Tag: Property Value
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Picking a Place of Your Own? Invest in a Walkable Town
Walkable towns are increasingly popular. They’re good for local business, and they tend to attract talented people. They have better air quality, naturally. They tend to be more inclusive. They have something to offer all generations: seniors who don’t drive, young families with strollers, and people with mobility limits.
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The ADU: A Housing Fix for Seniors and Their Families
Accessory dwelling units (also known as ADUs, backyard cottages, guest homes, or granny flats) can enable seniors to enjoy privacy, yet remain close to family and neighborhood friends. They don’t depend on clearing natural spaces to develop properties. Yet they offer affordable housing options — which are ever scarcer these days. No wonder ADUs have…
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Is It Legal to Bury Someone in the Backyard (and Would It Impact the Deed)?
This summer, a construction crew unearthed a surprising discovery in northwest Tucson, Arizona. Human bones. Turns out they were from a person buried on once-private land, by their family, some 50 years ago. Which brings up a question some deed holders ask: Is it legal to bury a human body on residential property? The answer…
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The Resilient Deed: What Property Buyers Should Know About Climate, Weather, and Insurance
We all live somewhere on Earth. Today, that means we all deal with some measure of climate-related risk. The “new normal” involves highly abnormal weather patterns, stronger storms, hotter heat. Florida, California, and Texas are frequently in the news for this reason. But even “climate havens” now deal with tornadoes and major floods. All this…
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Live and Learn! What I Wish I Knew as a Real Estate Buyer
It’s always nice to learn from others’ mistakes and revelations, before we’re in the position to deal with similar situations ourselves. In this spirit, here are a few things first-time deed holders say they wish they knew before buying.
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Is the Backyard Cottage Written Into the Deed, or Recorded Separately?
You might be familiar with guest houses or garden suites. You might have seen detached garages turned into cottages, or finished basements converted into rental space. Town managers call these extra living spaces ADUs: accessory dwelling units. A house deed typically does not point out an ADU on the property. But the additional living unit…
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Someone’s Got to Do It: Are You Holding the Deed to a Haunted House?
Maybe you’re looking at homes you might want to buy. Maybe you already hold a deed. In any case, your late October thoughts may turn to spirits, and ghosts, and all kinds of past matters that haunt homes. It happens to the best of us — even well-known politicians have to deal with such matters,…
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What Resources Exist for Deed Holders Who Need Cash?
Ever heard the phrase house rich, cash poor? It can be frustrating to have a valuable home and empty pockets. You might be dealing with job changes, emergencies, new goals, hopes and dreams… And you need cash. Can you reach into your property value to get the cash now — without downsizing to a cheaper…
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Florida: The Newest Boomtown State
Of all states, California has the biggest housing market. But population growth is shifting. Since the pandemic began, it’s Florida, of all the states, that got the fastest population increase. More than a thousand people relocate to Florida daily. Florida’s now in second place for total home property value — surging ahead of New York…
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The Big Tease: Look Out for Rising Interest on a Home Equity Line of Credit
Once you get a deed to your own home, you have special wealth-building powers. Pay off the mortgage faithfully month by month, and you own increasing home equity. This is how your home turns into value you can tap when you need or want it. A home equity line of credit (HELOC) gives you an account…
