Owning a home can be a very rewarding experience, but it can also come with headaches involving taxes, permits, upkeep and repair, fees, insurance and more. Look for more information here in our articles, blog posts, videos and radio shows about what it means to be a homeowner.
Easement May Solve Title Problem
When a property line is incorrectly recorded it results in title problems, which can delay or prevent a home sale. To resolve this kind of title problem, you have to correct the documents filed with the homeowners association and possibly create an easement so that the property line becomes acceptable. It may also be worthwhile to ask the developer to modify the documents that describe the property line.
Noisy Condominium Neighbors
Condominiums - What can you do if a neighbor violates condominium rules and regulations and your condo association won't do anything about it? You can try talking to your neighbor to see if you can resolve it. If that doesn't work, you may have to consider moving. If the neighbor's actions don't violate the law, there's nothing that can be done.
Capital Gains Taxes And Selling Real Estate
Homeowners will get a tax break in the form of capital gains if they sell real estate 2 years after its purchase date. The capital gains tax law allows homeowners to take the first $250,000 for a single homeowner or $500,000 for a married couple tax free, if they've lived there for 24 months before selling real estate. The capital gains tax break is worth it to the homeowner if they can live in the home for 2 years before putting the real estate up for sale.
Insurance Not Covering Mold Claim
A homeowner finds mold in her attic, but her insurance company refuses to honor the claim. It's important to read your homeowners insurance policy carefully -- most insurers are not covering mold claims except due to specific circumstances, like a burst pipe, and often not at all. Mold is often specifically excluded from coverage.
Links To Homeowner Association Web Sites
Links to Homeowner Association Web Sites
Children of Homeowners Perform Better
Did you know that children of homeowners are likely to perform better in school? As if super-low interest rates weren't enough of a reason to start looking for a new house, now a new study commissioned by the homeownership alliance says children of homeowners are likely to perform higher on academic achievement tests and are more likely to finish high school.
Homeowners Boost Kids School Performance and Other Money News
Being a homeowner can boost your child's performance in school. Children of homeowners score higher on achievement tests and are more likely to finish high school. In other money news, an Illinois Appeals Court upheld the lemon law rights of consumers who lease their vehicles, and the house of representatives approved $400 million dollars in grants to help low-income first time home buyers with down payments and closing costs.
For Sale By Owner: Getting The Most Profit From Your Home Sale
Most homeowners who choose to put their homes up for sale by owner do so in order to eliminate their real estate agent's commission and make more profit on their home sale. But homeowners who put their homes up for sale by owner should make sure they understand everything they are getting into. There are seminars homeowners can take to get up to speed on getting the most out of putting their home up for sale by owner, and they can also check out forsalebyowner.com
100 Years Of Housing
By the 1950s, homes were being built with bathrooms and kitchens, closets and a huge unfinished second floor for "someday" expansion. By the year 2000, newly-constructed homes had three or four bedrooms, two and a half baths, built-in washing machines and dryers, master suites, attached two or three car garages, built-in fireplaces, and central air. But perhaps the biggest changes in housing in the last 100 years center around the rate of homeownership and the actual price of homes.