Deeds.com

May 13, 2024May 13, 2024

Can Condo Buyers Freely Work in, Sell, and Rent Their Condos?

A condo for sale? That’s an opportunity for a buyer to acquire a deed, start building equity…and maybe even attain financial freedom. Some first-timer buyers who want a foothold on the ownership ladder jump on a condo listing for precisely that reason.

To some, condo deeds represent long-term homes and investments. To others, condos are perfect for downsizing. In any case, questions arise for the condo shopper. Questions like: Can I use the condo itself to earn income?

Here, we break down this and related condo queries.

May 10, 2024May 10, 2024

Buyer’s Market in Dallas? It’s All Relative.

Lately, the homes for sale in Dallas stay on the market a little longer. Little by little, sellers are lowering their price expectations, and Dallas home buyers are getting deals.

Homes in Dallas stayed on the market, on average, for 37 days in April 2024. That’s up 8% compared to last year. Some (about 12%) have lingered on the market longer than three months.

Not only in Dallas but also in Austin and Houston, today’s sellers have to negotiate and really work with buyers. That said, homes that aren’t moving in these cities tend to be the pricey ones. Those priced under $300K continue to attract buyers.

May 8, 2024May 8, 2024

Condo Bubble? What’s Going On in Florida Now?

Florida is a snowbird’s paradise. It’s no surprise that condos make up a major portion of the market.

Recently, though, Florida condos are presenting specific challenges. They’re getting hard to finance. Home buyers in Florida can expect to put at least 25% down. For coastal homes, which lenders consider risky, the expected down payment can be significantly higher.

Needless to say, this is putting off buyers. And it’s putting a damper on the Sunshine State’s housing market. Plenty of Floridians want to sell, while the pool of interested buyers is shrinking. So condo prices have come down from their highs. Miami homes are 3% cheaper (at $385K). And in Jacksonville, prices have dipped 7% (to $254K).

Anyone thinking about acquiring or transferring a Florida deed needs a clear understanding of its value. So let’s look more closely at the Florida market today.

May 6, 2024May 6, 2024

Feeling Merry: Why Sellers Love the Month of May

The best time to sell a home is in the first half of the year, declares a high-profile real estate data firm. The ATTOM firm just came out with its annual take on the best days of the year to sell a home.

To ensure accuracy, ATTOM reviewed sellers’ profits from tens of millions of house and condo sales, dating back from 2011. The upshot? In May, sellers are most likely to get more than their asking price. In case you’re curious, the study did pinpoint the very best day to sell. It’s May 27.

That’s pretty exciting — but it’s also a generalization. Let’s take a closer look.

May 3, 2024May 3, 2024

Epic Heat? New Study Links Racial Deed Restrictions to Temperature Risk

What impact do racial covenants in property deeds have on heat-related health risks? You might be surprised.

In a first-of-its-kind effort to answer this question, researchers looked at greater Minneapolis. They mapped out the places where homes have a history of white ownership, maintained by racial deed language.

These historically exclusive neighborhoods are cooler, with more trees and less concrete. Maybe that finding comes as no surprise.

But heat extremes in the United States can kill. Heat waves do, in fact, kill more people every year than fierce storms and floods do. Heat, by the way, also makes storms fiercer, and flooding more severe. And that affects the economic value of a home.

May 1, 2024May 1, 2024

Buying a Home on Disability: What to Know

For all hopeful buyers, whether or not they have disabilities, getting a mortgage comes down to a rather simple formula. It’s about how much a loan applicant spends, versus the applicant’s stable income. And yes, stable income includes disability benefits such as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI).

Disability income might also mean personally purchased or employer-covered insurance. And there can be other sources, like the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Indeed, disability insurance pays many recipients enough to be their whole basis for applying for a mortgage loan.

April 30, 2024April 30, 2024

What’s the Latest With AI in Real Estate? Ask Claire.

A company named reAlpha is a publicly traded firm focused on property technology — proptech. And it’s very big on artificial intelligence.

But who’s Claire?

That’s reAlpha’s Smart Buyer’s Agent. Claire is powered by generative AI. Claire helps the home buyer pick out the best homes to consider. Claire then provides data-informed virtual tours, and offers support all the way through closing day.

With round-the-clock support, Claire is poised to make a home purchase, well…user-friendly. And if Claire’s your agent, you needn’t worry about paying commission.

April 29, 2024April 30, 2024

I Inherited a Home. Should I Sell It, or Rent It Out?

Many heirs receive real estate because it’s a valuable asset — not necessarily because they need the homes to live in. So, for the heir who doesn’t want to live in the inherited home, what’s the best decision to make? Rent or sell the home?

The answer is clear: It all depends! It’ll turn on the precise blend of the heir’s circumstances and the real estate market.

While we have no blanket best answer for all readers and all markets, we can certainly go over the factors an heir would want to consider.

April 26, 2024April 26, 2024

Michigan Deed Holders: Your Property Rights Could Change

Living in Michigan? It’s time to check your deed restrictions. Michigan deed holders should know that changes made to the state’s Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA) took effect March 29, 2024. And there’s a new deadline to record a notice under the MRTA.

KEY POINT TO KNOW: Michigan deed holders now have until September 29, 2025 to keep certain conditions on their deeds that originated 40+ years back. Otherwise, the law will effectively delete certain longstanding “rights and interests” including deed covenants, restrictions, and easements — by letting them sunset.

Now, let’s go into some details about deeds, restrictions on deeds, and how Michigan’s changes could apply to you and/or your homeowner’s association.

April 24, 2024April 25, 2024

Now They’re Holding Titles for Ransom? Here’s How Real Estate Scammers Target Floridians (and the Rest of Us)

St. Johns County, which includes St. Augustine Beach, has plenty of attractive real estate. Just beware the trickster who holds a deed for ransom.

One of the seniors who lives in St. Johns sounded the alarm. Some shady firm told her to pay $20K to get her title back.

It’s a trend in which local “investment companies” (or run-of-the-mill fraud rings) take the title of a home hostage, for a payoff. Now, St. Johns County officials are warning the public about these real estate ransoms.