Each year we post our financial resolutions for home sellers for the new year. With the current state of our financial system, you need to keep your financial house and home in good shape. I know someone who sold a house this year. It took them seven months, and they had to cut their price [...]
A recap of the 2011 real estate market and the top 4 real estate New Year's financial Resolutions with real estate and personal finance advice Over the past 18 years that we’ve been writing this column, we’ve offered New Year’s Resolutions for home buyer and home sellers, plus New Year’s Financial Resolutions that everyone can [...]
When you sell a Second Home, you may not get the tax advantages unless the home was an investment property and can defer capital gains. Q: We are considering selling a second home to find another one closer in proximity to our permanent home. We do not want to sell until we find another house [...]
It's better to inherit property from your parents or family members rather than receiving it through a quit claim deed. The tax implications of receiving a property through a quit claim deed are much greater than inheriting a property. When estate planning, it's better to put the property in a will or trust, rather than transfer the property through a quit claim deed.
Inheriting timeshares and how to avoid an inherited timeshare. As part of estate planning, inheriting timeshares should be considered in order to avoid undue hardship. There are many benefits and obligations associated with timeshare ownership and inheriting timeshares. Fees and maintenance can make executors want to learn how to avoid an inherited timeshare. Passing property ownership through estate planning can make inheriting timeshares a burden depending upon the executor's wish to avoid an inherited timeshare.
A HUD home is nothing more than a house that was purchased with an FHA loan that has since fallen into foreclosure. (I’m not sure why these homes aren’t called “FHA foreclosures,” which would be more intuitive for home buyers and investors, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] is the federal office [...]
Beware of paying subordination fees in a mortgage refinance. Refinance your mortgage twice and you might be paying subordination fees during the mortgage refinance. If you refinance your home mortgage with two lenders, you may be responsible for paying subordination fees. Paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance marks one lender as the primary mortgage lender and one as the secondary mortgage lender. Paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance allows the primary mortgage lender to grant your mortgage refinance. Make sure you understand paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance when refinancing your home mortgage a second time.
Buying a foreclosed property might include taking ownership of unpaid back taxes. If you buy a foreclosed house with liens or back taxes, you could be held responsible for paying the liens and back taxes upon purchase of the home or property. Buying a short sale should not make a buyer subject to liens or back taxes. Know the difference between a short sale, foreclosed property and an REO property and make sure you research the property to see if the home has any unpaid real estate taxes or liens.
How does the HUD Bidding Process work? For all HUD homes, there is an automated bidding process to purchase a HUD home. Buyers who want to purchase a HUD home for a primary residence usually have a lead over real estate investors. A HUD certified real estate agent can help you purchase a HUD home through the HUD bidding process.
If you are making the largest investment of your life, wouldn't you want to make sure you are protected by obtaining and buying title insurance? When you buy title insurance on a house, a title company gives you certain guarantees that you are the rightful owner of the home and certain other title protections. Title insurance does not protect you against future title problems that might develop nor does it protect you from fire or other casualties. But if you are paying cash to a seller are you certain the seller will give you good title to the home?
