Real estate round-up: October 11

Check in every business day for the latest edition of Real Estate Round-up, where we post a list of our favorite real estate news stories from DC and beyond.

Headlines from the DC Metro Area: Condos: Still a good investment? Washington Post If a building isn't FHA-approved, private lenders may require buyers to put 20 percent of the sale price down � a difficult financial hurdle for many first-time buyers. Washington putting foreclosure trouble in rear view mirror Washington Times Foreclosures are not playing a significant role in the District market but they do attract investors and multiple bids. Sometimes new housing is old housing Washington City Paper A 407-unit complex, though, currently sits half empty�a waste of good living space. It's a great sign, then, that W.C. Smith bought the lot for $12.525 million in early September.

National real estate news stories: Triggers for mortgage rejection The New York Times Lenders' underwriting criteria have become more rigorous in recent years; some banks have tightened up beyond federal requirements. Here are the six biggest triggers for rejection, according to industry experts. Should a first-time homebuyer be a land lord? Wall Street Journal Unless you buy a fixer upper at a discount, rehab it and resell it quickly, the only way to make money in real estate is to hold on to a property until it appreciates.

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