Tax-free exchange on rental property, what taxes do I owe when selling? Did you purchase the home as an investment or as a primary residence? Q: We purchased our present home in 2005 for $225,000. It was a tax-free exchange on a rental property we owned previously. We rented the current home for two years right [...]
Hiring a real estate agent to sell your home could be pricey. If you don't want to pay a commission, there are other options. Q: I have a house in the Fayetteville area, south of Atlanta. I am stationed at Fort Bragg NC. I drive home every other weekend and heard part of a radio [...]
Are you having problems selling your condo? Here's how you should deal with condo association repair issues. Q: I recently read a response you wrote to a reader about her building shaking when big trucks go by. I have a similar issue. I live in condominium building in Chicago and there is a dip in [...]
If you want to perk up a real estate agent, just say, “Spring is here.” Spring is normally the busiest time of year for real estate agents and brokers, and this year looks to be more of the same. As February’s colder-than-average temperatures started to rise, the real estate market also began heating up. Sales [...]
Inventories of homes for sale are so low this spring that bidding wars are breaking out in overheated real estate markets. Rising prices and shrinking supplies are hitting buyers with a double whammy as they anxiously scroll through limited choices to find a house to buy before prices and mortgage rates rise even more. In [...]
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 [...]
Do you know what a seller disclosure is? Home buyers should go over the required seller disclosures before making an offer. As a buyer, you’ve got find out everything you can about the condition of a home before you even make an offer. Seller disclosure requires a home seller to tell you about any defects [...]
Quit claim deed tax implications can come in many forms. Selling a house with multiple owners can be tricky when paying taxes. Q: I own a house with my brother that we bought for $243,000. We now plan to sell it for about $323,000. My brother lived in it until last year and then rented [...]
Thinking about selling your home to a family member? Get a home value estimate first to double check your home's real market value. Q: Our parents left their home to me and my two sisters. The home is located in Oklahoma and was appraised at $49,000 three years ago. The home has a mortgage with [...]
