Probate and Foreclosure and Planning Ahead

This question brought someone to my site: If my house is going into foreclosure but the house is also in probate, can the lender actually go forward with the foreclosure sale while the house is in probate? The short answer is yes. The Trust Deed (or Mortgage Note) that was signed by the now deceased …

Lump Sum Payments on a Mortgage and Alternative Investments

This one came from a search engine: amortization of real estate loans early payoff based on a lump sum payment This is one of the smart things you can do. Not necessarily the smartest, mind you, but smart. The question is if there’s a better way to get a return on that money, wither by …

Losing Property Value with Highly Leveraged Properties

In one of my articles somebody wrote in the comments about going upside-down on their mortgage: What happens if the property value falls and becomes far less than the loan ammount? (POP) Lets say you get a loan for $280,000 on a home that was $330,00 and then three years later is is only worth …

Loan Rate Sheets: An example, and the games lenders play

This is something I probably should have covered quite some time ago, as it’s part and parcel of the system that’s abused. Here are sample rates from one A paper lender, picked at random, that were in effect a few days ago. These are Fannie and Freddie conforming 30 year fixed rate mortgages with full …

The Basics of 1031 Exchanges

Section 1031 of the IRS Code has to to with tax treatment on the exchange of one parcel of real estate for another. It’s similar to Section 1035 which covers most non real estate exchanges. Car for a car. Boat for a boat. Business for a business. But section 1031 allows indirect exchanges so long …

Company Stock in Retirement Accounts

Most of what you read on financial planning in the media is garbage, but here is one of those occasionally useful pieces: IRA Rollovers Could Have Tax Implications. Here’s the idea: You keep company stock in your qualified plan aside from any rollover you may do. Leave it with the company. Convert it to non-qualified …

“Banks Give Better Deals Than Brokers”

Better deals for the bank, that is. Ken Harney has a recent article Study Shows Loan Brokers’ Better Side But now a new, independent academic study has concluded the opposite: According to a team of researchers headed by Georgetown University’s Gregory Elliehausen, home mortgage applicants with less-than-perfect credit pay lower financing costs when they obtain …