(Source: By Jim Gallagher, St. Louis Post-Dispatch) –Apartment rents are going up and vacancy rates going down, making for happy landlords in St. Louis, and not-so-happy tenants.

The local apartment business, which took only a minor hit during the Great Recession, is back on the upswing.

Rents in the St. Louis area are 6 percent above the level of four years ago, at the recession’s start. Vacancy rates are lower: an estimated 6.2 percent in December as opposed to 6.8 percent in December 2007,

(Source: By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) –In the midst of this sluggish housing market, it was far from a runaway year for people trying to sell a home in the Pittsburgh area. Of the 53 properties featured for sale in the PG’s real estate section in 2011, about a quarter — 13 — ended up with a successful sales contract.

We have revisited six of the most interesting properties to see what has been snapped up, what has been taken off the market and what’s still wearing a “For Sale” sign. Next Sunday, we will look at six more, for an even dozen.

As we come to the end of yet another year, one thing is for certain, NOTHING is for certain.

For we live in uncertain times where instability and chaos rules the human landscape we know as our world. A canvas of man made illusions that we try to make sense of with many of us never understanding that what may seem to make no sense to us personally in all reality makes perfect sense in the grand scheme of the great work.

Greetings...

I have scanned the boards, and if I have missed the answer to this question I am sorry for repeating it.

My question is...What is the process when one has decided to walk away? Specifically in regards to notification of lender, utilities, and what to do with the house itself?

Secured loan

An secured loan enables homeowners to borrow money from lenders by using their property as security.

Pros
Because the loan is secured against your home, the interest rate is normally cheaper than an unsecured loan and you are normally able to borrow more. Typically you can borrow anything from £3,000 to £50,000 although some lenders provide finance up to £100,000.

Also you can borrow the money over a longer repayment term which means you can reduce your monthly payments to an affordable amount by stretching the loan over a longer period.