How Stubborn Tenants Kill Sales

by Robert Griswold, Inman News  

Q. My rental home has been for sale for more than a year. During this time, I have given my tenant a rent discount for allowing me to show the home and for the fact that he will have to move on a 30-day notice when it sells.

I have now sold the home and gave my tenant the required 30-day notice in writing. However, my tenant has informed me that he cannot move until one week after the escrow is due to close. My buyer insists that she will cancel the sale if the unit is not vacant, as she must immediately move in the day escrow closes, which is approximately two weeks.

I know that I have legal remedies, but an eviction action will take at least 3-4 weeks and I will lose my sale.

What can I do?

If I lose the sale, do I have any recourse against my tenant?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 10.13.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Property Sales

Do Rules Favor Pre-Foreclosure Buyers?

by Ilyce Glick and Samuel J. Tamkin, Inman News

Q: I have a legal question concerning buying a property that is about to be foreclosed.

A major concern when bidding on a foreclosed home is that you can’t examine the inside of the property and determine what needs to be fixed.

 When trying to buy a property during the pre-foreclosure process can you contact the owner directly? If the owner agrees to let you examine the inside of the property, is it legal to offer the owner the amount they owe to the creditors in addition to an amount of extra cash that they will directly receive? Then after the owner lets you in, if you are not satisfied with the home’s condition, can you wait for the auction to get the property for an amount that will be lower than the debts to create a solid investment? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 10.08.2008. 1 Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Property Sales

Pending Home Sales Up Sharply

Pending home sales activity surged as buyers took advantage of low home prices and affordable interest rates, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in August, jumped 7.4 percent to 93.4 from an upwardly revised reading of 87.0 in July, and is 8.8 percent higher than August 2007 when it stood at 85.8. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it stood at 101.4.

Improved Affordability

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says home buyers were responding to improved affordability. “What we’re seeing is the momentum of people taking advantage of low home prices, with pending home sales up strongly in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island, and the Washington, D.C., region,” he says. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 10.08.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing, Property Sales

Common Ways Sellers Fudge Their Listings

by Dian Hymer, Inman News

Some people just don’t get it. If you advertise a house as having a San Francisco Bay view, buyers will expect to walk into a public room like the living room and see the bay. They won’t be satisfied with a peek of the bay from the master bathroom.

Exaggerating in advertising not only leads to disappointment, it can have legal consequences. For example, sellers have been sued over misrepresenting square footage.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 09.24.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Property Sales

New Solutions For Getting Your Home Sold

by Tara-Nicholl Nelson, Inman News

Q: I need to get my home sold — now. It’s in great condition, but it has been sitting on the market for months. I’ve reduced the price to where my Realtor thinks it should be.

Do you have any out-of-the-box suggestions for moving my house?

A: Welcome to the wonderful world of real estate in 2008. You are not alone — sellers across the country are struggling to figure out what they can proactively do to unload their homes.  Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 08.10.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Property Sales

Written Home Inspection Report is Gold

by Dian Hymer, Inman News

A homeowner in Oakland, Calif., recently decided to put his older home on the market. At the recommendation of his real estate agents, he ordered presale inspection reports on the property.

The home inspector noticed sloping in the floors and out-of-plumb door frames — signs of settlement, which is not unusual for the area.

The seller informed the home inspector that an engineer had inspected the property when he initially purchased it. The seller, who was then a buyer, had been present at the time of the inspection, which is always a good idea. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 08.03.2008. 1 Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Property Sales

Demystifying the Reverse Exchange

by Ken Tharp, Iowa Equity Exchange

As a Qualified Intermediary, Iowa Equity Exchange has the very specific role of guiding the investor through a §1031 exchange. We inform the investor of exchange requirements, produce the necessary exchange documents, provide the critical time monitoring procedures required, and manage the investor’s funds while in our possession.

Reverse exchanges are gaining in popularity, but they are often misunderstood and they can be confusing. Let’s investigate the basics of this exchange structure.

Sometimes a situation arises in which an investor or property owner wants to purchase a property but wishes to sell a property that he or she already owns to provide the funds needed to purchase the new property. If the old property sells prior to closing on the new property, the investor can employ a standard Section 1031 exchange to defer capital gain taxes on the sale.

But what if the investor needs to close on the new property before the old one can close, or perhaps before it is even on the market?  Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 08.02.2008. 2 Comments »

Filed under: 1031 Exchange, AAOA Forum, Make Extra Money, Property Sales

Think Like a Buyer to Get Home Sold

by Ilyce Glink, Inman News

I spent some time in the past few weeks listening to friends who are thinking about moving across the country to buy a house.

What they’re telling me is that even though there is a seemingly endless list of houses for sale, not all home sellers are making the most of the house they’re trying to unload.

When it comes to putting your house up for sale, the big problem for most homeowners is thinking like a seller. Most homeowners think that the house that they lived in, and loved, is the house they’re trying to sell. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 07.31.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Property Sales

Common Red Flags for Home Buyers

by Dian Hymer, Inman News

Last year, before the subprime crisis hit, a home buyer was on the verge of purchasing his first home. His mortgage broker told him that qualifying for a mortgage would not be a problem.

After reviewing the numbers of an attractive teaser-rate adjustable, the buyer had second thoughts. He called a knowledgeable friend and asked her to review the loan documents with him. After fully understanding how much the loan would ultimately cost, he decided not to go through with the sale. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 07.17.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Property Sales

Watch ID Theft When Selling ‘By-Owner’

by Ilyce Glick, Inman News

Q: I placed my home on a for-sale-by-owner Web site and was contacted by someone who said he wanted to buy it.

He provided an offer via e-mail and I found that price to be acceptable provided that he put down some earnest money. The buyer asked for a contract offer sheet, which I filled out to include both the price of the home and the earnest money to be required.

I didn’t sign the contract but asked him to sign it and forward it to me along with the earnest money. I had an expiration date on the contract to make it null and void if I did not receive it within a certain period of time.

He responded to my e-mail stating that no earnest money was required, as he intended to pay cash. I ignored that e-mail, and have assumed that since he didn’t want to put down any cash, he wasn’t that interested in the house.

Here’s my question: What risk have I taken by providing this individual with an unsigned “contract to sell” for my house? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 07.10.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing, Property Sales