Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997 – Deeds.com
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The Great Chicago Fire broke out in October 1871. It raged for two dark days, and destroyed much of the city. It didn’t spare the building that housed Cook County’s deed records. It also burned up many original records stored…
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We’re Ready to Close on a Home. But the Deed Holder Has Just Died.
Well, this gives a whole new meaning to the term closing. And yes, it happens. As the baby boomer generation continues to get older, it will likely happen even more. But it’s one thing that’s likely not on a home…
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AI Is Replacing Real Estate Professionals: True or False?
AI tools have been automating real estate sites, personalizing home searches, and handling a good deal of desk work for some time now. AI (artificial intelligence) gleans information from government records, the Multiple Listing Services, and other data sources. It’s…
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When Protectors Become Predators: Exposing Professionals Who Exploit Their Senior Clients
A few months ago in Miami, a real estate agent misused the power of attorney against a client. The agent bequeathed himself $1.6 million in oceanfront real estate that belonged to this customer, according to investigators. Also this year, in…
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Which Is the Better Starter Home: House or Condo?
You’re shopping around for a home of your own, in an area where houses cost close to half a million dollars. Along the way, you’ve found a nice-looking condo complex, with available units from $260K. You could buy a condo…
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Can Co-Owners Use a Transfer on Death Deed for Real Estate?
Can co-owners plan to pass a home along using the revocable transfer on death deed (TODD)? Yes. If your state recognizes the TOD deed (also known simply as TODD) for real estate, there will be an official state form. Alternatively…
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Philadelphia’s New Title Clearance Unit Is on a Roll
The new Title Clearance Unit is fast becoming an essential element of Philadelphia’s office of the Register of Wills. Its mission and focus? Helping Philadelphians who inherited family homes, but never formally transferred the deeds. John P. Sabatina, who…
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Should I Pay Off the Mortgage if I’m Single with No Heirs?
Hold on a minute. Are you sure you have no heirs? Somebody in an extended family is nearly always tracked down when someone dies intestate. Of course, that doesn’t rule out the point of your question. Let’s take a look…
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What Can a SRES® Agent Offer a Mature Home Buyer?
Have you heard about the Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®), from the National Association of REALTORS®? The SRES credential is a sign that an agent can support the goals and needs of older clients. The SRES agent has been trained…
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First Home Struggles: Parents Find New Ways to Help
Getting on the homeownership ladder has never been more challenging. Prices have soared in the past five years; wages haven’t. In expensive housing markets, young adults are approaching midlife with many resigned to renting forever. Parents, in-laws, grandparents or close…
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“Locking” Your Home Title? Read This First.
You might have seen ads urging you to get services that “lock” your title against deed theft. First, is deed theft really a thing? Next, if it is, do “title lock” companies really prevent it? Yes, and no. Let’s break…
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We’re Divorcing, But My Spouse Won’t Sell. What Now?
Forming two households out of one is a lot of work — financial, social, and emotional. And it’s much harder if the two don’t agree on how to manage the division of valuables. The most valuable asset in the mix?…
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County Recording Fees Are Barriers. And They’re Getting Higher
Each year, the attorneys at the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service help hundreds of people straighten out title issues — mainly, people living in multigenerational homes. They start by looking up county records. Quite a few of their cases involve straightening…
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Legal Aid Resources: Finding Free and Low-Cost Services for Seniors
Deeds.com offers updated, compliant real estate documents and forms. Now and then, a reader has situation-specific legal questions which require legal advice. Law firms can get expensive, but there are services available at low or no cost for older adults…
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New California Law Will Help Heirs to Fire-Damaged Properties Get Official Deeds
Senator Sasha Renée Pérez of Pasadena has proposed a change to California law. It would let Los Angeles County residents affected by January’s wildfires resolve missing deeds without a penalty. Missing documentation puts generational real estate assets at risk. It…
