Know who owns the mineral rights on your property when talking to gas and oil companies. When buying a new home, find out if you own the mineral rights. Q: How can it be legal for gas and oil companies to drill under my daughter’s property without her permission? In my mind, that is the [...]
Reserve funds for condos: what are the requirements? Mortgage lenders pay closer attention to reserve funds for condos as requirements have increased. Q: In trying to sell a condominium, the buyer was denied a loan due to the fact the condo/management association did not transfer 10 percent into the reserve fund. What are the requirements [...]
How to find an honest real estate agent. Ask about the agent's real estate commission. Ilyce Glink explains more on agent commissions in Today's Real Estate Minutes. Can you trust your real estate agent? A better question might be: Do you know how your agent is being paid? By law there is no standard real [...]
Should you use retirement funds to buy a house? Borrowing from a 401(k) to buy a house can be a bad move. More in today's Real Estate Minute. If you have to borrow money from your 401(k) or other retirement accounts to fund your down payment - don’t do it - it’s just not worth [...]
During your home closing keep a copy of mortgage lender's good faith estimate handy. For home closing tips, check out today's Real Estate Minute. Whether you’re buying or selling, you must keep a paper trail of the transaction, or you could get into big trouble. To keep your mortgage lender honest during your closing, keep [...]
You want to buy a foreclosure? Where have you been for the past five years? Foreclosures are definitely on the decline as fewer homeowners are defaulting on their mortgages. The backlogs of foreclosures that built up during the Robogate mess are largely depleted, and more and more homeowners who find themselves in financial trouble are [...]
Finding the right home to buy can be a difficult task. Ilyce Glink talks about buying the right home in today's Real Estate Minute. Just like dating, you’re going to find a home that you’ll fall in love with. But watch out, because when it comes to a house, you don’t want to get too [...]
Have a failed home inspection on your hands? Ilyce Glink explains what to do when a home inspection goes bad in today's Real Estate Minute. When you have a home inspected, you have to be prepared for your inspector find something wrong with the property you’ve fallen in love with. When a home inspector finds [...]
Home buyers should get sellers to cover their home warranty when buying a new home. Watch Ilyce Glink in today's Real Estate Minute. Here’s some more good news for home buyers. Many sellers are so desperate to unload their property that they will pick up the cost of a home warranty as a marketing tool. [...]
Thinking about co-buying your home? Before buying a home with another family member, consider problems that can occur. Q: My husband, sister, and I are buying a home. My sister would like to pay one-third of the cost of the house and we’d finance the rest of the purchase. My husband and I would pay [...]
