Category: Real Estate
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Giving Your Adult Child a Gift of Equity: How It’s Done
With a gift of equity, you can sell a home to a family member for less than it’s worth on the market. The difference between what the buyer pays and the actual market value is the gift. So you, as the seller, make the gift. It’s your call how much equity to give. Then, if…
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Buying a Home While Unmarried? The Struggle Is Real
Some call it the single tax for homeownership. Not actually collected by a tax agency, but yes. The single buyer is strangely disadvantaged. Pause for a moment to consider that the median house price is well over $400K. Once prices rise to that level, paying close to $3,000 in monthly housing costs becomes normal in…
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Making an Offer on a Home? Know What to Sign and What Not to Sign
So you’ve made an offer on a home. Nice work so far! A formal offer is called a real estate purchase agreement. It’s a contract that names the seller and purchaser and states the price the buyer will pay. Here, we discuss what to examine closely before you sign.
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That’s a “Yes” in Our Back Yard: New Federal Law Cuts Builders’ Red Tape
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is now the law. It’s winning praise for cutting red tape. And its $200 million innovation fund, while not exactly huge and yet to be funded, could stimulate local governments to ease their burdensome and restrictive rules. The new federal law speeds up reviews, updates borrowing rules, and…
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Adding an ADU to Your Property as a Rental Income Strategy
You’ve likely come across people with guest houses or garden suites on their properties. Housing policy people have a name for these extra living spaces: accessory dwelling units, orADUs. Accessory dwelling units are the talk of the town these days in all regions of the United States. An ADU is one of the most popular…
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The New Buyer Representation Agreements: Don’t Be Caught Off Guard
Before being shown any homes, a hopeful buyer signs a buyer representation agreement with the agent. This document is standard now, and that’s surprising some buyers. The form lays out the terms of the relationship between a real estate professional and the client. Once it’s signed, the buyer’s agent owes fiduciary duties to the buyer.…
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Clearing Skies for Manufactured Homes and Buyers? What the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Does
The manufactured housing industry is pretty excited about the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The new law, effective as of July 2026, is federal. Yet it encourages new, affordable housing in towns across the country. According to the Manufactured Housing Institute: These provisions change the conversation. Removing barriers to manufactured housing is no longer…
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Playing Dirty With Deeds: Listing Scammers Swarm Social Media
Agents from coast to coast are sending out warnings about a scheme on TikTok. Bogus listings are attracting hopeful renters and buyers, then taking off with fees and deposits. The advertisements on TikTok, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, and other popular platforms show attractive prices—but they’re designed to pick the pockets of innocent people. At the same…
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Home Buyers See Prices Rise Yet Again. Can a Federal Law Turn the Tide?
In case you missed it, the median price for existing homes hit another record this summer: $440,600. Home prices have pressed higher for three years running, says the National Association of REALTORS®. And they’ve risen in four out of five major housing markets in the second quarter of 2026. The latest increase is especially pronounced…
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Unlimited Marital Deduction: Tax-Free Spouse Asset Transfers
Where there’s a deed, there must be an estate plan. Every deed holder must decide where that ownership interest will go when they’re no longer around. Good planning takes into account how a property transfer will be taxed upon death. For spouses, there are tax advantages to know about. A key example? The unlimited marital…
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Checklist for Closing Day: What Do I Bring to Settlement?
Settlement is a big deal for your deed. It involves the signing and filing of all documents needed for the purchase of your new home—the deed, loan documents, and settlement statement. Settlement is the first step in closing, which is the full legal process of transferring homeownership. The final step is filing the new deed…
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Can They Do That? Bay Area Landlord’s $200 Monthly Work-From-Home Fee
A one-bedroom rental listing in Walnut Creek’s upscale Northgate neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area was deleted after it caused an international flurry of online outrage. (It’s not known if the pushback led the owner to take the listing down from Rent.com, where it was published.) People took to the message boards, expressing strong…
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Got Wealth? Deed Holding Beats Renting at Every Age, Federal Reserve Finds
Buying a home is expensive. But the investment in a deed can pay off as equity increases. Holding a deed is a pillar for household wealth-building, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. It’s not surprising that the Fed has confirmed this. Yet it’s interesting to see how the U.S. central bank lays…
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Housing Affordability Matters in Every State—And Now There’s a Federal Template
This month, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law. It happened quietly, automatically, ten days after congressional approval, in the absence of a presidential veto. The massive new law includes: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is careful not to commandeer local zoning processes. Instead, it brings an array of incentives such…
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Title Companies: Obsolete in the Digital/AI Age, or Defenders of Critical Infrastructure?
“AI alone cannot meet the industry’s standards for accuracy, consistency and reliability.” — The First American Financial Corporation The First American Financial Corporation, which offers title insurance for deed transactions through First American Title™, has published a new white paper report, How Title Insurance Protects the Critical Infrastructure Supporting the U.S. Real Estate Economy and the…
