Q: Last summer we refinanced our farm home. Line 103 of the settlement statement indicated that we had settlement charges of about $4,000. A month or so later, we listed the property for sale and it closed at the end of last year. Our question is can we claim the $4,000 on our income tax [...]
In 2010, the official unemployment rate stood at around 10 percent, and there were 5 people looking for every job that was available. Last August, the Treasury Department announced that unemployed homeowners could get a 3-month forbearance on their mortgage payments while they looked for a job. Unfortunately, the program, called the Home Affordable Unemployment [...]
Q: I had a partnership with another guy for 30 years with a buy and sell agreement and with a right of first refusal. We owned a building with several stores. His wife received the rents and paid the bills. I had the security money and did the books. At one point in time he [...]
When the housing bubble burst in 2008, cities like Miami, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Detroit gained immediate notoriety for the huge downturn their real estate markets experienced. During the boom these markets experienced huge growth and skyrocketing home prices, and when those prices fell, they came down hard. The Great Recession is by no means [...]
We all know how it feels to return home from a great vacation wishing you could go back more regularly. It's not uncommon to dream of buying your own vacation home in a location that has provided your family with great pleasure. Given today's market conditions and dropping home values, this dream is within reach for [...]
Where Are the Jobs? on the Ilyce Glink Show July 10, 2011: Barron's titles it, "The Horror Story." The Wall Street Journal has labeled the situation, "The Jobs Double Dip." But if you are one of the 9.2 percent of Americans who are "officially" unemployed (the U-6, a comprehensive gauge of labor underutilization, puts the [...]
How does probate work without a will? The purpose of probate is to distribute assets and debt, if there is no will, the estate may not need to go through it. Q: What happens, if a person passes away and no one files probate because the estate has no assets? Do any of the deceased [...]
Q: We are closing on a house next week. It's a short sale in a nice neighborhood at a huge discount. All the papers are in order. The deal went smoothly but took 8 weeks. The seller’s bank wants a copy of the appraisal from my lender that I paid for. The seller’s lender is [...]
I’ve been hearing lately from homeowners who are preparing to list their homes for sale. They know the market isn’t great, but they’ve been waiting for a year or two to move on with their lives (this is known in the industry as “pent-up demand”) and have decided to go for it. Whether your home [...]
Q: My job is relocating out of Atlanta about a year from now. I have contacted three real estate firms in the Forsyth county area where we live, but they are not taking listing. I have no idea what the reality is of selling a home in this market and do not know what properties [...]
