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 [...]
Home improvement: what’s most valuable for resale? Exterior renovations, like siding replacements, recoup a higher percentage of homeowner costs. Did our last post on kitchen trends get you thinking about renovation projects for your home? Homeowners who are planning to make home improvements this year will want to want to consider how much their investment [...]
What you need to know about paying taxes on a home sold after a spouse’s death. Q: Just finished your awesome article on computing tax due on the sale of the primary home when a spouse passes. I just had a quick question. Let’s say a spouse passes on March 01, 2017. The first thought [...]
