Home » About Us » Columnists » Biographies »

Is owner's title insurance worth the cost?

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, February 7, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-169471p1.html" target=blank>Money umbrella image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

DEAR BENNY: We are getting ready to close on a home and there is a settlement fee of $685 for lender's title insurance and $683 for owner's title insurance. Must we pay both fees? --Phyllis

DEAR PHYLLIS: This is a question that has plagued homeowners for many years: "Why do I need to purchase owner's title insurance, especially when I know that my seller has owned and lived in the house I am about to buy for more than 25 years?"  more...

Exercising lease option during foreclosure

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, January 31, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-472741p1.html">Rent or buy image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

DEAR BENNY: We have been renting a house with an option to buy for two years now. We recently learned from mail the bank has sent that the property was listed for foreclosure. (No, we have not opened the letters addressed to the owners, but they are from the bank that holds the mortgage and they have been coming every two weeks addressed to both lien holders). We also received a letter from an attorney indicating that the property was listed for foreclosure.

So it appears that the landlord has not been paying the mortgage. Is there anything we can do at this point?  more...

Deter prospective homebuyers from running off with deposit

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, January 24, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-143395p1.html" target=blank>Money tug-of-war image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

DEAR BENNY: I am selling my house and received two offers on the same day: The first offer came in first thing in the morning, and I made a counteroffer. Several hours later there was another offer. My agent informed both buyers' agents of the competing offers and shortly after was informed by buyer's agent No. 1 that his clients had accepted the counteroffer. I rejected offer No. 2, as required, and started packing.

Four days later, my agent informed me the buyers changed their minds and (here's the kicker) the buyer's agent returned the $20,000 earnest money deposit (EMD) to the buyers. It was at this point that I learned the out-of-state buyers did not have their checkbook with them while they were in town.  more...

Don't spend that escrow windfall

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, January 10, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-319399p1.html" target=blank>Money bags image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

DEAR BENNY: We moved to Jacksonville, Fla., in 2010, but still own a home in Pensacola that we are renting to some friends. We got a check in the mail for an alleged overpayment from escrow. I remember telling my wife that the home insurance (was listed wrong) on the HUD-1 form, so we figured it was discovered, and we were reimbursed. We used the money to pay bills.

Next thing we know, we're getting a notice that our Jacksonville home insurance hasn't been paid. We spent many hours over several days trying to find out what happened, and got a pretty good runaround. We got them to check the address on the request, and they finally realized the mistake: the address was for the Pensacola house, not the Jacksonville house. The insurance had been double paid.  more...

Get rid of an upside-down second home

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, January 3, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-70292p1.html" target=blank>House and life preserver image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

DEAR BENNY: We live in California and own a second home within five miles of our primary residence. This second home has been used as a rental, initially to persons we were not connected with in any way. For the past 10 years, two different sets of relatives who were in need of a new start in life lived in the home.

Each set of relatives lived there at different times. The current set has been there five years. The rental contract is for fair market value, though much less than the mortgage. Obviously, we have been paying the difference -- at a loss.  more...

Seller's right to earnest money not assured

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, December 27, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-74301p1.html" target=blank>House and keys image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

DEAR BENNY: I own two homes. In my will and my trust, I have assigned a beneficiary for each of the properties. However, I would like for the properties to cede to a nonprofit once the designated beneficiary dies, rather than the properties being successively willed to beneficiaries of their choosing. Is there any means to make this happen? --Jerry

DEAR JERRY: The answer is that the trust can provide that the individual beneficiaries have lifetime interests in the respective property and that upon their deaths, the remainder interest in the properties is to go to the charitable beneficiary.  more...

How to claim $500K tax break after spouse dies

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, December 20, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?gallery_id=50988&page=1" target=blank>Real estate tax break image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

DEAR BENNY: My husband died this past August. We owned and lived in our house for more than 15 years, but now I want to sell. Am I eligible for the up-to-$500,000 exclusion of any profit that I will make? --Annie

DEAR ANNIE: According to the Internal Revenue Sesrvice, you may qualify to exclude up to $500,000 of gain, if you meet all of the following requirements:  more...

Sellers have recourse when buyers back out

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, December 13, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-204004p1.html" target=blank>Broken handshake image</a> via Shutterstock.

DEAR BENNY: We recently had a contract to sell our home to a "cash" buyer. He and his wife were allegedly inheriting a large sum of money, and their Realtor confirmed that she had seen the bank account statement confirming a "vast sum of money," reportedly well in excess of our contract price.

We closed our half of the deal and moved out of the home, only to discover that on their closing day one week later, no money could be produced. After a litany of alibis from them trying to explain what happened, we were forced to relist the home and sell it for substantially less money.  more...

Sidestep penalty for early mortgage payoff

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, December 6, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-319399p1.html" target=blank>Money bags image</a> via Shutterstock.

DEAR BENNY: I was at the closing table for my condo purchase only to discover that there was a penalty for early payoff. I called the bank immediately and they told me to "take it or leave it."

A great idea came immediately in my mind, and I went through with the closing. The bank explained to me that a percentage of the payoff amount is calculated as a penalty.  more...

Surprising short-sale impacts on credit

By Benny Kass, Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-215950p1.html">ppart</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

DEAR BENNY: What impact will a short sale have on my credit rating? Will it be better for me to let the property go to foreclosure? --Kristine

DEAR KRISTINE: That's a tough question to answer because, to my knowledge, the various credit rating agencies have different approaches to determining ratings. More significantly, once you start falling behind on your monthly mortgage payments, your credit rating is already falling, so its difficult to separate the bad credit from the impact of a short sale.  more...

Circumvent rigid down-payment gift rules

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, November 15, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-308029p1.html" target=blank>irin-k</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com" target=blank>Shutterstock</a>

DEAR BENNY: I live in Connecticut and my husband stays several nights a week in Massachusetts. We saw a duplex we would like to buy in Massachusetts. He would live in one part and there is already a tenant in the other part.

Because the bank is viewing this as an investment -- even though the plan is for me to move up there in about two years after I find position -- a down payment of 25 percent is required. My mother is willing to provide most of the money; however, I understand that there are issues with gifts for what is deemed investment property, even though we will be living in it.  more...

When is a HUD-1 form required?

By Benny Kass, Tuesday, November 8, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-100760p1.html" target=blank>Andy Dean Photography</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com" target=blank>Shutterstock</a>

DEAR BENNY: Do we have to do a HUD-1 form on a cash sale? The home is paid off and I am selling for cash. There is no lender involved. --Keith

DEAR KEITH: The answer is no. For my readers, a HUD-1 is the settlement statement that is used for most residential closings (called settlements or escrows in different parts of the country).  more...

Assume mortgage with transfer-on-death deed

By Benny Kass, Wednesday, November 2, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-248635p1.html" target=blank>iQoncept</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com" target=blank>Shutterstock</a>

DEAR BENNY: My mother died in February of this year. About a month before her death she executed a beneficiary deed leaving the home to me, her daughter. I was also the sole beneficiary of her will. She had no other assets (only debt) and so there was no probate.

My son and I have lived with her in this home for the past 18 years. I've been making payments since her death (she had them set up to be deducted from her checking account with the exception of her equity loan). I did not tell them of her passing, but she apparently requested information about refinancing just before her death and they found out.  more...

123456789…next ›last »