Tag: real estate
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A Matter of Grave Importance: Here’s How to Transfer a Cemetery Plot
Transferring ownership of a cemetery plot can be a significant gift for a recipient who needs to make advance burial plans. Or buying a plot for yourself could make sense — so your heirs don’t have to. And, you might wonder, what about holding plots to sell? Do gravesites count as stores of value? No,…
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Update: State Lawmakers Have “Fast Cash for Houses” Wholesalers on Their Radar
Tempted to sell your home quickly and easily to one of those “We buy any house” outfits? Wait. Don’t even think about giving up that deed until you read this.
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Whether You’re Selling or Buying: How the Deed Works
Whether you’re about to receive the deed to your first home, or could use a refresher on all things deed-related, we’ve got you covered. A deed is a legal document (also called a legal instrument) that serves to transfer a real estate title from a current owner to a new owner. That is, the deed…
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A Deed in a Box? Understanding the Deed in Escrow
Deed in escrow has multiple meanings. In this article, we’ll discuss the concept as it applies to community restoration, and we’ll also discuss the deed in escrow as a way of averting a foreclosure.
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Lost Deed to Inherited Mineral or Oil Rights. What Should I Do?
From time to time we’re asked what to do if a deed is missing to mineral or oil rights. Can you recover your interest in these rights if you’re missing the deed? And how are these rights exercised? In this article, we take the questions one at a time.
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So Many Homes in HOAs—Is This the Future of Houses?
It’s your deed. But it could come with community-wide restrictions, as well as a long list of homeowners’ association rules that support those restrictions. If you value privacy and autonomy, this might be just what you’re trying to avoid. You want ownership — not other people telling you how to live. But it’s getting harder…
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Received an Offer to Have Your Deed Mailed to You for a Fee? Toss It!
This year, Recorder of Deeds Jeanne Sorg has an important message for home buyers in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Look out, Sorg tells homeowners, for deceptive letters mailed to residents from outfits like Property Site. (That’s just one example of the companies who send out these letters, Sorg notes.) The letters at issue say the companies…
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People Can Walk (and Sit) on Your Beachfront Property. Tell Buyers, Rhode Island’s New Law Says.
The owners of Rhode Island’s beachfront homes would like to own the beach — all the way out to the water. But last June, Rhode Island law created a public right to access areas of passable shore up to ten feet above the visible high tide line — the line where you can see the…
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How to Find and Buy a Fixer-Upper (Before Someone Else Does)
Nabbing a deed to a home these days is no easy feat. In this hostile market, many hopeful buyers are looking around for a fixer-upper just to get a toehold. In fact, there are financing options out there that make restoring a home affordable for buyers who have struggled to enter the market and don’t…
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Out of Control: Title Insurance and Other “Extras” Home Buyers Pay
$18K annually. That’s what the average homeowner pays to be one — above and beyond the price of the home and mortgage, property taxes, and utilities. Mortgage closing costs make up a third of that figure. U.S. housing costs are outpacing the country’s overall inflation. Homeowners’ insurance alone is up 11% year over year. And…
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Seller-Paid Agent Commissions Are Over in August. How Will Buying Homes Change?
Effective August 17, sellers won’t have to agree to pay both sides’ commissions up front when they list their homes for sale. And agents can no longer communicate “offers of compensation” to other agents through their local Multiple Listing Services. August will mark “a time of adjustment,” says Kevin Sears, who recently took the role…
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Tapping Into Home Equity Puts a Lien on Your Deed. Consider the Risks.
Many deed holders have accumulated a lot of home equity over recent years. Financial gurus online often encourage homeowners to tap into it. After all, why not take advantage of a home’s rise in value to get cash and do something on your bucket list? But handy as they are, home equity loans do come…
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I’m a Senior, Looking for a Mortgage. Will I Be Treated Fairly?
Great question. The first thing to know is that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act is on your side! Under this federal law, lenders may not consider an applicant’s age as a reason to approve or turn down your application. Simply stated, seniors can get mortgages if they demonstrate their ability to make the monthly mortgage…
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Driving Change: Can a Real Estate Company Use AI to Root Out Prejudice in Deeds?
Seattle real estate firm John L. Scott is on to something. The company is working with Amazon Web Services to create intelligent document processing. The goal? To help deed holders easily check for race-based deed restrictions — and take action. Race-based prejudice is all too common in deeds across the United States. The language…
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The Rise and Rise of Down Payments
A down payment is the portion of a home’s purchase price the mortgage borrower pays upfront. You knew that. But did you know the median down payment for U.S. homebuyers is now more than $55K+? That’s remarkable. It was less than $45K just last year. Buyers often try to put 20% of the purchase price down.…
