Katie McCaskey

Sellers once again might want to consider "owner financing" as a method to get that house sold -- and reap some tax breaks, too.

Owner financing (also known as "seller financing," "taking back the note," or "an installment sale") is estimated to be used in 10 percent to 15 percent of today's home sales. The term describes a legal transaction in which the buyer obtains financing to purchase a home through the seller, instead of through traditional banks, credit unions or other lending institutions. Essentially, the buyer makes payments directly to the seller.

Buyer and seller agree on a purchase price, down payment, and regular monthly payments to the seller. Payments are spread over time, like an installment plan. This spreads the seller's taxes due on capital gains over time. Sellers are taxed only as principal is received.

Could seller financing work for you?

Craigslist's free classifieds are familiar to everyone from real estate agents to average homeowners trying to sell a home. The site covers 700 cities worldwide and is used by 50 million people per month. More than a billion real estate ads have been posted since the site's founding in 1995.

But do you know how to maximize your Craigslist ad for the best results?

Here are some "best practices" to follow when posting a home for sale on Craigslist. These tips apply to brokers and FSBO sellers alike:

Incorrectly pricing your home won't make it any easier to sell in this market. We recently explored some common home pricing mistakes.

Now we'll look at a few more mistakes sellers make pricing their home and how you can avoid disappointment:

Home selling No. 1? Not knowing what your home is really worth and pricing it incorrectly. Here's the ugly truth: your home is not what you think it's worth. Your home is what the market determines your home is worth. It's a reality that has upset a lot of people over the past 18 months and continues to flummox many.

Consider the two numbers (your price versus the market price) like two stars in a constellation. They may appear to be close enough to depict a shape, but, in reality are light years away. Fail to recognize reality and your chance of a sale may be as realistic as wishing on a star.

In this two-part series we'll look at common pricing mistakes. Evaluate your asking price closely and see if any of these ring true:

Once upon a time a majority of people followed this seemingly fiscally sound path: Buy a home, spend your working years paying it off, and then sell it so you can trade down once the kids left. Magically, all that built-up equity could fund your retirement.

What a fairy tale!

Today the baby boomers are discovering that selling their home isn't the golden ticket it once was, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Journal references a Harvard study that indicates that "mobility rates among seniors have posted the sharpest drop." When the costs of moving and selling a home at a loss are evaluated, it makes financial sense for some seniors to stay put. Others find themselves underwater due to the housing market collapse or natural disaster.

What happens to the retirement wishes of all those folks who anticipated heavy paydays with the sale of their home? And what can younger generations learn from this?

Attention, Generation Y! You're screwing everything up -- again! Apparently, there are relatively few members of Gen Y, those born from 1977 to 1989, who are homeowners -- still.

First came the accusations that young adults -- those self-esteem-inflated, coddled slackers -- were a contributing factor to the housing bubble. Why? Because Gen Y was too busy prioritizing trips to Europe or avoiding "real life" by going to grad school than "doing the right thing": getting a job, and paying the mortgage. As for those rare Gen Y rascals with homes -- let's point to them as morally deficient examples of people who walk away from mortgages!

Let's not stop there, though. Let's blame all those bratty Gen Y members who can't get it together enough to even have a mortgage -- yes, you, dear renter! Don't you realize that if you're not buying an entry-level house, you are screwing it up for everyone else? If you're not buying we (the older folks) can't sell our homes and move into larger (or smaller) ones?

Message from Gen Y: Well, old-timers, we have taken two seconds to consider home ownership. What we've concluded is that, best case, it will take the majority of us 10 years or more to buy a house (if we ever decide to buy!) ... and, our preferences are shaping both the rental market and the buying market, so ... get used to it.

If you care to listen, here's how:

Capt. Michael Clauer of Frisco, Texas was deployed and serving his country in Iraq when the Heritage Lakes Homeowners Association decided to sell his family's home.

The story is an especially surprising one considering that the HOA foreclosed on the home owned by Capt. Clauer, who serves in the Army Reserve, and his wife May because their monthly association dues of $800 were late, and that the company that manages the HOA proceeded to sell the house without notifying them.

Even more shockingly, Select Management, which oversees the Heritage Lakes housing development, sold the Clauers' home to a bidder for just $3,500. That purchaser, in turn, flipped it to another owner. And here's the clincher: The Clauers owned their $300,000 home free and clear.

May Clauer told HousingWatch, "We think our case demonstrates how much power HOAs have in Texas. HOAs can take away your home without a court order, which is more power than our local government has. We did not know HOAs could do that."

Turns out crystal meth, a synthetic illegal drug that is extremely destructive to humans, is almost as bad for home values. And the chances that meth has been produced in your dream house are greater than you might think.

It's normally hard to detect, but meth residue can produce highly toxic fumes. So how will you know if tweakers used your future home as an illegal drug lab?

In Ohio, a new law requires owners to disclose to their real estate agents whether the harsh synthetic street drug has ever been manufactured in their home before putting it up for sale. Motor vehicles are also covered in the bill. The Ohio House unanimously passed the Methamphetamine Awareness and Notification Act on May 20. It is awaiting a vote from the Ohio Senate.

One glance at public awareness campaigns such as the sensationalist Faces of Meth will give you a good sense of the dangers associated with the drug. But it's unclear whether a law meant to restrict sales of meth-tainted properties will be effective, or whether it is even necessary.

As suburban sprawl continues and traffic demands increase everywhere, more homeowners are faced with an annoying byproduct: noise.

But there are numerous ways to fight noise. We'll start with your yard. Several "green" solutions exist that, when combined, can reduce the perception of noise.

Here are some things you can do.

Three piggies went to market, and one piggy's owner bought a home. Not bad for an 18-year-old! Indeed, the homespun tale of Lindsay Binegar provides a good lesson for all would-be home buyers.

First of all, it required a lot more than just three pigs to save up $40,000. Yet that's how much cash Lindsay Binegar of Greenfield, Ohio managed to save from showing and selling pigs at 4-H competitions and county fairs. Starting at age 4, she simply saved, saved, and saved.

Amazingly, Lindsay used all her accumulated funds to purchase an investment property: a four-bedroom, two-bath, two-car-garage home -- in cash.

Did you just squeal like a pig? You're not alone. Since news of this broke Monday people have been "tossing the pigskin," so to speak, in a series of armchair-quarterback sessions about Miss Binegar's purchase.

So before you add your own thoughts, here's how Lindsay did it and what you can learn from it:

Until recently homeowners had two choices if they wanted to visualize changes to their home in 3-D: make use of their imagination or hire the services of a professional.

But now there exists a wide range of web-based and mobile tools to help visualize your home in three dimensions. Don't make the mistake to think this is all about rearranging furniture, either. Three-dimensional representation of your home can help sell it, too.

"Floor plans are an absolutely critical part of selling a home in the internet age." says Joseph Himali, founder of Best Address, a brokerage firm specializing in luxury real estate in the Washington, D.C. region. "Interactive floor plans are the latest level of convenience. They help buyers imagine themselves in the property and that helps them make the 'buying decision.'"

I took two web-based applications and one mobile app for a design test drive: Homestyler.com, Floorplanner.com, and Home 3D.

Bridgehampton's favorite uptown girl, former supermodel Christie Brinkley, is listing her largest real estate asset, Tower Hill, for $30 million.

The 11-bedroom, 9-bathroom mansion on Brick Kiln Road was built in 1898. It sits atop 20 acres of immaculate, beachside property she once shared with her ex-husband, architect Peter Cook. The farmhouse-style, stone foundation Victorian sits 200 feet above sea level.

Might Brinkley's "Tower Hill" have originally been named after a popular song?

Actor Larry Hagman -- fondly remembered for his role as J.R. in the 1980s hit "Dallas" -- has listed his Ojai, Calif., home for $9.3 million.

The Mediterranean-style home sits on Sulpher Mountain Road in Ojai, with views of the ocean, the Channel Islands and surrounding Ventura Valley. The 18,000-square-foot home has nine bedrooms, thirteen bathrooms, two half-baths, and large sliding glass walls that provide a panoramic view almost anywhere in the house. The home also features a gorgeous swimming pool, garden and a helipad.

But there's more. The home includes a subtle homage to Southfork Ranch, the beloved soap opera's compound, and is recognized for its energy use -- or rather, lack thereof.

What happens to "zombie" commercial spaces and, in particular, those dead shopping malls? Is your local "zombie mall" the masked, serial slasher in your hometown's struggle for economic recovery?

The recession has left many desolate malls and office buildings in its wake, and this poses a potential economic crisis. If these malls and commercial properties fail, they could take down hundreds of small and medium-sized banks with them. This, in turn, may lead to reduced lending and even eviction of families from rental properties, MSNBC recently reported.

Shopping malls were particularly hard hit by the economic crisis that began in 2008, as consumers reined in their legendary spending and national chains such as Circuit City, Sharper Image, and Lillian Vernon went bust, leaving gaping vacancies at many shopping centers. Suddenly, the mall -- the temple of American consumerism -- was in trouble. Today, consumer spending is still down and commercial property values have fallen 40 percent from their peak. The landscape is littered with struggling or dead malls.

There are no government programs for underwater commercial property owners who owe more than the property is worth. Has the time come for the shopping mall to be reinvented?

For many people, the answer is yes. In fact, you might be surprised by some of the folks who have publicly rejected the mall concept.

Are you announcing your whereabouts on Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, or other social media platforms?

The pitfalls of too much sharing have been all too evident lately, with a rash of robberies and destructive party-crashings after the victims publicized their plans on social media sites.

Apparently, insurance companies have noticed as well. Be warned: You could be one status update away from higher home insurance premiums. (#OMG. #HigherHomeInsurance?)

At least, this is the speculation of the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph.