barbara corcoran has some advice. let's get right to it.>> this is my wife kristen, we just recently bought a house here, a fixer upper, we bought it in a down market, thought it might be a good investment. now that we're done with improvements to the interior, what is a good investment and should we continue into the yard with landscaping? we'll probably have to put it on the rental market when the military moves us away in the not too distant future. >> you have perfect timing, you bought at the absolute bottom of the market and the market has been creeping up about 2.5%. should you decide to sell it or in fact rent it, you'll have no problem renting the unit. because they're renting homes like yours in 10 to 20 days. there are a couple of great military websites that are only open to you and really move houses. this is the front of the house. that there is the front of the house. it's saying, please, please, give me some curb appeal. of course, many things have to be changed, but it's a simple matter of landscaping here. it just doesn't

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barbara corcoran has five really important tips for those people.ve some great women in the house talking about beauty and being over 50. a lot of women start worrying about losing their looks. i don't know what you're laughing about over there. but, the point is, it is bloody cold out here. >> it really is. >> let us go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk and has a check of all the headlines. >> we have a developing story this morning. the death toll is mounting after a apparent suicide bombing rocked the international arrivals hall at moscow's busiest airport. nbc producer in moscow. what is the latest there? >> natalie, the latest numbers we're hearing so far from russian officials and media reports 31 dead and 130 injured. now, that number could climb. they say this happened in the baggage claim area of the international arrivals area. i have flown through there many times it's a relatively cramped area. three or four flights there and you would have a lot of people packed pretty close together. a huge explosion. president medvedev c

today real estate contributor barbara corcoran is here to tell us what we can expect. s, in the new year? >> well, it's a wild guess, as you know. from everything that i'm watching i'm expecting a year very similar to this one. i wish i could say i expected a remarkable turnaround. but i think the market is slow and the largest part out there dampening the market is the financing problems. people are having a heck of a time getting their own home refinanced and people are having a hard time qualifying for financing on a new home. so the mortgage market is really the enemy here. >> the headlines think year, where the mortgage rates, where you could get a mortgage, they were decent. and foreclosures, what can we expect on those? >> foesh collar yours certainly slow down a little bit at the end of the year. but the reason for that, sadly, was so many people had already lost their homes to the foreclosure rate dampened a bit. but we'll see more foreclosures. the problem with the foreclosures is it really determines market value. if your neighbor sells his house for 30% less

barbara corcoran has tips on this.uestions you need to ask yourself before you go to your parents and ask for money? >> you have to ask whether you can afford the loan and can repay it. both those are key questions you should be asking. if your parents canned afford the loan or you can't afford to repay it, it shouldn't be a loan that happens. >> when you go about this, are you asking for a favor from your parents or a business deal with your parents? >> i think to preserve the dignity of the child, you often feel like you're asking for a business deal, legitimate loan. the truth of the matter, most of these loans, the great majority get renegotiated down the road and very often can't be repaid. it's very often a favor. >> if the child is going to the parent in the first place, it's often because they don't qualify with a bank. if they don't qualify with a bank, there's a reason for that. the parent is assuming a great deal of financial risk. >> the only caveat there, however, is that today, banks are very stingy on lo

from a ranch home with mountain views to a classic colonial today barbara corcoran has terrific homes. we have a great home outside houston, texas, the clear lake area, listed for $309,000. what will that get you? >> it gets you one big 3,000 square foot house in the clear lake city area which is one of the best areas of the city. it has one of the largest marinas in the country, ballet company and symphony orchestra. a sophisticated place. there is the charm of the house, in my opinion. a sparkling blue pool out back. beautiful landscaping, your own paradise. inside, there are tons of windows, lots of light. it shows like a show case house. it has a lot of slate tile floors which is unusual. most people don't tend to put that in homes. >> why not? >> it's hard on the feet honestly. >> cold, too. >> but it's maintenance-free and unifies the rooms in the house. the dining room, a window off to the left and a spare little dining room. >> in case you need a spare. >> pick your place to have dinner. >> a lot of home for $309,000. our next home is in memphis, tennessee. another great town.

barbara corcoran has empg from a new england farmhouse to a classic cottage and a wine country bungalowe awards inside as the celebrity fashion outside on the red carpet. this year did not disappoint. yowza. if you want to look like a star but you don't want to pay rock star prices, we'll show you how to get celebrity-inspired dresses at bargain prices. jill martin will show us that. >> yowza. >> two words, halle berry. >> first a check of the top stories from natalie at the news desk this morning. good morning. >> good morning. more now on the wintry blast that's slamming the northeast again today. we go to the weather channel's mike seidel braving the snow in boston. mike, good morning. >> another week, another storm. the third big one in boston since christmas. we are looking at four to six inches. it will wrap up in a few hours. they have had more snow already than they see in an entire season. traffic is slow today, spinouts, accidents. schools, boston public schools were closed yesterday. many other districts closed this morning. state employees don't have to come in until 11:00.

"today's" real estate contributor and our brick house, barbara corcoran is here with tours of homes across going to go to nashville, tennessee, music city, got a three bedroom home priceded at $159,900. >> everybody loves nashville and this is a ranch home that sits way back on a private lot with a big front lawn, if you like to mow. look at all that grass. the house is a brick and stone facade, here's a better close-up for you. it's a bit unusual, not to everyone's taste. easy to change those shutters, colors or whatever you want to do with the house. all the rooms inside have beautiful hardwood floors, there's not a room without them. there's a brick fireplace, it's a working fireplace, the house is in great shape, it shows very well. in fact better on the inside than the outside. the dividing wall faces a living room and behind it we just saw that dining room. the kitchen could use a little bit of an update. not much of an update. >> what do you think they should do? >> i think the cabinets should be lightened. it needs new counter tops and a nice colorful back splash and you feel like