Renting a home can be easier than owning a home, but it requires its own special set of circumstances. Whether you’re the renter or the landlord, look at the articles, columns, blog posts, radio shows and videos for more information about renting a home.
Condominium Building Should Limit Rentals
A condominium association can permit any owner to rent out their unit, or place restrictions on renting a home. An owner would like to have this rule changed to cap rentals. Once you change the condominium declaration or the rules and regulations, you'll have to let everyone know about the new rule and then whether to grandfather in existing rental units or make people move when the lease ends. Ilyce explains the 70/30 rule for owner occupancy and why limiting rentals is good for the building.
Helping Elderly Parents Deal With Home
Elderly homeowners have a mobile home that they would like to sell but can't get insurance for the property because it is being rented. The homeowners should find an insurance company that may allow you to add a rider to the existing policy to cover the mobile home should anything happen to it before is sells. But it's a good idea to get this property sold as soon as possible to avoid dealing with insurance and other problems.
Buy Insurance To Protect Rental Property
When you own multiple rental properties you may begin to worry about tenant lawsuits. Is creating an LLC a way to avoid lawsuits when you own rental property? Buying an umbrella liability insurance policy may be a better idea.
Helping Parent With Mortgage Payments
A son-in-law wants to help his widowed mother-in-law with her mortgage payments, but be able to deduct the amounts on his income taxes. Is a quit claim deed the best way to handle this for legal and tax purposes? If the son-in-law purchases the home, he could deduct the real estate tax payments and mortgage interest payments on his taxes.
Helping Parents Plan Retirement Housing
A daughter has suggested her near-retirement parents gift her the money from selling their home so she can buy them a new one and live in rent free. It would be much less complicated if the parents bought themselves a new home or saved the money for their retirement. Or, if the daughter can afford it, buy the parents a home for their retirement and have them pay rent to the daughter.
Condo Board Disallows Rentals
A reader owns and rents out a townhouse in Virginia. The board has proposed to completely disallow rentals, therefore disrupting her retirement income. Sam and Ilyce suggest looking for other successful litigation regarding changes in home assoication by-laws in Virginia.
Renting Out Home
What do you do if you've purchased a new home but are unable to sell your old home? You could decide to lease or rent it. If you do that, you have to consider the primary residence tax exemption. To be sure whatever type of lease you sign covers all your concerns. Talk to a real estate attorney to have all your bases covered.
1031 Doesn’t Work Overseas
A 1031 exchange allows you to defer taxes when selling a home by purchasing another one within a certain time period. Unfortunately, 1031 exchange laws do not allow for purchases outside the U.S. Current 1031 exchange rules require you to have designated a replacement property within 45 days of closing on your original property and then to close on the new property within 180 days.
Landlord Suing For Rent
A renter had his lease transferred from a two bedroom to one bedroom apartment. Now that he has moved out, the landlord is insisting he owes one month of rent. The renter needs to look at his lease to see what terms he and the landlord agreed to.