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Title and Deed
Dear Edith: My husband and I recently paid off our home mortgage. Only my name is on the deed. I would like both of our names to appear on the title to the house, so that in the event of my death, my husband would clearly have ownership of the …Read more.
Making Lots on the Sale
Dear Mrs. Lank: I've lived in my house for 32 years and want to sell this year. I am widowed and understand that I will have $250,000 that will not be taxed from the proceeds. Am I required to pay capital gains on a portion of the remaining monies? …Read more.
Can't Kick Tenants Out
Mrs. Lank: I am interested in buying a condo that is currently rented out. The seller says that the lease isn't up until for seven months and therefore I couldn't move in until then. If I bought this condo, would I be forced to become a landlord? Or …Read more.
Did He Overpay?
Dear Edith: I bought a house this summer, and in light of the National Association of Realtors' admission that they've been overstating home sales since 2007, I'm wondering if that faulty data may have made me overpay for my house. — L.
Answer:…Read more.
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Buying for RetirementDear Mrs. Lank: We are interested in buying a house with all cash for our retirement home. We'd live there after five years. In the meantime, our daughter will live in the house and rent one room out. Is it a good plan to buy with all cash, no mortgage? — S.I. Answer: I'm not a financial planner and I don't know enough about your overall circumstances (our your daughter's), so I can't say if all cash is a good plan for you or not. I do feel, though, that it's not wise to buy retirement property much before you expect to occupy it. A lot can change in five years. RETAINING MINERAL RIGHTS Dear Edith: When you buy a home, I noticed that the contracts usually have something about the original owner retaining mineral rights. What does that mean, especially if the home has had a few different owners through the years? I thought that when you bought property, you owned everything, but this suggests otherwise. — e-mail Answer: You must be located in an area with a lot of mining, oil or gas wells. In many areas, it would be unusual to find such provisions when property is offered for sale. In most cases, buying real estate does mean receiving ownership of the land (and anything permanently attached to it) in a wedge down to the center of the earth and upward to infinity. Mineral rights can be sold or leased separately, though, or held when the rest of the land is sold. If sub-surface rights had been retained by the original owner, then whoever bought the property later wouldn't own them. You can only buy whatever the seller owns. So, an offer to sell the property would have to alert potential buyers if mineral rights were not included. Even air rights can be sold separately. In Manhattan, for instance, air rights have sometimes been sold along with small strips of surface land for foundation pillars. That allows a different owner to construct a building above an existing one that doesn't change owners at all. PULL HOUSE OFF Dear Edith: We have an offer on our house.
Answer: You're not bound by that offer, unless it is accepted in writing exactly as it stands before those 48 hours are up. As for the listing contract: You always have the right to withdraw an agency. You might be asked to reimburse the brokerage for any out-of-pocket expenses, like advertising. And of course your contract may have other provisions. It may state, for instance, that you'd owe a commission if within a certain length of time you sold to someone who saw the property when it was listed. LEASING SOLAR FARM Dear Ms. Lank: I have an opportunity to lease some of my property to investors that are looking at installing a solar farm on the property. I am trying to find out what a fair price would be for leasing the land to the investors. I have about 5 acres and my brother has about 10 acres. Any help or advice would be appreciated. — e-mail Answer: Take the question to the best-qualified real estate appraiser you can find. This is a new field and it will probably take some expert research to give you the best answer. NOT QUITE FIXED RATE Dear Edith: My 69-year-old husband and I have a mortgage on our house with about eight years to go on our fixed loan, at 5.375 percent interest. Our lender has made the following offer: a new loan, 10-year fixed rate of 3.675 percent, which would give us a monthly savings of $113. In the offer, they state the rate may change without notice subject to market conditions. With the offer, there is a $500 credit at closing. Is this a good deal or not? We could use the extra $113 a month. — E.G Answer: Yes, but you certainly wouldn't have it for the next 10 years. That's not a fixed rate if it can change with market conditions, and it certainly will. Interest rates haven't been this low for half a century. They're bound to go up, though no one can say just when. When your new low rate disappears, so does your $113 a month advantage. And you'd be making payments for two extra years. Edith Lank will respond personally to any questions sent to her at 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester, NY 14620 (please include a stamped return envelope), or readers may e-mail her at ehlank@aol.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
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