A homeowner found that parts of their property were actually part of a neighboring lot and contacted the builder. The builder moved everything but the driveway, which a neighbor said was still part of his property. The homeowner is considering going after the builder for not properly taking care of the problem.
When a homeowner buys a home or refinances his or her mortgage, the homeowner will borrow money from a lender, paying off any existing loans and leaving only one loan on the property. If you payoff the loan early, the lender looses the money it would have made in the future. With that in mind, many lenders protect themselves from early prepayments on loans by forcing the homeowner to pay a penalty if he or she decides to pay off the loan before the end of the loan term.
Many fees are involved in paying off a mortgage. To pay off a mortgage, a homeowner needs to contact his or her lender and request a payoff letter, for which lenders often charge a processing fee. In addition to this processing fee mortgage lenders also charge a fee to fax the payoff letter to you.
A prepayment penalty requires a homeowner to pay a fee to pay off a loan. It's rarely a good idea to get a loan with a prepayment penalty. What most borrowers don't understand is that the prepayment penalty kicks in even if you're selling your home, not just refinancing it.
A 1031 Exchange refers to the sale of one investment property for the purchase of another. The basic principle is that a seller of one property buys a second property for more money and defers any capital gains taxes he would have realized on the sale of the first property. But be cautious with this exchange, as there are specific IRS rules relating to property transfers between related parties.
A buyer of a vacant lot learned that the sellers owe three years of back taxes on the property. If the back taxes are not paid before, or at, the closing, the buyer will become responsible for them. A real estate attorney can help this buyer ensure he is protected from having to pay the back taxes on this property.
When you enter into a lease, you are entering into a contract for the specified term in the document. If the tenant fails to pay rent for the time indicated in the lease, he or she will is still responsible for the rent for the months that the apartment was vacant during that time period. In most cases, a landlord can apply the security deposit towards the lost rent caused by a tenant's early termination of the lease.
In some states, buyers have the right to pursue action against a builder for issues in their new home. But getting a builder to fix problems in a new home depends on what is outlined in the warranty. In this case, the buyer might be protected because the builder tried unsuccessfully several times to fix the problem.
The only way to defer the payment of capital gains or depreciation taken on rental property is for the homeowner to sell this investment property and purchase another one in a like-kind exchange, also known as a "Starker exchange" or a "1031 exchange." A 1031 exchange means the seller sells his first property and generally buys a second investment property of equal or greater value. A 1031 exchnage doesn't eliminate any taxes owed, it just defers them until this new property is sold.
How can a home seller know if they'll pay capital gains taxes on the sale of their home? In general, if you live in a property for two out of the prior five years, and the property was your primary residence for two years, you are entitled to exclude $250,000 of the gain in the sale of the home from any taxes. Determining the "basis" of a home will also help calculate capital gains taxes.
