The average office rent in the U.S. edged slightly higher at the end of 2010 – to an average of $22.09 per square foot. That’s an increase of only 0.2 percent, but it’s the first increase in almost three years, which suggests that the long slump in rental rates may be coming to an end as the economy slowly improves. Back in early 2008, the national average was above $25 per square foot. The total amount

There’s been a spike in interest recently in 15-year mortgages, particularly for people who are refinancing. In general, the recent financial crisis has made people more wary of debt and more eager to pay it off. Back before the crisis, many people were happy to take on more debt and pay it off over a longer period of time. But today, a lot of people want to get rid of debt as quickly as possible, even

As a general rule, borrowers have to obtain private mortgage insurance if their down payment is less than 20% of the value of the home. But what many people don’t realize is that there are a number of different options for the way this insurance, called PMI, is handled. Some of these could reduce your monthly payment or save you money in the long term. PMI is a bigger issue than it used to be. For

Here’s a real estate owner’s nightmare: After a couple built a brand new sixth floor atop their five-story townhouse, the city ordered them to remove the whole thing. The building, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was within a “landmark” district. The city’s Landmark Preservation Commission decided that the addition didn’t comply with the city’s landmark rules, and ordered it removed. The addition included a kitchen, dining room and terrace, and was designed to turn the fifth-floor

When two or more people own real estate, the relationship between the owners is known as a “tenancy.” There are a number of different kinds of tenancy. Understanding the differences is important, because different kinds of tenancy can mean different rules for whether an interest in the property can be inherited outside of probate and whether creditors can claim the property.Tenancy comes in three main forms: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entirety.

Sweeping changes to the way home mortgages are structured and approved have been passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. The changes are included in the recent financial regulatory reform law. Although the main goal of the law is to change the way Wall Street banks are regulated, a large section of it is aimed at mortgage reform. Here’s a brief summary of the most important changes: One of the key goals is

A Minnesota man sold part of his property, then planted trees along what he thought was the boundary line. He and his neighbors treated the trees as the boundary line for 23 years, until a new neighbor looked up the deed and discovered that the actual property line was six feet over the “tree line” onto the man’s side. The two went to court, but the court sided with the man.

Many cities and towns have zoning rules that limit people’s ability to operate a business on their property. But sometimes it can be difficult to tell whether a homeowner’s activity is a business or a hobby. If there’s any doubt, you might want to talk with an attorney. For instance, a New Jersey woman had a four-acre home on which she bred German Shepherd show dogs. She obtained a permit to build a storage building on

A condominium owner might have behaved in an extremely offensive manner to his neighbors and to the condo manager, but the condo board can’t sue him for creating a nuisance, according to a Massachusetts court. Over a period of five years, the owner did almost everything he could to offend his neighbors and the building manager. He cursed at them and left them vulgar and derogatory voice-mails, posted offensive messages on signs in the laundry room,