A consultant breaks out SEO tricks and other Web marketing tactics to help an online lamps retailer bring more traffic to her site.
Fortune Small Business) — In our new feature, “Website remedies,” Fortune Small Business enlists Web marketing and search-engine optimization specialists to analyze small-business Web sites in need of an overhaul.
Dear FSB: I do not get traffic coming to my Web site. On a very stringent budget, what can I do to improve in these tough times?
Nationally, there’s still a dark cloud hanging over housing. But to check the health of your local region, look for a few key clues.
(Money Magazine) — This is already one of the worst national housing downturns in half a century. But what’s really scary is that judging from the still-huge overhang of unsold homes - one of the key indicators of the market’s prospects - things could get worse. In fact, much worse if the economy slips into recession. Read the rest of this entry »
Between higher fees and and larger down payment requirements, buyers have to pony up more money than ever these days just to land a loan.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Are you ready to buy a house in this crazy market? Better bring a boatload of money to the closing.
In a brutal real estate market where all the players want to hedge against the tremendous risks, down payment requirements and up-front fees have soared, shutting many potential home buyers out of the market.
“I have as many people calling me for financing as ever,” said George Hanzimanolis, a Pennsylvania mortgage broker, “but I’m putting less than half of them into loans.”
That’s happening all over the country, and may slow the housing market’s recovery. Indeed, in a Realtor.com survey released today, potential home buyers said high down payments were the second biggest obstacle, after high home prices, to buying a home.
These days, home buyers almost always have to make a substantial down payment, at least 5%, according to Rich Wordman, president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers. The days of no-down loans are over. Read the rest of this entry »
