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Buyers cancel purchase for odd reasons

By Benny Kass, Monday, January 5, 2009.

DEAR BENNY: I had a few acres of rural property that I put on the market. I received an acceptable offer along with a deposit. Before the closing, the buyer withdrew the offer for a reason that was not listed on the contract. The buyer's Realtor requested the deposit back, and my Realtor told me it wouldn't be worth fighting, so I followed her advice. Later, I received another acceptable offer, but the same thing happened, as the buyer withdrew for a lame reason. Again the listing had been removed, and the deposit was returned. more...

Surprise loan irks condo buyer

By Benny Kass, Monday, December 29, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I bought a condo just over a year ago. It was difficult to get a certificate for the sale, because there was no operating HOA. However, when the Realtor finally got it from an interim property manager, everything was clear; there were no encumbrances on the property. more...

Broker won't lower rate after locking

By Benny Kass, Monday, December 22, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I recently purchased a new home. Before I wrote an offer to the seller, I contacted three mortgage brokers to get a loan. After meeting with the brokers ("A," "B," "C"), I chose broker "A" and went through the application process, and was approved for the loan. I signed a lock-in agreement to make sure that the interest rate would not change before closing. more...

Don't pay off entire mortgage with extra cash

By Benny Kass, Monday, December 15, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I am confused about paying off our mortgage on our primary home or on a secondary home/rental. My husband is totally against paying off either loan, even though we could pay off at least one of the mortgages. Our home mortgage has 10 years left at 5.25 percent interest and the other is a 30-year at 5.75 percent interest. more...

Mortgage is paid off -- now what?

By Benny Kass, Monday, December 8, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I paid my mortgage off in late May. What should I expect to see in the way of documents? How do I really know it is complete? --L.

DEAR L.: When you borrowed money to buy or refinance your home, you signed a mortgage document or a deed of trust. The latter is more commonly used throughout the country.

Your lender recorded that document among the land records in the county where your property is located. more...

The escrow headache

By Benny Kass, Monday, December 1, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: Why does one have to pay monthly insurance payments in escrow to the lender? Also, after having paid this payment in escrow for five to six years, why can't this be cancelled? --Marcelle more...

Trading houses creates host of problems

By Benny Kass, Monday, November 24, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: My daughter and her husband are thinking about trading houses with a friend. They own a townhouse and their friend owns a larger home. I don't know all the particulars, but I believe they are thinking about keeping their own mortgages and just switching where they live.

I have asked my daughter to contact a lawyer to have everything on the up and up. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I think there are many risks. What advice would you give her if you were me? --Barbara more...

No guarantee when housing meltdown will end

By Benny Kass, Monday, November 17, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: My son and his wife own a house. Just before the housing market downturn, they moved 1,000 miles away to pursue a much more lucrative-paying career for him. Since then they haven't been able to rent the house, and if they sold it they would lose $30,000 to $40,000. Even though he makes great pay, they are barely squeaking by having to make that house payment and an apartment payment. Because they have kept up with the payment their credit rating is still excellent. Is there anything they can do to unload the house without taking a big hit on their credit rating or losing a lot of money? --Janice

DEAR JANICE: What is the loan to value (LTV) of your son's house? Is there any equity left or is it "upside down"? That means that the mortgage is higher than the current value of the house. more...

Will plan to avoid capital gains tax work?

By Benny Kass, Monday, November 10, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: My 42-year-old son will move home next month. I am 65 and thinking of downsizing. I would like to place him on the deed when he moves in and after two years, sell my home. Since he is on the deed, will up to $500,000 be tax exempt? I know that there could be problems with this arrangement. Is this possible and what are the drawbacks with this arrangement? --Richard more...

Foreclosures drying up flow of HOA fees

By Benny Kass, Monday, November 3, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I live in a 12-unit condominium complex. We self-manage. One of the units will probably be going into foreclosure in the very near future. What does the complex need to do to collect the monthly dues and yearly assessments once the unit is in foreclosure? --Sara

DEAR SARA: Unfortunately, this is a very common problem that many condominium associations throughout the country are facing. It has a downhill spiraling effect: When a unit owner is delinquent on his/her mortgage payments, that owner doesn't pay the condominium fees either. more...

Homeowners, be careful signing divorce papers

By Benny Kass, Sunday, October 26, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I am recently divorced. We had two houses. In the divorce, I got one and he got one. We both signed quitclaim deeds to each other. However, I needed to refinance mine to pay off the bills I accumulated just to get my house back into livable shape. (It was a rental while we were married.) Both houses have mortgage loans: Mine carries a rate of 6 percent and his is at 5.75 percent interest. Needless to say, there is no incentive for him to refinance that favorable loan rate. more...

Defects revealed after $1.5 million deal

By Benny Kass, Sunday, October 19, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: We bought a second home a year ago where we've spent very little time (a few days here and there) until recently. We recently discovered a number of problems including an inadequate radiant floor heating system -- we can't get heat past 60 when its 30 or below outside (this alone may cost $25,000 to fix (seller says he never had a problem); the cooktop vent exhausts indoors in violation of manufacturer specs; the window wall is bowing, and window cracking indicates a load-bearing structural issue; and leaks are visible at almost every rafter-to-wall seam ... more...

Timing the market: Refi or keep ARM loan?

By Benny Kass, Sunday, October 12, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I have a hybrid mortgage that is fixed for the first five years at 4.25 percent, and is tied to U.S. Treasury securities. The loan document notes that the index value is 2.1 and the margin is 2.75. The first "change date" on the loan is Nov. 1, 2009. My loan documents say on the first change date, my interest rate could be as high as 9.25 percent or as low as 2.75 percent, with no more than a 2 percent increase in any given year thereafter. Given the current fixed interest rates, is it advisable for me to refinance the loan now or continue to take advantage of the low rate I am paying for another year? What is the likelihood that the "index" could reach 6.5 percent in a year, raising my interest rate to 9.25 percent at the end of 2009? I would appreciate your response. --Belmont more...

Walkaway paves path to prison

By Benny Kass, Sunday, October 5, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I know someone who has qualified to obtain a second house by stating that he will rent his first house; however, he has no intentions of actually renting it. Upon obtaining the new house, he plans to walk away from the first house, letting it go into foreclosure. He will already own his new house before his credit is hurt by the foreclosure, and he plans to live in the new house until the foreclosure is removed from his credit report in seven years, so he sees it as the perfect plan. more...

When is it safe to destroy mortgage papers?
By Benny Kass, Sunday, September 28, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: We have owned our home since 1998 and have refinanced twice since that time. I still have the original mortgage papers along with the twice-refinanced papers. I am afraid to throw anything out but they are quite bulky and take up a lot of room. Do I really need to keep all three or can I toss the original papers when we bought the home and the second refinance papers and just keep the most recent refinance mortgage papers? --Ann more...

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