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Estate planning lessons from the stars

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, November 24, 2009.

Everyone loves a good mashup. Whether the two worlds colliding are Jay-Z with the Beatles, books with video or Wi-Fi café/bookstores (genius!), Charles Darwin himself would be proud of these rapidly multiplying examples of interbreeding of diverse "species" spawning ever more robust progeny.

In that vein, "Trial and Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights" ... and what you can learn from celebrity errors -- from married estate planning and probate attorney team Andrew and Danielle Mayoras -- is the ultimate mashup of voyeurism into celebrity financial scandals and simple, sound estate planning advice. more...

The new real estate 'consciousness'

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, November 23, 2009.

Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/conkling/3823036353/" target=blank>Ralph Buckley</a>.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how often I'm asked by people who understand the evils of misused subprime loans to do loans that were made possible only by the loose lending guidelines of the subprime era! The irony of it is a little crazy-making, so I took the opportunity to vent. (Thanks, readers!)

In all fairness, though, what I'm actually seeing more often among homebuyers and sellers these days is the opposite -- people who have learned from their mistakes (and others' mistakes) and are trying hard to apply the wisdom from them in the course of their post-bubble-burst real estate decision-making. Sometimes they take it too far, but many of the buyers and sellers who are active in today's market are working hard not to repeat the errors of the immediate past era. more...

Casualties of bidding wars

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, November 20, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveweaver/2914952785/">Steve Weaver</a>.

Q: I have been house-hunting for several months now. I have gotten outbid on several properties where the listing agent said there were 15, 20 or 30 other offers. A few weeks later, the places came back on the market! What happened? Was there something wrong with me or my offer? Why did they not just come back to me or the next-highest offer, rather than putting it back on the market? Mine would have been a guaranteed deal!

A: Reading your question was like reading my daily e-mails from my own clients! I've seen this happen a number of times, mostly with my FHA-financed buyers trying to buy bank-owned properties. more...

Make real estate a design tool for life

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, November 19, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gene1138/2300131257/" target=blank>Gene1138</a>.

Q: I bought my first home about five years ago. Since then, I bought a multifamily home and moved into it, renting out my first home, and then bought another house and that's where I live now. I got a great deal on this house, which is in one of the best neighborhoods in my area, because it needs so much work. Now, with the economy, I'm concerned that I'll never be able to do the needed repairs. It's too broken down to rent, and I couldn't cover my expenses on it, even if I were able to rent it out. In fact, I'm nervous that if we have a big earthquake, my foundation problems will cause major, irreparable damage to the house.

On a lark, I went to look at some new condos and lofts that are being rented downtown -- I loved them, and I could rent one for less than half of what I pay to live in my current home. I believe that real estate is a big part of building wealth, but I'm seriously thinking about selling this house and living in one of those rental apartments. What do you think? more...

Construction plan falls outside the 'zone'

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, November 18, 2009.

In the case Cimino v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Woodbridge, Christine Cimino purchased a 5-acre parcel of undeveloped land in an area where a lot was required to have 2 acres of contiguous non-wetland a specific setback requirement in order to get a building permit.

More than 20 years prior to Cimino's purchase of the property, a prior owner had applied on three separate occasions for the parcel to be zoned a buildable lot. While the surrounding land was subdivided into buildable lots, the inland wetlands agency denied each of the prior owner's applications to approve this particular parcel. The rest of the parcels became numbered lots, while the remaining parcel was labeled "Remaining Land of ____, Trustee." It was transferred along with a neighboring lot until purchased from the owner of the neighboring lot by Cimino. more...

Top mortgage secrets exposed

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, November 17, 2009.

Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.ftpress.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0137020163" target=blank>FT Press</a>.

If you read this column often, you know how I feel about the fear-mongering approach we so often see in today's real estate and mortgage how-tos. It's hard for me to get behind any "advice" that attempts to position real estate consumers and their advisors in an adversarial face-off, or seeks to further foment the division and paranoia already pervading the real estate ether. My sense is that the most paranoid buyers are not necessarily the ones that save the most money and get the best deals. In fact, I've seen paranoia cause people to make poor, panic-based decisions and incorrectly suspect very well-intentioned advisors of steering them wrong, alienating themselves from all the legitimate folks and essentially delivering themselves into the hands of the folks they should really be avoiding.

Whew -- glad I got that out. more...

4 tax-credit market predictions

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, November 16, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardwhitaker/3320110409/">Richard Whitaker</a>.

By the time I write this, just a few days after President Obama signed the extended, expanded homebuyer tax credit into law, it's already old news. I was fielding calls from reporters looking for industry insiders to quote before the ink on that thing was dry. It's already been covered every which way but loose, so I won't purport to "educate" you about the bullet point provisions it contains.

However, I submit to you that whether you were pro or con on the credit's extension, there are some behavioral-economic impacts it will have on the real estate market that have managed to escape the popular media's scrutiny.

The real estate industry party line on this thing was, of course, that the credit should be extended and expanded for its proven ability to stimulate sales. more...

Buyer wronged by unlicensed agent?

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, November 13, 2009.

Q: I just got a notice from my state's Department of Real Estate that the woman who sold me my home was not licensed at the time. They are asking me to testify in a disciplinary proceeding. How did this happen? Is there any chance I could recover any money from this case?

A: This probably happens more than you would think. How? Well, most often, a licensed broker or agent whose license has been suspended or, less culpably, has lapsed because they haven't paid their licensing fees or kept up with their continuing education requirements is the "unlicensed individual" found performing acts requiring a license. This also happens commonly when an unlicensed assistant to a licensed broker or agent performs activities outside the scope of what is permissible, including (in most states) showing properties or drafting and explaining contractual documents to a buyer or seller. more...

Must-haves when buying from builder

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, November 12, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/minidriver/423349158/" target=blank>sciondriver</a>.

Q: I am a first-time homebuyer in the New York metro area. I am considering purchasing a new condo in one of the boroughs, where most of what I am looking at is new construction. If I am buying a new-construction condo, is there any real need or benefit to having a Realtor represent me?

A: Short answer? Yes. Now for the longer answer.

Here's a hypothetical. You're a novice poker player -- in fact, you've never played a game before in life. And you're playing in the World Series Olympiad Playoffs ... more...

Debt collectors must play by rules

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, November 11, 2009.

Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hikingartist/3000884104/" target=blank>HikingArtist.com</a>.

In the case Edwards v. Niagara Credit Solutions Inc., debtor Brenda Edwards owed money to creditor Consumer Shopping Network. The creditor retained Niagara Credit Solutions, a collection agency, to recoup the money owed by Edwards. A collection agency calls and writes debtors to collect debts, and is governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Niagara Credit Solutions made more than 12 calls to Edwards over a four-month period, leaving voice messages when she failed to answer. Each message stated the debtor's name, the name of the individual calling, the phone number to which the return call should be made and an account number to reference. more...

Think like a millionaire

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, November 10, 2009.

Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780446537834.htm" target=blank>Hachette Book Group</a>.

By now, most personal finance book aficionados are familiar with the Lifestyles of the Rich and Not-Usually-Famous genre exemplified by "The Millionaire Next Door." These titles tend to be equal parts counterintuitive voyeurism ("75 percent of millionaires drive a bucket and hand-wash their own undies) and advice on how to get where the books' subjects are. ("If you drive a bucket and hand-wash your own undies, you, too can be on the path to millions!")

"The Richest Man in Town," written by Worth Magazine founder W. Randall Jones, sticks to the formula of providing interesting tidbits about the lives of his subjects and their path to wealth, and spinning the common threads into a fabric of wealth-building advice. However, there is something inherently compelling about the approach of the book that flips the formulaic genre on its ear. more...

Mortgage mission impossible

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, November 9, 2009.

I'm a big believer in possibility. In fact, I often sign off my correspondence with the Emily Dickinson quote, "Dwell in possibility." In life in general, I think too many people limit themselves and what they can accomplish by virtue of what's possible.

So, it's counterintuitive for me to have to say, as I so often do these days, "That's not possible. It can't be done."

The world of real estate, generally, is a world of possibility. The normal home sale or purchase is truly the tip of the iceberg in terms of the property types, uses and transaction structures that live in the realm of what is possible. more...

No way around FHA's 'flipper' rule

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, November 6, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindyy/2572166160/">lindyireland</a>.

Q: Please explain why the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will not allow a buyer to purchase a home that was sold within the previous 90 days? We have asked this question numerous times and everyone just goes around it and says FHA will not allow this type of loan.

We have seen several properties that we really want, but we keep being rejected because we have to go FHA (we have only a 3.5 percent downpayment). Why is this a rule? Are there any ways to work around it? more...

Purchase power: Know your true max

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, November 5, 2009.

Q: My wife and I were approved to buy a home up to $400,000, but we knew that we couldn't actually afford the monthly payment on that much. So, we started out looking at homes in the $200,000 range. Over the months, we realized that we would have to offer quite a bit more than the asking price to get in. And so many of the properties we were seeing were in really bad shape -- so bad that we couldn't afford to fix them up if we did get them. So we decided to look in the $250,000 range, but even after offering $30,000-$40,000 over asking, we still weren't getting anything.

Now we're looking up in the low $300,000s -- we're starting to see fewer offers on the properties and better places, but I'm concerned by this trend, and I fear that we're in danger of overextending ourselves. How should we proceed? more...

Bankruptcy fails as foreclosure rescue

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, November 4, 2009.

In this case, homeowner David Coletta secured a note for $60,000 with mortgages on two properties in favor of mortgage holder Nicholas Mattera. After the homeowner defaulted on payments on the note, Mattera filed a foreclosure action in the county court.

The homeowner's response failed to conform to the court's rules, and he was given an extension of time to respond appropriately. Instead of responding, the homeowner filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy action, which automatically stayed the foreclosure proceedings. His attorney was unable to provide evidence that he notified Mattera of this bankruptcy filing. The homeowner failed to follow through with the bankruptcy case, and it was dismissed. more...

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