Tag: real estate
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Was Your Seller Inspired by Pinocchio? Buyer Remedies for False Disclosure Statements
In a recent survey, more than half of sellers admitted to not disclosing a known problem with their property. Although this is just one survey, the point bears noting. Buyers should probably expect to find issues with their homes. A home buyer can sue over a material defect that wasn’t disclosed by the seller.
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Life Estate Deed or Living Trust: Which Path Is Right for Your Home?
It’s never too soon to plan out the transfer of your deed after you pass. One way to do it? The tried-and-true method of writing your last will and testament and including your home in it. You have other choices, though. The life estate deed and the living trust are popular vehicles for a deed…
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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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Taking Title in a Gated Community: Highlights and Lowlights
Gated communities are just what the phrase suggests. The entrances are closed. Typically, walls insulate the gated complex from the outer world. The front gate could be operated by a 24/7 security guard. Or access could be electronic. These properties come in various styles. Most are urban or suburban. But they all share one trait.…
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Title Talk: What’s a Municipal Lien Search?
You might think a title search is an all-in-one exercise. It’ll show any outstanding liens against the title to the home you’re buying, right? Not necessarily. Not all municipal liens get filed with the county recorder of deeds’ office. Unrecorded liens don’t appear in a title search. And they might or might not be found…
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Biggest Deed Slip-Ups (and How Not to Make Them)
Mistakes happen. When they happen to a deed, they can go unnoticed for a long time — sometimes leaving a clouded title through a chain of owners. But at some point, a deed mistake catches up to an owner, buyer, or heir. So, let’s take a look at 8 common homeowner deed mistakes, and how…
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Should Brokers Keep For-Sale Homes Hidden?
It’s the Real Estate Industry’s Latest Debate — Pocket Listings Our regular readers know about recent changes in real estate practices. The big changes came out of settlements by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and large brokerage firms in response to class-action court cases. NAR had to give up its long-running practice of having…
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Congrats on Closing! Now, How Will You Get Your Deed?
Closing is the last step before you have the keys to your new home in hand, and your deed is on its way. The all-important deed is a legal instrument (document) that shows the transfer of property ownership from the seller, over to you, the buyer. This document confirms your ownership status for the property…
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Transferring Property to Family: What to Know About Gift Deeds
A gift deed signifies a voluntarily title transfer from a “grantor” (the giver) to a “grantee” (recipient). Recipients are often loved ones or charities. A home’s transfer through a gift deed happens without consideration — meaning no money or thing of value is given in return. The deed states that the title is conveyed for…
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Fairer Play: Counties Will Adopt AI to Delete Racial Deed Restrictions
Ever read through your deed and find a stink bomb like this? “The said premises shall not be sold to, owned, used or occupied by any person or persons other than those of the Caucasian race.” That’s a deed restriction placed on hundreds of Haverford Township, Pennsylvania titles in the 1920s, found by investigators at…
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Transferring Your Deed Into Your LLC
Thinking about transferring the deed to your rental property into a limited liability company? Many investors do it. About 17% of investment properties across the country are held in LLCs. Here, we look at reasons to put real estate into an LLC, and how it’s done. And we’ll point to a few more things worth…
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How Do Zoning Variances Work?
A zoning variance is permission from local authorities for a property owner to do something against the standard rules. For example, maybe you want to install a backyard cottage on your property, but that’s not allowed by local regulations. Or maybe you want permission to create a rain garden, or put up a fence despite…
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As Asheville Recovers, Home Buyers Rethink the Whole “Climate Haven” Idea
Asheville, a quaint and popular North Carolina town, has long been known for its welcoming atmosphere and a mild, inviting climate. Indeed, a public radio station once showcased Asheville as winning the real estate stakes of an unsettled climate. It’s now well understood that tropical storms get supercharged by human-driven effects on the atmosphere’s temperatures.…
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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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FAQ: When the Divorce Decree Conflicts With the Deed
Many couples own homes together. If they ever decide to separate, they need to know what to do with their co-ownership. They could simply sell the home to solve that issue. But after a legal separation or divorce, one of the two people may want or need to stay in the home. If the deed…
