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RALEIGH — The falling economy and growing concern about dependence on foreign oil are stirring second thoughts about the possibility of drilling off the North Carolina coast.

Q: I would like to ask your opinion about a real estate investment. It appears that the timing is right to buy a beach condo as an investment, assuming that the rental history is good and that the unit is in sound condition. We are looking at the Myrtle Beach, S.C., area. I have some rental houses in North Carolina, but don’t know much about beach real estate. Are there red flags that I should …

The housing rescue package that Congress scrambled to pass in July was aimed primarily at stemming foreclosures and shoring up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But it also contains provisions that make reverse mortgages a better deal for older homeowners who want to turn their equity into cash.

Lawmakers are paying attention to reverse mortgages because these once-marginal products have exploded over the past decade, thanks to low interest rates and rising home values. The federal government, which backs more than 90% of all such loans through the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, guaranteed 107,400 reverse mortgages last year, up from 7,900 in 1998. What’s more, an industry group estimates that even after the drop in housing prices, seniors’ equity in their homes was worth $4.2 trillion at the end of 2007. (more…)

The first building on UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina North campus will have three-story glass facades, solar panels and metal curtain walls with vertical sun shades to reduce energy costs.