Do you have noise issues with rotten neighbors? How to deal with neighbor issues in a homeowner's association. Q: I borrowed your book for first-time home buyers from the library a few years ago. I need to read it again and this time I’ll buy it. But in the meantime, I’m hoping you can answer [...]
Trying to decide if you should buy a new house and rent out your old house? A good idea is to decide whether it will be a short or long term investment. Q: My wife and I have saved about $225,000 and want to buy a bigger home with the cash. We owe about $120,000 [...]
What does the coming year promise for residential real estate investing? Will it be a good time to try your hand at buying a foreclosure and renting it out? Will rising home values be a positive or negative factor? Where will the best markets be for investors? For investors, who account for one out of [...]
Refinancing a rental property or an upside down mortgage? Options for refinancing an underwater mortgage. Q: We received an invitation from a loan company to refinance a rental home we own. Our current lender is in partnership with this company. The interest rate on our current loan is 6.25 percent with about 22 years left [...]
When dealing with tenant problems, you should first review the lease document to determine if they have violated a lease term. Q: My parents own two apartments in the same building in San Antonio. I recently moved into one of them but the other one was leased until September 2012. My father had some items [...]
As homeowners are struggling to sell their homes, some are instead turning to an alternative option: renting. In addition, more companies are swooping into the market offering to rent homes for struggling homeowners, and more investors are snapping up cheap properties in order to rent them out. With so many new homes hitting the rental [...]
Have you moved and decided to rent out your old house rather than sell it at today’s depressed prices? Are you renting out your vacation property? Did you buy a foreclosure or short sale with a residential mortgage and—after you fixed it up—begin renting it out while waiting until you can sell it and make [...]
If you are renting your condo, it's important to know your condo association's rules and regulations and try negotiating rental fees. Q: I read your column every Sunday. I own a condominium in Virginia and rent it out. I realize condominium associations try to limit renters to make sure they are an FHA-approved building and [...]
Can you trust a company that is offering to rent your home in exchange for purchasing a new home? This deal may not make financial sense. Q: I just read an article in my local paper about a company that offers a service that guarantees the rent of an existing home for three years (and [...]
How to avoid a foreclosure on a rental property: instead of letting a rental property go into foreclosure, attempt to refinance your mortgage or try a short sale. Q: My husband and I are contemplating allowing our rental property to go into foreclosure and desperately need your advice. When we married in 2010, we had [...]
