CHICAGO (Reuters) – Nicholas Kennedy was in a rush to sell his condo in Sherman Oaks, California. He and his wife have a 3-month-old girl, and the couple wanted to be close to their families in the Dallas, Texas area.

So they met with area real estate agent Ben Salem about quickly offloading their 4-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath unit. Salem had some conventional suggestions – and one that surprised them.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Coverdell education savings accounts have never really drawn many headlines, even when unexpectedly saved from extinction as part of Washington’s “fiscal cliff” deal.

Much like the 529 college savings programs that are familiar to many people, Coverdell ESAs are accounts where earnings grow tax-free, as long as withdrawals are used for qualified education expenses such as books, supplies or transportation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When Kellie and Michael May decided to refinance their home in the New York suburbs, they wanted to take advantage of historically low interest rates. But before landing a new 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, they had to get through a home appraisal.

“It was a major stumbling block,” says Kellie May, who has owned the 4-bedroom, 3-bath colonial for seven years. Not that she and her husband were unprepared; they’d been through an appraisal for another refinance in 2010, so they knew to point out improvements they’d made to the 3,400 square foot home, and supply prices for other neighborhood properties that had sold recently.