Miscellaneous Category
DONALD TRUMP ADVISES BUYERS TO BUY NOW ON GMA
August 14th, 2008
By Brad Garbutt
Two days ago, on Good Morning America, “The Donald” gave his opinion on the current state of the real estate market. He emphatically encouraged buyers on the fence to buy now. As for sellers, he said, unless you absolutely have to sell, don’t. “If you want to buy a house there’s probably never been a [...]
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I HEARD I CAN CANCEL MY MORTGAGE INSURANCE, CAN I?
August 12th, 2008
By Brad Garbutt
Many homebuyers commonly confuse mortgage insurance with mortgage life insurance. The prior protects the lender from loss if the buyer defaults on their mortgage and is the subject of this blog while the latter pays off the mortgage if the insured dies. Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is additional insurance that lenders may require from homebuyers [...]
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4 WAYS FOR SPOUSES TO HOLD TITLE IN CALIFORNIA
August 11th, 2008
By Brad Garbutt
Until recently, married couples had three choices when it came to deciding how to hold title: as their community property, joint tenants or tenants in common. Effective July 1, 2001, California enacted a new civil code allowing husband and wife to hold title as “community property with the right of survivorship“. This new method [...]
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SHOULD I BUY THAT MOLDY HOUSE?
August 10th, 2008
By Brad Garbutt
Mold has been a hot button topic ever since Ed McMahon, jocular sidekick to Johnny Carson, sued his insurance company claiming his moldy Beverly Hills mansion was making him and his family ill. This March, Ed was in foreclosure and trying to sell the home in a hilltop gated community for more than $6 million. He [...]
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A Perfect Storm for First Time Buyers
August 10th, 2008
By Bob Sparks
A Perfect Storm for first time buyers has arrived. Currently we are experiencing a combination of depressed housing prices and affordable financing that will most likely not last much longer. Already there is pressure to raise interest rates. Keep in mind that an increase of only 1% in interest rates can increase your total monthly payment by approximately 8% and decrease your [...]
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PROPOSITION 90 AIDS SOME SENIOR CITIZENS WITH PROPERTY TAX PORTABILITY
August 9th, 2008
By Brad Garbutt
In 1998, voters approved Prop. 90 which was designed to induce senior citizens (over 55) to sell their home and move from one county to another taking their existing property tax base with them. Proposition 13 dictates that the value of a home, for property tax purposes, must be re-assessed to current market value whenever [...]
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BEWARE OF PRIVATE TRANSFER FEES WHEN BUYING REAL ESTATE
August 9th, 2008
By Brad Garbutt
Right around the time the world celebrated the turn of the 21st century, developers in California hatched a plan to slip private transfer fees (PTF’s) into their legal title documents imposing a fee on subsequent sales of newly-built homes in the developer’s subdivision. In many cases, the buyers of these developed properties were unaware a PTF [...]
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SHOULD I HELP MY DAUGHTER BUY A HOME USING EQUITY SHARING?
August 9th, 2008
By Brad Garbutt
One method of purchasing real property that gained popularity in the recent housing boom is equity sharing. Basically, one party (the owner occupant) occupies the property and the other (the investor) puts up the bulk of the financing. Both can receive tax benefits from these legal and financial arrangements according to the terms of the [...]
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