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Louise Bolger

Louise Bolger

August 17, 2017
Louise Bolger is The Sun’s Real Estate columnist.
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December 28, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Happy new real estate year

Getting through all of the Christmas presents, dinners and travel has probably made you not want to face another holiday much less another financial year with its ups and downs. But if you live in a…
December 24, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Home ownership matters

It’s Christmas, and I’m not sure how many will take the time to read this column, so instead of giving you what I hope is my usual well thought out advice and real estate statistics, I just wanted to…
December 18, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Million dollar homes and taxes

Three months ago, when I updated my quarterly million-dollar-and-over properties report in our area, I took some pity on wealthy real estate owners around the country who were experiencing a serious…
December 10, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

The Grinch that stole your real estate deal

If you’re in a home negotiation, whether you’re the buyer or seller you better watch out for the home inspection grinch. To the buyer, the grinch is a kindly and informed fellow who will uncover all…
November 25, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Today’s challenge for buyers

There’s a big predicament out there all over the country for home buyers, especially first-time buyers. There’s nothing to buy and, apparently, it’s my generation’s fault. United States homeowners…
November 19, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Mythical credit scores

Generally, credit scores are available through one of your credit card companies, financial institution or loan statement, and if you don’t know yours you should make a point of finding out even if y…
November 12, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

When did $100,000 not become enough?

Once upon a time if you were earning a six-figure salary you were sitting pretty. You could easily buy a home, make sure your kids went to the right schools and take that one family trip a year. Well…
November 5, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Are condos the future of housing?

In case you haven’t noticed, interest rates are low, real low. Most rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are hovering around 4% based on credit scores and income to loan ratios. In spite of this…
October 29, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

The ghosts of real estate

I never really believed in ghosts and evil spirits. It was always fun to talk about other people’s experiences at parties but since I never had any first-hand knowledge it was just that, fun until it…
October 22, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

You found the perfect house; now what?

You may think it’s finally over – you found your dream home, your forever home or your long-dreamed-of beach house. But guess what, unless you have lots of cash in your checking account, you will hav…
October 15, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Is homeownership threatened?

For most Americans, their biggest source of wealth is the equity in their homes. But what if you never own a home? What if being a renter is your fate? How does that impact your future wealth and sta…
October 8, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Real estate market disruption

Is there an algorithm in your future? If you’re planning on buying or selling a house, get ready for the future of real estate. In a world where technology has remade everything from your morning…
October 1, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Fee-fi-fo-fum, do I smell a recovery?

Recovery, what recovery? That’s a word we left in our rearview mirror a long time ago. It’s true in Florida generally, and Anna Maria Island specifically has recovered nicely since the financial down…
September 24, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Order out of chaos

Writing has been compared to bringing order out of chaos, something I try to do weekly on this page, and one of the most chaotic aspects of real estate is the mortgage process, which may be getting e…
September 17, 2019
By Louise Bolger
Castles in the Sand

Luxury ain’t what it used to be

Did you ever feel sorry for the really wealthy real estate owners? Well, we’re at a point in time when there might be just cause for feeling sorry for them because like all sellers, when your market…