Does Paying Property Taxes Give Ownership of the Home? Q: Someone paid my deceased uncle's property taxes before I could pay them. Does this mean that person now owns the property? The property has a mortgage on it. What should I do next? Does paying property taxes mean you own a home? A: Here’s the [...]
HOA: Can we shut down our HOA? What can a small community do if no one wants to step up and manage the homeowner association? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCg1nR3GzfU Q: We live in a small townhome community of 24 houses in Maryland. We have a homeowner’s association (HOA), and it is generally very mellow, without any [...]
Do we owe tax on the sale of our parents' home? Paying tax on the sale of your parents' home can be costly if you don't plan ahead. Q: My parents gave their house to their children but continued to live in it and pay all expenses related to the home. Life happened, and my [...]
What to do when your homeowners association is making life difficult? What do HOA's do? Q: I read the article you wrote about first-time homebuyers and homeowners associations. The State of Florida has a lot of gated communities and along with that typically comes a powerful homeowners association (HOA). Unfortunately, I didn't know that when [...]
Will my son inherit the house? Q: I purchased a house with my married son several years ago for him to live in. My husband and I gave him the money for the down payment. Only my credit was checked when we purchased it. Both my son's name and my name are on the deed [...]
What to do with inherited property that is leased? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeQ0uX-Li4w Tenants, leases, and inherited property. What happens when you inherit property but it comes with a tenants? Are there options for handling with this lease? Q: My brother and I inherited several acres of commercial property from our parents. The land came with [...]
What are some common homeowner association problems? So many homeowners have problems with their homeowner association. Whether you live in a condo, co-op, a townhome or subdivision, each version of a homeowner association has a set of common problems that everyone will face. Sometimes it's mismanagement of the homeowner association itself or the association hires [...]
Selling a home outside the U.S.? You may owe taxes to the IRS. Q: I sold my house in my home country of Guatemala last year for around $90,000. The buyer paid me half of the sales price by wire transfer to my United States bank account. The other half was paid to me to [...]
Am I required to pay tax on sale of foreign property? Q: I sold my house in my home country of Guatemala last year for around $90,000. The buyer paid me half of the sales price by wire transfer to my United States bank account. The other half was paid to me to an account [...]
Transferring property to your child? Here's what to do Q: My husband and I want to give or sell our house to our newly married daughter, who is our only child. She will inherit the house when we pass and receive the benefit of the stepped-up basis at that time, but we hope to be [...]
