In a highly unusual step, the Department of Energy has quietly rescinded a final rule on minimum energy efficiency standards for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps that was published in the final days of the Clinton Administration, replacing it with one calling for a slightly lower seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER).
In the last couple of years, many housing markets have improved to the point that homes offered for sale frequently have multiple offers, raising the final selling price equal to or above the listing price. Does that mean in hot seller"s markets that buyers overpay? What can be done to make sure that buyers are treated fairly and don"t become disillusioned in a multiple-offer situation?
Fairfax County, Virginia, home to founding fathers George Washington and George Mason, is still at the heart of patriotic homebuying. The area is in a rising sellers market.