Gardens can relax or energize you, depending on their design. Balance the energy flow in your landscape to ensure it will be comfortable and harmonious. The Chinese have used this method of design for many thousands of years. It is called feng shui, pronounced “fung shway.”
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Feng shui techniques can add tranquil quality to gardens
Gessford Court’s alley homes feel like a retreat in the city. F1
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WHERE WE LIVE
Fairfax County officials allege that the executive director of one of the Washington region’s leading affordable-housing nonprofit companies forged a zoning document to secure more than $700,000 in public loans, a case that has led the county to ban the group from obtaining county contracts and p…
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Fairfax accuses housing nonprofit’s leader of fraud
“The Blind Side” and “Moneyball” author Michael Lewis turns his attention to the U.S. financial crisis.
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Steven Pearlstein reviews ‘The Big Short’ by Michael Lewis
The residential housing market in some Prince William County neighborhoods is beginning to recover after being plagued by foreclosures and plunging home values.
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Prince William County home assessments level off
With new Treasury Department rules designed to expedite short sales set to take effect April 5, relief can’t come soon enough for some area buyers, sellers and real estate agents who have waded through a long and arduous process to get short sales approved by the bank.
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Treasury hopes new rules send short sales to the rescue of underwater mortgages
When Mike Walker and his wife, Kathy, found an affordable house in Landover Hills back in 1979, they were looking for an upgrade from their apartment in nearby Bladensburg. The house was advertised as a “fixer-upper,” Mike Walker recalled, and cost $39,500.
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Landover Hills: location, affordability still draw first-time buyers
As daylight saving time begins this weekend, it’s a reminder that spring is just around the corner. So we have an assortment of questions that spans the winter-spring boundary.
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Green Scene: Pruning tips, groundhog repellent and other gardening advice
I tried to buy a house. I applied for a loan, and the bank processed it as a Federal Housing Administration loan instead of a conventional loan. The house I was buying failed the FHA inspection, and I did not buy it.
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Expenses incurred buying a house can be a risk
Mortgage interest rates declined for a second consecutive week as the number of home loan applications rose.
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Mortgage interest rates down for second week as home loan applications rise
Fairfax County aspires to greatly increase the amount of affordable housing at Tysons Corner for workers who now must commute there from afar, consuming time and fossil fuel while contributing to traffic congestion. But this newspaper reported recently that achieving Tysons’s affordable housing…
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Affordable housing needs some public funding
DEAR TIM: I stopped by a friend’s house the other day as she was painting the wood steps leading to her basement. She was using a stencil, and it looked fantastic. What’s the best paint for steps? How do you keep the steps from getting scuffed? — Pam W., Green Bay, Wis.
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How to paint and protect steps
Q: We have owned our house for many years, and the lender has always escrowed money to pay our real estate taxes and insurance. This year, we received a notice from the lender that our monthly mortgage payment will increase by over $400 because there is an escrow shortage. Can we cancel the escrow…
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Lender blames escrow shortage for $400 increase in monthly mortgage payment
With the Obama administration and private lenders actively considering mortgage principal-reduction programs to help financially distressed homeowners, the Internal Revenue Service has issued a new advisory to taxpayers who receive — or seek to receive — such assistance. The IRS gets involved in…
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Some tax issues to consider on mortgage write-downs
It’s getting competitive out there in the Washington area housing market, according to real estate brokers and buyers. And February market statistics just reported from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, the local multiple listing service, back up their reports.
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Washington area housing market is getting competitive again, buyers and brokers report
