In the greater D.C area, there are many rules and regulations that need to be followed before purchasing/leasing a property. Since Washington D.C is the capital of the United States, there are some strict real estate laws that must be followed exactly in order to obtain property. Prices are higher here than most other cities and states since the price of living here is steadily rising. Even with this declining real estate market, properties are being occupied fast so time is always of the essence. A simple philosophy to follow in the D.C. real estate market which might help many is...  read more

Prior to deciding to move to a new city it is always good to find employment first.  For starters, all landlords will require an employment letter along with your credit history, bank statement etc.   You can always go the route of having your parents as guarantors but you have to be sure they will qualify.  The job market is brutal right now with the associated press reporting that 1 in every 2 college graduates being jobless.  Take a look at the article...  read more

An interesting article from Forbes.com provide us with a list of the top 10 cities for college grads.  This list takes 2 very important factors into its rankings.  The first factor is overall unemployment rates, the second is hourly wages.  A good mix of low unemployment and high hourly rates is shown on THIS LIST. Where would you prefer to live based on this list of cities?

Here is an old but still useful article on the impact the financial crises has caused in the rental industry,  from USA Today.  One of the highlights of this article is that vacancy rates (5.2% nationally) are the lowest seen since 2001.  This can explain some the increases in rent across most major metro areas.