do mortgage company’s 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 owe. Whether a loan is recourse or non-recourse varies with the state you are in, …
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Why Do I Have to Pay For The Appraisal When I Cancelled Escrow?
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 have had repaired, but this clown chose to walk away, and as a result is …
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Why All The Fuss Over Real Estate Transactions?
Why doesn’t real estate just sell for the asking price instead of having to go thru all the paper work…? Wouldn’t it be easier to just put a price on it and sell it for that price? We don’t go thru all of that when purchasing cars or anything else. Where did this practice start? …
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What Do You Know That I Don’t Know?
Whenever I go scouting in public forums, somebody is always asking, “What’s the secret? How do you get rich in real estate?” The alternate to this question is “What do you know that I don’t?” These people are sure there’s some magic formula for getting rich quick in real estate, but nobody is willing to …
Thoughts on Abolishing Estate Tax
I have never liked or favored the estate tax, and yet I am very much of two minds about actually abolishing it. I’m glad of the benefits to the individuals involved, and yet it is only one of the issues involved in planning for what happens to all of us eventually, and abolishing it removes …
The Prerequisites of Investing
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that there are things you should do before you make your first investment. The SEC, NASD and all of the various other financial planning organizations all explicitly list three things that should be in place in most cases prior to making your first investment in anything. The first of these is …
The Mechanics of Inheriting Real Estate
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 assets, the executor will then create a deed giving whoever it is title to the property. …
The Consequences of Not Shopping Multiple Lenders
Minorities get higher rates. They add that the fact minorities are more likely to borrow from institutions specializing in high-priced loans could mean they are being steered to such lenders or that some lenders are unwilling or unable to serve minority neighborhoods. What they describe is called redlining. It is illegal. HUD (correctly!) really gets …
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Why There Is Money in Fixer Properties
I am an adamant believer in the Non-exclusive Buyer’s Agency Agreement. In practical terms, as opposed to the Exclusive Buyer’s Agency Agreement, it is so much to the advantage of the consumer that it isn’t funny, and it doesn’t usually hurt good agents. On the other hand, the proponents have one argument going for them …
When You Should Not Buy Real Estate
Okay, I did an article called Why Renting Really Is For Suckers (And What To Do About It). Fairness demands that I do a companion article on situations where buying is not a good idea. There actually are some. First off, the math just plain works against it for less than about three years. If …