Should a reader's wife take a Social Security benefit at age 62? What happens to the Social Security Spousal Benefit? Here's this week's Question and Answer about Social Security. Should my wife take my Social Security benefit? Q: I would like your opinion on a Social Security question we have for my wife. First, I’ll [...]
Buying a house in 2021 is hard. Is building more homes the answer? We spoke with leading real estate industry economists and observers about why it is so difficult to buy a house this year, and whether rising mortgage interest rates or building more homes will solve the new housing shortage. This week, the National [...]
Update: June 16. 2021. According to the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. is now short between 5 million and 6.8 million housing units. A new study has called for a "once in a generation" governmental response to push builders to add more single family homes, townhomes, condos, multi-family and rental properties. "We're four [...]
What can you do if your mortgage is underwater? This homeowner wants to know if she can foreclose and move on, but that should only be her last resort. Q: I am a widow in my 70s and my mortgage is underwater. Can I just let the bank foreclose and move on? I don't want [...]
Real estate market recap for 2020 and housing outlook for 2021. An overview of how COVID-19 impacted real estate in 2020 and what to expect in 2021. Safe to say that 2020 will go down in history as a year like no other. Even, or perhaps especially, in real estate. Real Estate Market Recap for [...]
How to manage inherited property split between siblings. This reader wants to either buy his sister out or sell the property, but she refuses. Q: My boyfriend’s mother died several months back. He wants to either buy his sister out or sell the property, but his sister has refused his verbal requests to buy her [...]
3 financial resolutions for 2021. Three tips to help improve your personal finances and prepare for economic uncertainty in the new year. Here’s a guess: there aren’t many of us who’d care to redo 2020. COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, changed everything, killing more than 365,000 Americans (as of this writing in early January) and taking [...]
How do I avoid capital gains tax for jointly owned property? This reader wants to know how best to go about using the home sale exclusion when they sell the property. Q: My wife and I own our home jointly. The home has appreciated substantially in the 25 years we have owned it to the [...]
Buying a duplex with friends: primary residence or investment property? This reader wants to know how taxes work if all four of them are on the financing and title. Q: My partner and I plan to purchase a duplex with friends. We would live on one side, and our friends (who already own their forever [...]
Can you have three joint tenants with rights of survivorship? This reader wants to know if it’s legal to add a third person to the title of their home. Q: There are two of us on the title of a home. We own the home as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Is it legal [...]
