Can I buy the other home my real estate agent is selling? Asking them to act as a dual agent may cause more confusion than you’d expect. Q: Should I buy a house that my real estate agent is also selling? Is there a conflict of interest? Thank you, and I’m loving Ilyce’s book for [...]
With an underwater mortgage, this senior homeowner is desperate for help. Thanks to the Great Recession, this older homeowner is struggling with selling at a loss or staying in their home. Q: My mother is 90 and needs to soon move from her condo to an assisted living facility. She bought her condo at the [...]
What happens to the good faith deposit when the homebuyer backs out? If the buyer doesn’t ask for it back, the seller needs to take control of the situation. Q: We accepted an offer on our house a year ago. Unfortunately, the buyer walked away at the eleventh hour – the night before the moving [...]
What happens to your taxes when you let a family member rent-to-own your property? The IRS has specific definitions to help, but they can get complicated. Q: I rented our old house to my daughter and her spouse as a rent-to-own property. I told them when they paid enough money I would sign the property [...]
Why did my real estate agent take my house off the market? The answer lies in the listing agreement. Q: Can my broker dump my listing without notice? I found out my house was off the market by looking online. I was never notified by the broker. It this a violation of ethics code? A: [...]
Can you sell your home if it’s held in a living trust? It all depends on how you set up the trust and what happened with the quitclaim deed. Q: In 2012, I set up a living trust, and at that time signed a quitclaim deed to my house and property over to my daughter. [...]
Should a family member be your Realtor and charge commission for selling your home? Before you ask your family member for a commission discount, think of what it really takes to get a home sold. Q: Should my brother-in-law charge commission for selling my mother's house? Should a Family Member Acting As Your Realtor Charge [...]
Selling your home after your spouse dies doesn't mean you have to change the title. What really matters is if you own it under joint tenancy or tenants in common. Many homeowners whose spouses have died think they need to change title into their own name as sole owner if they are going to sell, [...]
How to decide if you should fix up a home or sell “as is” depends on these 8 issues that sellers should consider before putting the home on the market. We recently received a letter from a woman who was selling her late sister’s home. She said the home was in bad shape, in a [...]
What to do when you have home buyers remorse. Should you go ahead and sell the home or consider being a landlord? Q: Four years ago, as a first-time homeowner, I bought a single family home in the D.C. metro area. I hate to admit this, but I failed at the due diligence portion of [...]
