A Auction is the best way for buyers to know they are purchasing a property for its true market value. However, the auction process itself can be a little intimidating for some buyers, so it’s advised to go into the auction with a firm idea of what you are willing to pay for the property in question and seek the advice of a professional. B Buyers Agents work on your behalf, as a buyer, to find you the perfect property and negotiate to achieve the perfect price. Relationships with real estate agents ensure that your buyer’s agent has access to properties that are fresh on the market and sometimes have not even been advertised yet. C Conveyancing is the process by which real property is legally transferred from one person to another. It involves gathering information concerning a property and preparing the documents for the transference of the property. Remember to ask your solicitor ...

More than 8.3 million mortgage holders in the United States - one in five homeowners - are underwater. That is, they owe more money on their house than their house worth.

That’s because the total value of residential properties fell $2.4 trillion in 2008, from $21.5 trillion in December 2007 to $19.1 trillion at of the end of 2008, according to a study from First American CoreLogic.

Worse, an additional 2.16 million properties could go underwater if home prices fall another 5%, the study said.

“We have way too much supply and not enough demand,” Sam Khater, senior economist for First American, told Bloomberg. “People aren’t going to purchase a home as long as prices keep falling, and someone who is worried about their job isn’t going to purchase a home either.”

The news comes the same day Toll Brothers Inc. (

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