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Final walkthrough a buyer's best friend
Imagine this. You move into your new home for the first time after closing and, although you transferred the utilities into your name, the lights don't turn on. There isn't a single light bulb left in the house, the yard is overgrown, and the leaky faucets the sellers were to have fixed still leak.
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Eight ways to conserve water this summer
In February of this year, the Governor of California declared a state emergency due to drought. “ …California faces its third consecutive year of drought and we must prepare for the worst,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said. As of this writing, the state has not issued a mandatory water rationing order, but asks that the residents of California participate in a voluntary reduction. With the summer months ahead, the drought is even more cause for concern. Lawns and gardens will be watered more often, more cars will be washed; essentially the hose will replace the rain. By adjusting their lifestyle a bit, homeowners can reduce water waste -- and save a buck on the monthly water bill. Here’s how:
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Funding parents' reverse mortgage a win-win
DEAR BENNY: I want to help my older parents so they can have a more stress-free and comfortable retirement, and believe I am in a position to do so. They have a home in an area where housing prices are actually still increasing, which makes the scenario even more attractive to my husband and me.
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7 Tips to Negotiate Your Way to a Mortgage Loan Modification
]RISMEDIA, May 2, 2009-For some small business owners, trouble on the home front (as in home mortgage front) threatens already precarious business conditions. Home mortgages that once seemed a good source of money for the business now could result in the need to layoff workers or even close. Homeowners with trouble making mortgage payments often hear that their best bet is to contact their lender about a loan modification, but they should be well prepared when they do so.
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Five ways to cut heating costs
If you're thinking it's time to do something about your cold house and your high heating bills, here are five win-win suggestions that will help you do both.
1. REPLACE YOUR FURNACE FILTER
A clogged filter makes your furnace work harder to deliver the same amount of heat, which wastes energy by keeping the furnace on for a longer period in order to bring the house up to the requested temperature.
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Multiple offers making a comeback
In the current home sale market, it might seem ludicrous to make an offer on a listing if it means competing with another buyer. However, multiple offers are on the rise in some markets. But, it doesn't always mean that you need to pay a lot more than the asking price.
Sellers are ever hopeful of receiving multiple offers. These days, this is usually an unrealistic expectation. That is, unless the listing is a prime property in a high-demand neighborhood where few homes are being offered for sale.
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Homeowners, be careful signing divorce papers
DEAR BENNY: I am recently divorced. We had two houses. In the divorce, I got one and he got one. We both signed quitclaim deeds to each other. However, I needed to refinance mine to pay off the bills I accumulated just to get my house back into livable shape. (It was a rental while we were married.) Both houses have mortgage loans: Mine carries a rate of 6 percent and his is at 5.75 percent interest. Needless to say, there is no incentive for him to refinance that favorable loan rate.
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Multiple home inspections pay off
Buyers often assume that if a house is new there's no need to inspect it. What could possibly be wrong with a brand-new house? You'd be surprised.
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Buyers, get into negotiating position
Bridging the price gap between home buyers and sellers can be a challenge in today's market. Sellers, many of whom have a hard time accepting that their home has lost value, often expect to sell for more than buyers are willing to pay.
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Whole new ballgame for refis
Mortgage interest rates have declined to all-time lows, resulting in a pickup in mortgage refinance applications. How many of these applications result in successful refinances remains to be seen. Lenders' qualifying criteria have tightened. The lowest interest rates are reserved for homeowners who have sufficient equity in their homes and who have high credit scores -- usually above 720. Lenders also are stricter on the borrower's overall debt-to-income ratio, but this varies from lender to lender.
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Don't pay off entire mortgage with extra cash
DEAR BENNY: I am confused about paying off our mortgage on our primary home or on a secondary home/rental. My husband is totally against paying off either loan, even though we could pay off at least one of the mortgages. Our home mortgage has 10 years left at 5.25 percent interest and the other is a 30-year at 5.75 percent interest.
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The art of counteroffers
Negotiation is back in style. It's not uncommon for buyers and sellers to have many rounds of counteroffering back and forth before they arrive at a contract that is completely agreeable to all involved. When this is accomplished, the contract is ratified.
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Water conservation tips
It seems you can hardly open a newspaper these days without reading the headline "Water is the new oil." But what does that mean exactly? In fact, water shortages may cause more severe problems than oil shortages: our lives literally depend on water, plus there are several alternatives to fuel but none really to water. We can technically "make" more water through techniques like rainwater catchment and desalination, but few individual homeowners have their own catchment tanks and even fewer are likely to rig up their own desalination plant. Even if such things were easy, it would still behoove us all to reduce our water usage first, not only because water is scarce, but also because we could all stand to shave a few dollars off our water bills. With that in mind we compiled the following tips to help you do exactly that.
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Three ways to reduce capital gains tax
DEAR BENNY: I was told by a prominent accountant that there is a loophole in the law that states that you can be exempt from paying capital gains (if you are in a home less than the two-year period) if there are "unforeseen circumstances" involved. Are you aware of this? Can you doublecheck to make sure? This accountant is well trusted by a lot of businesspeople! At the time I was going through an "unforeseen" divorce. –Patricia
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Staging tips that sell
Home prices have fallen and many homeowners are mortgaged to the hilt. This makes it difficult for some sellers to justify spending a penny to get their home ready for the market.
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Consumer Mortgage Audit Center Reveals the 5 Most Common Mortgage Violation
Consumer Mortgage Audit Center Reveals the 5 Most Common Mortgage Violations
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A Home Improvement Project that Saves Big Money on Taxes
- Wouldn't it be nice if adding style, curb appeal and energy efficiency to your home actually saved you money? In 2009 and 2010, it can. Thanks to the new 2009 stimulus legislation, American homeowners can earn up to a $1,500 tax credit for buying qualifying insulated garage doors.
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Seller financing without hiccups
DEAR BENNY: We are in our late 70s and have moved out of our house. We are selling the house to our daughter for approximately $338,000 and we are taking back the mortgage. We have been told the minimal interest rate we can charge her is 1.61 percent without getting in trouble with the IRS. And, it must be renewed each year. Is this correct? Please advise. –Louise
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What is Post-Consumer Content?
What is it?
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Carbon Offsets: What Are They?
The carbon economy is about to boom in the United States, particularly in California where state law will soon be forcing companies to track and pay for their carbon emissions. Pinpointing exactly what carbon credits and offsets are is difficult even for scientists on the frontlines of the emergent carbon economy, never mind lay people who are just beginning to hear about them.
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Simple Letter Could Prevent Home Foreclosure
Want to try to reduce your monthly mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure? Real estate experts say a simple letter may help d
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Want to conserve water but still have a lawn? Go native.
Before the advent of lawnmowers, there was a time when lawns were meant only for the wealthy, since they could afford to hire a crew of workers to manually cut and maintain their sprawling gardens with scythes. The rest of the folks used what land they had to grow vegetables, medicinal herbs, and flowers in cottage gardens.
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Buying house? Think long term
Now would seem like a rotten time to sell. The economy is in recession and many housing markets around the country have suffered serious downturns.
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Unpaid HOA fees boost foreclosure risk
DEAR BENNY: I am three months behind in my homeowner's association payments. Can the condominium foreclose on my unit? My mortgage payments are up to date, and I called my lender who said no, they cannot foreclose. What do you say?
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Homeowner's insurance hang-ups
After paying out huge settlements to clean up mold damage, homeowner insurers pulled back from issuing new policies on homes where a water damage claim had been made within the last five years.
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Facing foreclosure: When must I move out?
DEAR BENNY: I am one of the unfortunate who has to deal with eventual foreclosure. Can you tell me how long I can remain in my home until legally having to vacate? –Constance
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Condo owners disagree on dry rot repair
DEAR BENNY: I own a condo in a two-unit building. We always have split all common expenses 50/50 per our legal documents. Recently we discovered a leak in the common garage, and have established the cause and are embarking on repairs. This leak also caused dry rot in some of the hardwood floors in my unit. I considered this to be a common expense and expected the entire cost of the repairs to be divided 50/50. The other owner disagrees and claims that because the damage is in the interior of my unit I must bear the cost of those repairs myself. Your advice will be most helpful. –Sherry
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