Browsing Category Sellers

Why should you get Title Insurance? … and what is it, anyway?

A title search should turn up any liens attached to the property, from, say, unpaid construction costs, owed taxes or even outstanding parking tickets. There may be unknown missing heirs that suddenly show up to claim the house or there could be disputes over a will.This situation happened very recently…. The cost of title insurance varies, but can be seemingly expensive at Closing; the cost of independently hiring an attorney and dealing with the IRS would be far more expensive.Read more at the New York Times.

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Pre-approved?

More than half of the participants in a nationally representative statistical sample of realty agents identified unreliable or bogus preapproval letters as a key cause of breakdowns in transactions…. I generally regard “pre-approvals” from internet lenders as less valuable and less credible than those issued by either national or local lenders…. No preapproval letters are worth looking at, Wilson added, if the lending institution has not thoroughly checked credit files, income and cash on hand.As always, knowledge is power.

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How to buy or sell a house

Surprisingly, 25% of buyers still don’t undertake this one measure that can save them huge hassles and expenses down the road.4…. If your agent really seems clueless, chances are he or she is clueless — not a good thing when hundreds of thousands of dollars could be on the line.That this many people neglect to get a home inspection is astounding. I kid my clients that “if they really want this house, they won’t get a home inspection;” I have been able to advise each and every one of my clients (so far) to get an inspection.

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CLUE reports’ impact on real estate

Today I had a conversation with a fellow Realtor who did not know that a house’s (and thereby the Seller’s) claims history can impact whether a buyer can affordable homeowner’s insurance. From VAR’s website – bolding mine – Dating back to the 1980s, insurance claims databases provide subscribing insurance companies with claim history information for properties and individuals…. Waiting until the last days or even weeks before the closing can limit the opportunities of the buyers and sellers to address the affordability and availability issue and, if needed, to find alternatives for difficult to insure properties.

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