Will adding a child to the title of a property increase property taxes? A father wants to add his child to the title to his home, but his child is worried that this will increase property taxes. She might be worried about the wrong thing. Q: I was wondering if you might be able to [...]
A personal residence became a rental property and was put into an LLC. How do you calculate the cost basis and taxes owed now and in the future on the property? Q: I read your Real Estate Matters article every Sunday in the Columbus Dispatch, and they have been very helpful in understanding many of [...]
Mortgage rates are on the rise and hurting buyers. Here's what you need to know if you plan to buy a home this year. The worst of all possible confluences for home buyers got a bit worse this week: Mortgage interest rates jumped up again, to the highest level in five years. At the same [...]
Mobile homes and property titles: What you need to know to ensure your mobile home is properly insured and recorded in your name. Q: In September 2017, you wrote an article about how "title insurers don't deal with mobile-home issues" in our local Ohio paper. This is exactly our situation. We have contacted the motor [...]
What happens to a quit claim deed when a spouse dies? It all depends on the type of deed transfer and their estate plans. Q: What happens if you and your wife own a home through a quit claim deed and the spouse dies? We live in the State of Maine. A: A quit claim [...]
Is a home seller on the line for fulfilling inspector recommendations? They just might be if they really want the sale to go through. Q: My agent is insisting that I hire a licensed, bonded contractor to pump water from my crawl space. The inspector "recommends" this. I didn't have a license bonded contractor do [...]
I’m struggling to pay my mortgage. What are my options? Is it worth going back to a high paying job but missing out on time with the kids? Here’s what I suggest: Q: I need $8,000 to bring my mortgage to date. It costs me $1,000 per month. I have $100,000 in equity. It seems [...]
My ex has a home equity line of credit on my home. Now what? First step is to talk to your divorce lawyer before making any more real estate deals. Q: I have a house that is paid off that I own in my name only. My soon to be ex-husband has an equity line [...]
How to get started with long distance home buying to make sure your big move goes as smoothly as possible. Q: After living in the same house for over 40 years, my wife and I are planning to move across country a year from this summer. How does one go about finding a house from [...]
Is now the right time to sell your rental property? We may be in a seller’s market, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get the most bang for your rental property buck. Q: As always, you give us a lot of good real estate information in your columns. Here's a question regarding my rental home in [...]
