Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997
How Do Professional Ethics Come Into Play in the Real Estate Deal? When you sign a contract to have an agent represent you in a real estate transaction, your agent agrees to a set of fiduciary duties. Essentially this means the agent you hire must act in your best interest. This is only the case …
Continue reading “Your Real Estate Agent’s Fiduciary Duties”
No homeowner wants to find out there’s a deed in the home’s past that went unrecorded. But it can happen. In the normal transaction, at the time of the legal transfer of real estate, the deed is filed with the county recorder’s office, placing the new owner’s name in the public record. Why would anyone …
Continue reading “The Monster Under the Bed: When a Home’s Past Holds an Unrecorded Deed”
Throughout the years of your mortgage, you’ll likely ask the question more than once: Is now the right time to refinance? First, note that refinancing may be no easier than getting that existing loan. Moreover, from 2020 on, expect lenders to have stringent requirements for mortgage approvals. The answer will depend, too, on varied factors …
Continue reading “The Benefits of Refinancing Your Home — Strategically”
Know what’s in your stash of papers — and how to store them all for safekeeping. Congrats! You’ve bought a home. You walk away from the closing table in triumph, a pile of documents in your arms. OK, so what are the key documents, how do you keep them, and when will you need them? …
Continue reading “New Homeowner’s Document Checklist & Storage Plan”
Home buying is a wealth-building strategy, as well as a way to own a living space. As a homeowner pays off the mortgage over the years, the home becomes a store of value. That equity can be useful for making renovations or pursuing new business investments. A home equity line of credit, abbreviated as HELOC, …
Continue reading “HELOC: How Home Equity Lines of Credit Impact a Home’s Title”
In early March, the pandemic placed U.S. real estate transactions on hold. A few weeks later, Realtor.com created its weekly Housing Recovery Index, to track changes since Covid-19 gained a foothold. The name of the index itself suggests confidence in the market’s rebound. According to the recovery index, home sales took a turn upward in May. Traditionally, …
Continue reading “Is the Recovery Real? Real Estate in the Summer of Covid-19”
Buying a condo is a trade-off. On the plus side, it’s the perfect way to downsize. To avoid doing outdoor chores yourself, to save energy, to live simply and frugally. Buying a condo is also a great way to make the jump from apartment living to homeownership on a limited budget, or in uncertain times. …
Continue reading “Homeowners’ Associations: An HOA Board’s Effect on Your Property”
Some sellers offer the option of a seller-financed deal to home shoppers. Seller financing can be very attractive when a hopeful buyer can’t obtain a loan approval. After 2020, we could see an uptick in such situations, as a good number of sellers and buyers try to restore their pandemic-battered finances and seek alternative ways …
Continue reading “The Seller-Financed Home Sale: Weighing the Risks and Rewards”
Many international buyers — often from Canada, China, Mexico, India or Great Britain — buy U.S. real property to offset the risk of their country’s currency devaluation, or simply to diversify their assets. If you’re a buyer from outside the United States, or a seller making an international sale, advance knowledge can help you navigate …
Continue reading “Foreign Nationals Buying U.S. Real Estate: How It Works & Latest Quirks”
The new deadline for filing last year’s taxes is Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Time to review the current tax implications of owning a home. First, we need to itemize homeowner deductions if we decide to claim them on our federal returns. There are a number of deductions available, but if you’re like most homeowners, you …