Real Estate

Land, including all the natural resources and permanent buildings on it.

Sub-headings:

House & Home

Consumer information and protection for home-buyers and home-owners.

Moving Resources

Leaving one residence or business to settle in a different residence or business.

Renting & Leasing

Rooms designed as a residence for one or more individuals, located within a building occupied by more than one household.

Home Construction

Resources in this category:

AOL Real Estate
http://realestate.aol.com/

"Resource of information for first time home buyers, sellers, staging information, investing advice, how to guides to home improvement, and real estate and mortgage tools."

Buying Your First Home
http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48484

This IPL pathfinder is designed to help first time home buyers find information on several aspects of home buying. These include how to find the home of your dreams, how to finance your new home, and how to use the library to find out more about the home buying process. Print and Internet resources are listed.

Guide to Researching the History of a House
http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/76687

The purpose of this IPL pathfinder is to introduce sources for researching the history of a house. Included here are resources for discovering architectural facts as well as historical facts. Print and Internet resources are listed.

Home Buyer's Information Center
http://www.ourfamilyplace.com/homebuyer/

"Buying a house is an important decision. That's probably why you are spending the time you are preparing to buy your home... Here you will find helpful hints, checklists and "To-Do" lists for buying a home, as well as links to other sources of information. If you are considering buying your first house, begin by making sure buying a house is to your advantage--check out our buy or rent a house comparison. Don't go into your housing purchase unprepared--spend some time here and get the tools that you need."

Home Energy Saver
http://hes.lbl.gov/

"The Home Energy Saver was the first Internet-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings...By changing one or more features of the modeled home, users can estimate how much energy and money can be saved and how much pollution prevented by implementing energy-efficiency improvements." Includes a glossary and links to other sources of information about products, construction standards, and home building.

Homes and Communities
http://www.hud.gov/

"For Citizens, we offer tips on home buying, mortgage shopping, and finding affordable rental housing. We list HUD homes for sale and opportunities for you to volunteer to help your community. And you can chat "Over the Back Fence" with your neighbors all over the Nation. For Community and Business Partners, we have information about funding, technical assistance, best practices, contracting opportunities, major HUD initiatives, and more." Searchable.

Housing - U.S. Government Consumer Information Center
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/results.tpl?id1=17&startat=1&--woS...

The Housing section of the U.S. Government Consumer Information Center has online pamphlets covering various aspects of home ownership such as buying a home, getting a mortgage, home improvements and safety.

Marketplace Money from American Public Media
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/

Daily radio show on National Public Radio (NPR) that discusses all matters financial, such as business news, retirement, home purchasing, asking for a raise, paying off credit card debt, and paying for college. All previous radio programs are available online, and be sure to check out features section.

Microsoft HomeAdvisor
http://realestate.msn.com/

Offers advice on buying a home, such as determining your price range and making an offer. Find information on national loan rates and specific neighborhoods. You can even look at and compare houses for sale.

Money: Best Places to Live
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/

This site profiles America's 300 largest metro areas. Money's Best Places search engine allows one to search a database in order to find the best places to live, work or play. Search by city name or by a combination of nine factors, including: weather, economy, housing, health, education, crime, transportation, leisure, arts and culture.

Mortgage 101
http://www.mortgage101.com/

"Mortgage 101 is an informative mortgage resource for potential home buyers." Here you'll find information on current interest rates, a web board where you can ask for advice from mortgage professionals, and mortgage calculators that "can figure payments, amortize loans, calculate ratios, and compare living costs." There are also informative sections on applications, bankruptcy, refinancing, and related issues.

Rentometer
http://www.rentometer.com/

Compare properties with current rental market values. Provides price scale based on rental properties near given address, and a map with local rental listings and prices in your neighborhood.