If you can't afford your mortgage, you should try to sell your home in a short sale. Q: I live in Georgia and have a house that I bought last year. Unfortunately, I can’t afford the house any longer. I’m not sure what to do. Should I do a short sale or should I just [...]
What does the coming year promise for residential real estate investing? Will it be a good time to try your hand at buying a foreclosure and renting it out? Will rising home values be a positive or negative factor? Where will the best markets be for investors? For investors, who account for one out of [...]
Need to sell your home fast? Easy tips on selling and buying a new home, including applying for an equity line of credit. Q: I have a problem that I think others in my age group at least, might share. I am retired and over 70 years old. I want to move away from where [...]
Getting rid of a timeshare can be a tricky business. Follow the advice below to sell or otherwise get rid of your timeshare and avoid timeshare scams. Q: I am successfully retired after making very good personal money decisions for 50 years. I think I’ve only made 3 huge mistakes: I did not buy Home [...]
A quitclaim deed conveying the title of a home to a living trust can result in a stepped up basis when selling the home, but if it is unrecorded it likely will not be of any help. Q: In response to your recent article about a father who transferred title in his home to his [...]
Looking around our neighborhood, I see fewer “for sale” signs this December than last year. In fact, several homes that were on the market for over a year have sold this autumn and are now closing. It still isn’t easy being a seller, but times are slowly getting better. Home values are starting to stabilize [...]
To speed a closing with the bank before the end of 2012, you need to talk with your bank to decide what is faster: a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. Q: My daughter’s home has been unoccupied for the last six months or so and is listed as a short sale. [...]
Making home improvements can lower your capital gains tax, but that may change in 2013. Q: In 1975, my parents built a four bedroom house on Cape Cod and they put my name on the deed with theirs. My parents died quite some time ago, so I have had the house since then. For most [...]
Selling your home in a short sale is better than going into foreclosure, but you might face a deficiency judgment from your lender. Q: In one of your recent columns, you referred to the term deficiency judgment when discussing a short sale. What if you closed on a short sale, but the lender reserved the [...]
