first-time home buyer ...

Affordable-housing zones' rules are an affront to King's dream
Washington Post
The DC Council is also said to be considering legislation that would allow homeowners to resell to buyers in higher income categories and not wait 10 to 20 years to do so. Also, they could rent their homes at rates high enough to pay the mortgage and ...

Value Added: Building an Expedia for summer camps
Washington Post
“It is one of the last, huge, billion-dollar markets that doesn't have a platform that connects buyers and sellers,” she said, talking from her home in McLean. “The parent demand was obvious to us from the beginning.” I am not sure if this business is ...

In DC loan program, mortgage defaults abound
Washington Post
His three-bedroom home in Southeast is now in foreclosure. “I was a first-time home buyer thinking that everything was on the up and up,” said McDonald, 48, who declared bankruptcy in 2009. “At any minute, we could be out on the street. ...

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Where We Live | Middle school debate heats up
Washington Post (blog)
You'll find news and information about neighborhoods and gossip about who's buying what and new homes on the market. Got tips, story ideas or want to contribute to our blog? Email Sara. Follow us on Twitter @postrealestate and on Facebook. ...

Wonkbook: What matters -- and what doesn't -- in 2012
Washington Post (blog)
... New documents reveal how the Fed missed the housing bubble, reports Binyamin Appelbaum: "As the housing bubble entered its waning hours in 2006, top Federal Reserve officials marveled at the desperate antics of home builders seeking to lure buyers. ...

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Cordray's first target: The housing crisis
Washington Post (blog)
On the flip side, there's serious concern that this extra scrutiny from the CFPB could make banks and other financial firms more anxious about making loans to potential homebuyers. As a result, the additional regulation might conceivably tighten up ...

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IRS' tight budget is hurting taxpayers, watchdog says
Washington Post
In addition, the staff now must process a slew of new refundable tax credits, many enacted during the Obama administration, that offer a range of benefits for adoption, health care, first-time home buyers and other services. But the credits have become ...

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Homebuilder Lennar's 4Q net income falls on expenses; new orders and home ...
Washington Post
Lennar, which sells homes for entry level and move-up buyers as well as retirees, said home deliveries rose 9 percent to 3375 homes. The average home sales price climbed to $243000 from $238000 a year earlier, with sales incentives offered rising ...

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