I recently returned from a boat tour in Indonesia, and was impressed with the quality of the service provided by the tour company. The employees go out of their way to make the experience a pleasurable one for the customers. Other tour companies we have used in the past were equally good. My impressions are consistent with those of many other...

In a recent article, I examined Bank of America's new no-fee program for house purchasers, under which lender and third-party fees are absorbed by the bank. On a fixed-rate mortgage, the borrower pays the interest rate and points, and that's it. Price...

Gifts of equity within the family are common. Parents often provide the down payment on their child's first home purchase. Many parents, however, can't afford a sizeable gift -- among other things, they may be concerned about the adequacy of their assets for retirement. Yet they might welcome an opportunity to help...

In recent weeks, my mailbox has overflowed with messages of distress from borrowers faced with an imminent rate adjustment on their adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). Most of them want to refinance, but many of those who had earlier taken 100 percent loans are stuck. With the current softness in the housing market, they now owe more...