Are exclusive buyer agents better than traditional real estate brokers? Weighing the pros and cons of each and how to decide which to use when homebuying. Q: My wife and I have been reading Ilyce’s book, 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask, and one of the big things we took from the book [...]
What does a home inspector do? This home seller thinks the requests a buyer made after the home inspection are unreasonable. Q: I enjoyed your column today in the Sunday Chicago Tribune. In your experience, have you come across buyers trying to use their home inspector to assert that there are many problems with a [...]
Buyer representation agreements: how do they work? This reader points out that some states have real estate laws that regulate buyer agency agreements. Q: I saw your recent article on exclusive buyer agents and buyer agency agreements that discussed an agent that required the homebuyer to sign an agreement for the showing. I feel your [...]
Is the real estate market slowing down? What's happening with the housing market and what happens when the real estate market turns from hot to cold. Recently, we came across a headline in a local Chicago news outlet about an expensive home that had been for sale for a while: “Spec House Sells For Two-Thirds [...]
How to transfer utilities from seller to buyer. What happens when a buyer fails to transfer leased utilities like solar panels into their own name? Q: I’m confused about when sellers are supposed to shut off utilities and how these get transferred. I thought that typically, within a day or two post-settlement, the buyers would [...]
Real estate market 2019: Where are homes selling fast? Realtor.com looked at areas where homes had the most page views and the fewest days on the market. We’re in the middle of the 2019 real estate market and homes in these neighborhoods are selling much faster than the national median of 56 days on the [...]
What is an exclusive buyer agency agreement? This homebuyer was asked to sign an agency agreement and wants to know the pros and cons of agency exclusivity. Q: We are looking for homes to buy and one of the real estate agents we interviewed wants us to sign an agency agreement form that will commit [...]
Should I buy a house now or wait until 2020? New research from JCHS shows a strong housing market, but not without its challenges for homebuyers. Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) delivered an in-depth analysis of America’s housing market in its State of the Nation’s Housing 2019 report. And for those of [...]
What happens when past homeowners have unpaid back taxes? The home may become at risk for foreclosure if the new owner skipped title insurance. Q: I bought a home back in 2013. I received free and clear title to it. However this week I was served with papers for foreclosure due to the previous owner's [...]
What mortgage can I get approved for? Fannie Mae found most Americans overestimate the credit score and down payment necessary to qualify for a mortgage. Credit scores and lending requirements are confusing - even to those of us who work in the credit industry or those that are tangentially related, like mortgage origination or banking. [...]
