Google
Think Glink
Web 		 

Articles By Ilyce

Ilyce Glink is an award-winning, nationally syndicated columnist, television reporter and radio talk show host who is widely known for her expertise on trends and issues in real estate and finance. Her syndicated column REAL ESTATE MATTERS offers common sense information and practical insights for anyone thinking about buying, selling, rehabbing or refinancing a home.

  • Neighborhood - A couple plans to move to a neighborhood on a lake. The neighborhood may not be completed however. Ilyce advises to pass on a house in this neighborhood.

  • Landlord - A landlord asks what to do when his renter plans to skip out early. The landlord asks about putting a lien on the renter’s new home. Ilyce suggests the landlord sue in small claims court.

  • 1031 Exchange - Siblings inherit apartment buildings and ask about a 1031 exchange. They want to do a 1031 exchange to keep the same property tax bill. To do a 1031 exchange, you have to replace property with the same value or more.

  • Mortgage Lender - A homeowner wants to avert a short sale and asks his friends to buy his home. He asks them to lie to the mortgage lender about the price. Lying to the mortgage lender will put his friends in a bad position.

  • Financial Counselor - A wife writes that she and her husband disagree about money and asks how to find a financial counselor. Ilyce describes various financial counselors. A psychologist can also be a financial counselor.

  • Divorce Property Settlement - A woman asks about her former home in a divorce property settlement. Her ex-husband wants her to sign the home to him in the divorce property settlement. She’s not sure about rights in the divorce property settlement.

  • Investment Property - An investment property owner wants to know if there’s a way to sell and pay less tax. He asks about gifting the investment property. Ilyce mentions a 1031 exchange for the investment property.

  • Tax Help - Homeowners taking a loss when selling can now get tax help. The tax help is part of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act. They get help on their taxes by not owing tax on a loss of $2 million or less.

  • Retirement Community - A couple wants to move to a retirement community. They want to sell their current home to move to the retirement community. Ilyce offers ways speed up the sale so they can move to the retirement community sooner.

  • Real Estate Appraiser - A reader asks why a real estate appraiser was omitted from a team of experts. Ilyce responds that often a real estate appraiser’s conclusion is the same as reached by agents creating comparative market analyses.

  • Divorce Property Settlement - A woman says she received a check for money from a divorce property settlement. She should look at a 1099 S form to see the details of the home sold as part of the divorce property settlement.

  • Mortgage Lender - A couple’s mortgage lender does not report their on-time payments to credit reporting bureaus. They wonder how the mortgage lender’s behavior will impact their credit. The mortgage lender is anti-consumer.

  • Home Inspection - A home buyer notices problems with his new home and suggests the seller covered them up. It’s not clear whether he had a home inspection. A home inspection should have given him a heads up about the problems.

  • Title - A divorced man writes that his name remains on the title of a home he owns with his ex-wife but she can’t afford the mortgage. Ilyce asks why his ex-wife did not buy him out and remove him from the title.

  • Credit Repair - The best person to repair your credit is you. Ilyce shares 10 tips for you to repair your credit. Credit can be repaired when you don’t co-sign for loans, make on-time payments and don’t over-extend yourself. 

  • Stop Foreclosure - A home owner who has already lost one property to foreclosure asks about the impact of foreclosure on getting another home loan. Ilyce discusses his options to stop foreclosure proceedings on his current home.

  • Buying Investment Homes - When you're buying a home as an investment you can follow some of the same steps as you would when you're buying a home to live in. You should consider the home's location and whether you can afford the purchase. It's especially important to have enough money saved for a rainy day.

  • Designing a Home - Ilyce discusses design and architecture with renowned designer and author Marianne Cusato. Learn what you can do to make your home well designed and authentic.

  • Home Inspector - A home inspector may have missed problems in this ThinkGlink reader's new home. Ilyce and Sam suggest getting a second opinion and checking back with the original inspector.

  • Townhouses - Town houses are another option when you want to buy a home. They tend to be larger than a condo or co-op but likely still have a homeowners association. Make sure you understand the terms of the sale as a home buyer.

  • Condos - As a new home buyer you have lots of choices as to what type of home to purchase. A condominium, or an apartment that you own, is usually located in an urban center or densely populated suburb. A condo is one choice to consider when you are buying a new home.

  • Selling Real Estate - Top-selling real estate agent Gloria Matlin talks about how she works with buyers and sellers and why she loves to sell real estate.

  • Buying a Home - When you're in the market to buy a home you should ask yourself if you want a new or existing home. If you want to buy a new home make sure to research the developer. If you're buying an existing home you may face renovation costs.

  • Find Homes on the Web - More than 70 percent of Americans start their house hunt using the Internet. When you want to buy a home, the Internet can be good for researching neighborhoods and schools. The Internet lacks the personal touch of dealing with an agent, the feel of walking around a neighborhood and some of the information is outdated or inaccurate.

  • Using a Real Estate Agent - Once you have decided to buy a home, you may decide you want to work with a broker or an agent. Brokers and agents provide a variety of services to home buyers. These include education, legwork and guidance.

  • Scam Alerts - Secrecy is another warning sign of possible identity theft. When someone asks you to keep a deal a secret it may be a sign that it's a scam. To prevent identity theft steer clear of secretive schemes.

  • Building New Houses - Brett Marlowe talks about his philosophy of building new houses and what buyers look for.

  • Phishing Scams - Identity theft is difficult and time-consuming to fix. If you don't protect your identity, it's easy to get scammed. "Phishing" is a type of identity theft that comes in your email.

  • Medical Identity Theft - Medical identity theft happens when someone starts filing medical bills in your name and collecting the payments. It's identity theft on steriods, but there are ways to fight it.

  • Magazine Scams - Magazine scams are not what you'd consider traditional identity theft. In a magazine scam you pay for a subscription, but the publisher keeps sending you renewal notices. To avert a magazine scam, pay careful attention to who is selling you the subscription.

  • Foreign Lottery Scams - Foreign lottery scams are becoming more popular with the growth of the internet. They are another way that thieves try to steal your identity. If you are notified that you have won a foreign lottery, beware that this could lead to identity theft.

  • Identity Theft - Identity Theft is becoming a bigger problem, in part because people are using more and more technology. Consumers must become more vigilant about where and how they store personal information to avert identity theft.

  • Co-Ops - Another home buying option is purchasing a co-op. Buying a co-op is actually buying shares into a corporation that owns the building. Co-op boards control who can buy a home in their buildings.

  • Scam Speak - Crooks and scam artists who commit identity theft use some common phrases, also known as "Scam Speak." If you know what to listen for you can avoid getting ripped off, even if the scam speak is top notch.

  • Home Buying Tips - Buying a home is not just about bricks and mortar. Home buyers should think about where they are in the cycle of life: single, married, divorced, with kids, without. The shape of your family affects your needs as a home buyer.

  • Door-to-Door Scams - You may think wacky scams are urban legends or the stuff of fiction. Be aware that some crazy-sounding scams are real, are working, and result in people becoming victims of identity theft.

  • Identity Theft Protection - One way to reduce your risk of identity theft is to pay close attention to privacy policies. Some "opt out" policies offer consumers ways to remove or withhold personal information from databases. Opting out improves the chances that your identity will not be stolen.

  • Do Not Call List - Identity Theft can happen any number of ways. Some crooks get information by calling unsuspecting consumers at home. To cut down on your risk of telephone identity theft, sign up for the government's Do Not Call list at donotcall.gov.

  • Home Design - Ilyce discusses design and architecture with renowned designer and author Marianne Cusato.

  • Work-at-Home Schemes - Work-at-home schemes are costly - to the victim. These schemes often promise fast, easy money for little work. Instead of working from home and earning money, your identity is stolen after you provide personal details to the scam artist.

  • Home Location - When you buy a home you must always consider location. Location, location, location may be a trite saying but there's something to it. Location affects which home you buy and who buys it from you in the future.

  • Identity Theft Warning Signs - If you're worried about identity theft, there are ways you can protect yourself. And if you know the signs, you can stop identity theft sooner. One of the best ways to protect your identity is to order your credit report annually from annualcreditreport.com.

  • Home Buying Process - It's important to consider your lifestyle when putting together a home buying wish list. You can ask yourself a variety of questions to narrow down what's most important to you during the home buying process. Consider not only yourself but your family too.

  • How to Buy a Home - Before you buy a home you should figure out what you want. If you have been renting for a while you have some idea of what has worked for you and what hasn't. Make a wish list for what you want in a home so you can be a successful home buyer.

  • Women and Real Estate - If you're a single woman and debating whether to become a home buyer you're not alone. It's no longer unusual for women to buy homes by themselves. Still, it's good to be prepared for the possibility of discrimination when you are buying a home.

  • Buying a Home Versus Renting - When you are thinking about becoming a home buyer, it's always good to run the numbers. A long-term renter can easily justify buying a home when he considers the total amount that he spends in rent over many years. Buying a home is a wise financial decision when you can afford it.

  • Why Buy a Home - If you're not sure whether to buy a home, consider some of the reasons that most home buyers give. People buy homes as investments, to save for their futures, to accomplish the American dream. Once you have saved for down payment and made the emotional commitment you're ready to buy your first home.

  • Before Buying a Home - Before you call a real estate agent, before you make buying your first home a goal, it's important to get educated. Home buying is both exciting and daunting. To help you evaluate whether you are ready to become a home buyer ask yourself some key questions.

  • Children Identity Theft - Has your child's identity been stolen? While identity theft is often committed by strangers, sometimes parents and other relatives steal the financial identities of children to get access to more credit.

  • YouTube Real Estate Videos - Welcome to the ExpertRealEstateTips.net! Don't forget to subscribe to receive notification of new videos and articles.

  • Quit Claim Deed - A quit claim deed was used to transfer a home to a friend. The friend is now selling the home. Sam and Ilyce help this reader understand the legal and tax implications.

  • Inheritance - A man inherits a home from his father with his stepmother as the life estate beneficiary. The man buys out his stepmother’s life estate. The man’s wife wonders what amount base taxes on upon sale.

  • Mortgage - A home buyer with a 10-year mortgage loan asks if making extra payments will shorten the mortgage loan. Prepaying a mortgage loan helps more if you have a time frame longer than 10 years.

  • Credit Repair - As the economy worsens, credit repair scams abound. Repairing bad credit takes more than paying a $1,000 fee. Beware of those promising to repair your credit by getting you a new Social Security number.

  • Rotten Neighbor - A homeowner says his rotten neighbor has not controlled his children or pets. The homeowner puts up a fence between his yard and the rotten neighbor. A third neighbor now claims land due to adverse possession.

  • Proof Of Funds Letter - Wealthy home sellers describe buyers who cannot provide a letter showing proof of funds. Buyers tour homes, promise to purchase them and then disappear. Requiring a proof of funds letter can help stop this.

  • Predatory Lending - A borrower asks for certain terms as he refinances his mortgage. His mortgage refinance lender does not share there’s a prepayment penalty. The borrower wonders what his recourse is after this mortgage refinance.

  • Short Sale - A short sale is when a home owner is selling a home for less than the mortgaged amount. This ThinkGlink reader asks Sam and Ilyce how to save his offer to buy a home that was subject to a short sale.

  • IRS - The IRS put a lien on a property owned by a woman whose husband owes back taxes. Ilyce and Sam explain what this reader can expect from the IRS.

  • Power Of Attorney - A father dies without a will. His wife asks his daughter to sign a power of attorney to enable selling a home. The daughter is unsure whether to sign the power of attorney.






























































Stories ..