Does Manufactured Home Count? by Edith Lank on Creators.com

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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.

Does Manufactured Home Count?

Dear Edith: My wife and I are considering a permanent move to Florida. We would buy a manufactured home located in a retirement community on a lot we would rent as part of our HOA fees. Is this eligible for the government stimulus tax credits? — e-mail

Answer: Either the first-time buyer's or the repeat buyer's tax credit is intended for the purchase of a principal residence. The IRS uses the same definition of principal residence it does elsewhere in the tax code. Your main home is the place you live most of the time. It can be, says the IRS, a "House, Houseboat, Mobile home, Cooperative apartment, or Condominium."

For repeat buyers, the tax credit is 10 percent of purchase price, with a limit of $6,500.

Trouble with Seller

Dear Edith: My husband and I have been interested in a house since the end of summer. It is a nice house that needs work, so we made a reasonable offer. However, someone else made a higher offer about the same time, and theirs was accepted.

Since then, that offer has dragged with the banks, and the seller's agent assured me twice that he would call our agent once the seller gave up on the other buyer. Now I have learned the house is going into a short sale and someone else's offer is expected.

Our agent has repeatedly asked the seller's agent to keep her updated; however, the seller's agent never returns her call. This week, he hasn't returned both messages I left for him. I spoke to his supervising broker, who said he'd call me, but he didn't.

We're wondering what's going on. We've made it clear we've prequalified for a mortgage and we're ready to offer more than we originally did, yet the seller's agent basically refuses to deal with us and our agent.

We are a different race from the seller's agent, and we think from the current owner, and we're beginning to wonder if that might have something to do with his ignoring us. Do we have any recourse if a seller's agent refuses to communicate with us or our agent? — e-mail

Answer: I'm getting lots of mail lately from would-be buyers and sellers who complain that once a property goes into a short sale, there are all sorts of obstacles, delays, lack of communication and the like.

Perhaps you've simply run into that.

But failure of a broker to return phone calls has (in more normal times) sometimes been considered proof of unlawful discrimination. You may want to look at the Federal Fair Housing Law on HUD's website, and at the state laws against discrimination also.

Let that agent's managing broker know if you plan on filing a complaint anywhere.

Tax Ramifications

Dear Edith: I own a second home I have been renting to my daughter and her friend for five years. I have been depreciating the home as rental property.

I would like to give her the home. Can you tell me what, if any, tax ramifications there may be if I just turned it over to her? There is no mortgage on the home. — J.

Answer: You can give your daughter more than a million dollars with no federal gift tax due. It comes off what you could leave her tax-free at your death.

She also takes over your cost basis, which has, of course, been reduced each year by the depreciation you claimed.

First-Time Buyer and Foreclosure

Dear Edith: What are the risks of buying a foreclosed house? Do you recommend buying a foreclosed house as my first home? — T.I.

Answer: Here are a few of the risks:

First, the unhappy homeowners who are losing their house do not have to let you in to inspect it. You'll have to buy without seeing the interior, which just might be trashed.

Next, the lending institution that is forcing the foreclosure auction will usually bid the amount due on its mortgage. You'd have to bid more to win the property.

If you have the winning bid, you are — in most areas — required to pay some or all of the price in cash then and there. Professional investors often have a line of credit lined up and ready to go.

Lastly, you should do the whole thing under the guidance of a real estate lawyer, for help with the procedures and make sure you're not buying any legal problems.

If, on the other hand, you're asking about buying REO, "real estate owned" by a lender that has already taken the property at a foreclosure auction, that's different. For that, financing is sometimes available, but judging from my mail, the process can be lengthy and frustrating.

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.