Brian Guzman's (bguzman) Blog

Lakeview East Festival of the Arts - This Weekend - Free Admission   This weekend, September 26th and 27th, you can walk and view many different kinds of art at the Lakeview East Festival of the Arts. You can visit the website for the Street Map, Street Closures, and the complete artist line-up i...

Existing Home Supply Falls By Nearly A Year   As reported by the National Association of REALTORS®, the number of Existing Home Sales, ending the metric's 5-month winning streak. Newspaper headlines today are overwhelmingly negative on housing. You'd almost believe this year's housing recovery ha...

Home Prices Rise Again In July   As reported by the government, home prices are rising nationwide, up 0.3 percent in July. Furthermore, versus November 2008, the Home Price Index has clawed back to unchanged. The housing market appears to be holding its own. However, we have to be careful about p...

  The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. It also reiterated plans to support the mortgage market to the tune of $1.5 trillion. In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. economy is "picking up following its seve...

  The Federal Open Market Committee starts a 2-day meeting today in Washington.  The scheduled get-together ends at 2:15 PM ET Wednesday after which the FOMC will issue a press release to the markets. Consider locking your mortgage in advance of the press release.  The FOMC meets 8 times annually...

How To Maintain A Lawn In The Fall   Lawn care needs change with the season.  How your cut it, how you water it, and how you feed it depends on the weather and the forecast.  In the video above from YouTube, the gardening expert clearly covers how to maintain a lawn in the Fall. Why to keep leave...

Housing Starts Slip, But Don't Think The Recovery's Been Halted   Housing Starts on single-family homes took a step backwards last month, falling month-over-month for the first time since January. A "housing start" is new home on which construction has started. Don't let the slowdown fool you, ho...

The Housing Market Index Reaches A 16-Month High   According to the country's home builders, the housing market is looking good. Each month, the National Association of Home Builders releases its Housing Market Index report, a survey geared at taking "the pulse of the single-family housing market...

Ben Bernanke Leaves Clues About The Future Of Mortgage Rates   On the 1-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the "recession is very likely over at this point".   His comments were supported by a Retail Sales report for August that was much ...

Using 401(k) Funds For A Downpayment? First, Consider The Tax Implications.   As downpayment requirements increase, anecdotally, home buyers are tapping 401(k) plans for extra cash. Classified as a "hardship withdrawal", loans against your retirement funds can be cheap and simple. There's no cred...