Unpermitted additions are popular in California because of property tax implications. You see, due to Proposition 13 back in 1978, taxable assessments are based upon purchase price plus no more than 2% per year since acquisition (although if you...
I've seen many new home developments with vaulted ceilings, mini-vineyards, huge houses on little tiny lots...Why can't some developer built some homes for us regular people? A normal sized home with plenty of closet space and a decent (not...
(This was originally written February 16, 2006, but it's relevant still) One of the occasional questions I get from people has to do with why the housing bubble got so big (or if you're one of those still in denial...
For a period of several months when the market started imploding, I got mass messages from basically every lender I do business with, saying it's time to "get back to basics". My favorite A paper lender became the last to...
Our home isn't worth what we owe. So say you were just an average person selling and buying a house, meaning you put your house up for sale, get a contract to purchase on it then go put in offer...
I am currently living with my parents and they wish to deed of gift their house to me but they still have a remaining mortgage on it. Is it possible to do this or do they have to pay off...
I sold my house in (state) in august 2001 I hired a title attorney whose (local company X) acted as a agent for (national company Y). The facts are that there were errors and omissions which led to negligence...
I've gotten several emails to articles recently having to do with straw buyers, and more search hits. Straw buyer fraud is popular because people want a better loan and many don't see anything wrong with it since "we intend to...
Is it unwise to use the listing realtor as your purchase realtor? A house I'm interested in purchasing is being sold by the realtor selling my house. Although she's done a decent job selling my house, I fear she...
I had the idea for this article some time ago. It took me a long time to decide to share it publicly, because quite frankly, knowing what I know now, I was an idiot. I was still young enough to...
How do you transfer house ownership after someone dies and leaves you the house in a will? The will must be probated. Once all debts of the estate are paid and the court agrees to a final disposition of...
I bought a condo in DELETED, CA. Zero down. For 7 months I paid every bill on time - mortgages, HOA and taxes until... The Homeowner's Association told us that we MUST pay a $20,500 special assessment. My realtor...
The answer is "Yes." You don't have to lose your home in bankruptcy. I've done loans for many clients who kept their homes through bankruptcy. But they kept their mortgage payments current, or close enough to current. The condition...
I got an ill-mannered complaint email about how an evil loan officer from another company ordered the appraisal without waiting for the inspection to be done, and it turned out there was a minor problem that the seller likely could...
The question that inspired this was can a mortgage company use the flood insurance claim money towards homeowners mortgage loans? This is equally applicable to every other form of insurance on your home - earthquake, regular homeowner's insurance, and any...
do mortgage companies usually seek a deficiency judgment on home foreclosures Depends upon whether it is a recourse loan or not. A recourse loan is one where the lender can come after you for any excess amount of money you...
Scapegoating mortgage brokers or anyone else is not the answer, nor is prohibiting yield spread. We've been here before (in the early 1990s), congress did something remarkably similar except a little bit more sane. It didn't work then. Why would...
Every so often, someone who thinks they're a wit sends me a copy of The Rules For Relationships According To Women. Unlike those rules, which might have been funny around the time Nefertiti was a debutante, there are very few...
This is a real, major and pervasive problem in the industry. For a while, it mostly went away as listing agents were desperate for any offer, but it has come back. At least two properties my buyer clients have...
what if i sign all the paper work for a house at a title agency, can i back off the house? Depends upon the laws in your state. The Federal three day right of rescission only applies to refinancing your...
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