Our homeowner is hoping to sell his home through a short sale.

When one thinks of a short sale, what comes to mind are homebuyers who over-reached and bought homes they couldn't afford.

But, with the dramatic downward shift in home values, there are many average, hardworking homeowners who've been forced to go through a short sale. A short sale is when a homeowner sells a home for less than what is owed on it, and the bank agrees to discount the loan balance …Full Story

In an ideal world, families looking to move to a decent school district can research local schools districts on sites like Cyberhomes and GreatSchools.net and find the perfect home and school to meet their needs. (You can find GreatSchools ratings for your town or local school on Cyberhomes by choosing "Schools" in the Cyberhomes search box menu.)

Finding an affordable school district

But unfortunately, for many families starting out, finding a home that suits them in the right school district can be tough. Many families find that they can't afford a home in the school district they want. For instance, I have friends who are looking to move to the Princeton area. Of course, they'd love to move to Princeton , N.J. , an idyllic college town with stellar schools. But in Princeton, where the high school has a 9 out of 10 GreatSchools rating, and the median estimated home value is in the upper $400,000s, they are finding that most houses are out of their price range …Full Story

Unloading unneeded household items before your next move is a good idea. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Are you looking to move this summer? If you are, try not to move more stuff than you need into your new home. Take it from me -- if you do, you'll come to regret it.

Rushed packing

Nearly seven years ago, my husband and I moved into our first home. Friends helped us with the move, helping cart all our boxes of books, mementos and old belongings to our basement …Full Story

These days, vacationers are finding a new way to travel without the expense of renting a hotel room or vacation house -- they are swapping homes, says Cyberhomes contributor Kevin Max. By posting their home on sites like Digsville.com, HomeLink and HomeExchange.com,  homeowners are finding other owners both in the U.S. and abroad who are willing to swap homes for short vacation stays. By allowing another homeowner to stay in your home, you get the experience of enjoying a vacation in another locale -- sometimes with the added bonus of a car, or even a housekeeper -- at a fraction of the price. For tips on how to swap your home, read Max's story …Full Story

Gregoria Casiano, 81, of Brooklyn, N.Y., may soon lose her home to foreclosure. (Photo: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press)

Americans are an independent bunch. Once we fly the nest, we often don't return, with children sometimes relocating across the country, and grandchildren and grandparents only seeing each other occasionally and on holidays …Full Story

I am a fan of the TV show, Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC. The show focuses on a couple -- Jon and Kate, who after having twins, went on to have sextuplets. The show delves into their everyday life, and being a mom of twins myself, I am always amazed at how they can keep life flowing so smoothly with so many children.

The other day I watched an episode where the family moved into a new -- and very large -- home. My interest was piqued, so I did a little online searching. It turns out there's a lot of blogging going on about the Gosselins' new home …Full Story

In an earlier post, Ohan Antebian, Cyberhomes regional vice president of sales, wrote about possibly jumping back into the housing market this year and buying his family a new home, now that they've relocated from the Philadelphia area to California. Since moving in 2006, he and his family have been living in a small apartment and could use a bigger space. But before thinking about buying, he'd like "to be able to confirm the bottom of the real estate market," he says.

It seems a lot of buyers are waiting for a housing-market bottom before dipping their toes back into the market. To encourage these "fence sitters" that now may be a good time to buy, the National Association of Realtors has launched a new 2009 public awareness campaign to convince potential buyers that conditions are now favorable for buyers -- what with relatively low interest rates, improved affordability (thanks to lower home prices) and the availability of homes for sale. The new campaigns include TV ads, radio spots and print advertisements. (Check out one of NAR's TV spots at the end of this post.) …Full Story

If you are new to an area, or are just looking for an overview of your local real estate market, try Cyberhomes' Explore Maps.

If you click the "Explore Maps" tab on the Cyberhomes home page and enter your town or city, Explore Maps will offer a collection of easy to read, color-coded heat maps, including five real estate market maps (see the "Choose a Map" option in the left column). One glance at the maps, and you'll see facts like which neighborhoods have the highest estimated home values and which are experiencing the greatest drops or increases in estimated value, and where the buyer's and seller's markets are -- without having to pore over statistics and figures.

The maps are useful for getting a visual of how neighboring areas compare. For a closer look, use the "+" tool to zoom in -- you can zoom back out with the "-" tool, or use the center tool (below the "-" mark) to re-center your map …Full Story