by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 10, 2010 | for Home
The first home we ever bought, in Boca Raton, Florida, started out as a lease agreement from the owners. We paid a regular monthly rent and a portion was credited to our down payment should we decide to exercise the option to buy the home after one year, which we did....
by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 7, 2010 | for Home
Affordable housing is so important in this economy. Giving your family a place to live is one of the most crucial expenditures — and also one of the biggest drains on family finances. This afternoon I found that good friends of ours are looking at a foreclosed home...
by Alison Moore Smith | May 13, 2010 | for Home, for Spirit
We've all heard about the state of real estate in these trouble economic times. Foreclosures are everywhere. Yesterday I read that now lots of people who can afford to pay their mortgages are walking away from them — allowing the banks to foreclose — because the...
by Alison Moore Smith | May 8, 2010 | for Home
You'd love to own a home — and you can afford the payments — but going the traditional route isn't working out. Or maybe you'd just like to avoid the expense and hassle of dealing with banks and lending institutions in the incredibly difficult credit market. One way...
by Alison Moore Smith | May 6, 2010 | for Home
In 1991, we moved thousands of miles away to Boca Raton, Florida. We had two little kids and — after years of college — were flat broke. Our first home was a three-bedroom townhouse in a development called Cypress Lakes. It was a huge step up from college apartment...