Home buyers are out in force. Sellers are scarce. The number of homes for sale on the market is as low as it was more than twenty years ago. As a result of supply and demand, half of all housing markets are overvalued in terms of price. The median home price in San Francisco is [...]
When you get a low appraisal in a hot real real estate market, it could kill your deal. But there are a few things you can do before having to lower the list price or kill the deal. Q: I heard Ilyce recently on WBEZ radio. I'm moving to Chicago from Minnesota and was blown [...]
Old mortgages that have not been properly discharged might derail a home sale. What steps can they take to have the lender recognize the mortgage has been discharged? Q: I’m trying to sell my home and recently found out there is an old mortgage on the property from 20 years ago. The loan was never [...]
Is a home seller on the line for fulfilling inspector recommendations? They just might be if they really want the sale to go through. Q: My agent is insisting that I hire a licensed, bonded contractor to pump water from my crawl space. The inspector "recommends" this. I didn't have a license bonded contractor do [...]
Is now the right time to sell your rental property? We may be in a seller’s market, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get the most bang for your rental property buck. Q: As always, you give us a lot of good real estate information in your columns. Here's a question regarding my rental home in [...]
Estate planning and capital gains taxes: What you need to know before selling high value property that could be inherited. Q: My parents are elderly and live in Virginia. They own a rental house in California. Since they bought it, the home has increased greatly in value to about $1 million. They are trying to [...]
How to save money on your property taxes when moving within the same state. A tax assessment under your municipality's laws may help you save big bucks. Q: I thought you’d find the following information relevant concerning one of your recent correspondents. In that question, a homeowner was relocating within California and the reader wanted [...]
Can you sell a tax sale property back to the city? Probably not. But here are a few tips to make the most of your investment. Q: My son bid on a property at a tax sale in Philadelphia back in 2010. He found out after he bought it that the property had no value [...]
Can selling inherited property affect your healthcare subsidy? Depending on the value of the property, it could. What you should consider before selling. Q: When my mother purchased her small condo 20 years ago she put it in my sister’s name and in my name. She passed away a few years ago and my sister [...]
Tax rules when buying a condo for your college student can get complicated, especially with capital gains taxes. Here’s what you need to know. Q: We bought a condo in our name and paid for it with cash. Our son moved into the unit and paid no rent for 18 months. He was working on [...]
