Paying Taxes on a Home Owned with Kids Q: Our daughter and son-in-law lived in and paid all related expenses for three years in a home we purchased together. They recently sold the home. Could you tell us how we can report this on our federal tax return? If not, can you tell us where [...]
Every year, Ilyce and Sam offer their Home Buyer, Home Seller, and Personal Finance Resolutions for the new year. This year, they’re adding 2025 Housing Trends. What will 2025 bring for housing trends? As we move into the beginning of the second quarter of the 21st century, it’s interesting to see how real estate (and [...]
Selling a Home in an Irrevocable Trust Q: I read your article on living trusts recently. You detail the workings of property in a revocable trust and what one should do with the funds upon the sale of the property. Would the same things apply to an irrevocable trust? I am the creator of a [...]
Zoning: Selling Separate Lots Q: We bought our home in 1984. The deed read that the home was built on one of two separate lots. We are now thinking about moving. In considering our options, we realized the property values in our neighborhood have increased dramatically. In fact, they’re so high that we’re thinking of [...]
Passing Inspection Before Sale A reader wants to know how to avoid a village-required inspection that will require updates to their property Q: This may be a question for Sam. We live in a village that requires us to purchase transfer stamps in order to sell our home. But for us to get the stamp, [...]
Every year, Ilyce and Sam offer their readers New Year’s resolutions for home buyers, sellers and their personal finances. These are their 2023 Home Seller Resolutions. We feel like a broken record, but 2022 was still one of the best years on record for home sellers. Despite mortgage interest rates rising at an all-time blistering [...]
Why pocket listings are a disservice to home sellers. This reader had an agent who used a pocket listing to market exclusively to a religious community. Q: I’ve been following your discussion of pocket listings with interest. I had an unfortunate experience with a broker who used a pocket listing to try to sell my [...]
Can you sell a house if you are on the title but not the mortgage? Two names were on the title, but only one was on the mortgage when one spouse died. Q: My stepfather bought a house in Miami in 1999 and he included my mom on the title of the property at that [...]
Do I have to pay a buyer’s agent commission? This home seller doesn’t feel like the buyer’s real estate agent has done anything to deserve commission. Q: I am a seller who has an agent that claims he has a buyer for my property. He wants to do a pocket listing. I am absolutely outraged [...]
What is the difference between a trust and a life estate? And is it easier to sell a home that's held in a trust or in a life estate? How do I find out if I am listed on a trust? Q: Not really a question as much as a comment on your story about [...]
