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Did You Receive a Good Offer on Your Home? 09/13/2017 08:00pm • After the house has been prepped, staged and shown, the offers to buy will hopefully be quick to follow. When they do arrive, sellers will be faced with the decision of whether to accept. "There's always going to be a buyer's remorse and a seller's remorse," says Ellie Johnson, president of Berkshi 5 Ways to Handle a Student Loan Shortfall 09/12/2017 08:00pm • A new academic year has started, but many college students may be worrying about more than just their classes. For some, their financial aid package wasn't enough to cover the amount due to the school. When your federal student loans won't pay your balance, you'll need to consider alternative ways 5 Ways to Find Money for College Savings 09/12/2017 08:00pm • Most families don't have a fully funded 529 savings plan or additional savings for college, which means they'll need to draw from their current budget or consider additional loans to pay tuition bills. Locating extra cash isn't easy. And most of us would rather not restrict our lifestyle, especiall What you need to know in the wake of the Equifax data breach scandal 09/11/2017 08:21pm • WASHINGTON — Last week, the credit reporting agency Equifax announced that "criminals" had stolen vital financial and personal data belong to more than 140 million Americans. That certainly seems bad, but in an era when more than 1 billion email accounts can be hacked just how big of a deal is College Applications Can Cost Hundreds 09/11/2017 08:00pm • Even before the first tuition bill arrives, the cost of college can add up for students when applying to a few schools -- especially selective ones. "The colleges that have an acceptance rate that is much more selective have a much higher application fee," says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice p What if the Government Bails on Its Student Loan Forgiveness Program? 09/07/2017 08:00pm • Despite having a master's degree and nearly nine years of professional experience, Stephanie Morgan still earns only $47,000 a year. However, the 33-year-old social worker from Newaygo, Michigan, isn't complaining. She figures low pay comes with the territory in her line of work. Prior to her curren The Best Financial Tips for Every Stage of Your Relationship 09/07/2017 08:00pm • Which is harder to do: achieve financial success or find true love? With savvy planning, couples can do both. According to the results of TD Bank's Love and Money Survey, 58 percent of respondents said that finding true love was the more difficult of the two prospects. The detailed survey of 1,482 Long & Foster sold to Warren Buffett company 09/07/2017 03:59pm • WASHINGTON — Chantilly, Virginia-based Long & Foster Companies Inc., one of the largest residential real estate companies in the country, has been acquired by HomeServices of America Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary that has been aggressively acquiring real estate companies. The acquis Protecting Your Property: Scams That Put Homebuyers and Homeowners in Danger 09/06/2017 08:00pm • You've toured homes, made an offer, negotiated the terms and come to an agreement. You're mere days from closing on your first home, and then you receive the email from the title company with the wire transfer information instructing you to send your down payment. With that done, you're a few signat Pros and Cons of Downsizing and Reverse Mortgages 09/06/2017 08:00pm • Many homeowners near or in retirement are in the enviable position of owing little or nothing on the old homestead, often making the home their largest investment. That leaves a pile of home equity to tap that can be invested to help with expenses. But what's the best way? Generally, homeowners hav Local farmer is Texas-bound to provide food, other aid to hurricane survivors 09/06/2017 06:23pm • POTOMAC, Md. — You can call him "Farmer Mike." It's a nickname that stuck after Michael Protas, a self-described suburbanite with an interest in agriculture, started volunteering on a farm while at Penn State University. Now Protas, the owner of Montgomery County's One Acre Farm, is re Discovery renovates Silver Spring HQ but will it stay? 09/06/2017 12:14pm • Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said Discovery Communications' decision to invest in a renovation at its Silver Spring headquarters indicated the company would not relocate its headquarters. A Discovery spokesman contacted WTOP to stress no decisions have been made about future loca How to Dispute a Student Loan 09/05/2017 08:00pm • Over our many years in the student loan industry, the Student Loan Ranger has received lots of emails from consumers about their loans. We hear from two main categories of borrowers: those with questions on how to manage their student loan debt and those who feel they have a dispute. For the latter 3 Ways Congress Could Rattle Markets 09/04/2017 08:00pm • Congress is back at work after a five-week recess, and the to-do list for lawmakers is jam-packed with urgent matters that impact the United States economy. Financial markets could be in for a wild ride. "Investors would do well to brace themselves for a potential twister of volatility in September Should You Raid Your 401(k) for Hurricane Repairs? 08/31/2017 08:00pm • The IRS is providing Hurricane Harvey victims with heavy damage and emergency expenses an unconventional way to get financial relief by making it easier to access retirement savings. However, storm victims should think twice before taking hardship distributions from 401(k) and other retirement plan