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Author: Monty

  • Listing agent flip-flops on price

      Reader Question: Our agent flip-flops on price. We listed our home two weeks ago for three hundred fifty-nine thousand nine hundred dollars. Our agent recommended this price and showed comparable sales that supported the recommendation. Yesterday they presented an offer for three hundred five thousand dollars and suggested we accept it. We are stunned and…

  • Six essential prescriptions for a healthy real estate transaction

    Reader Question: We are first-time homebuyers. We are excited about buying a home. In gathering information about what we should (and should not) do, contradictory information abounds from people we know, what we read, and real estate agents. This discovery is causing us concern. We don’t want to make any mistakes. We want a healthy…

  • Six huge real estate transaction errors. Can you spot them?

    Reader Question: We purchased and updated an “ as-is ” home in the late nineties. The seller tried to renege at the closing, but our agent prevailed. Her help created a bond, and we remained friends for years. We spoke highly of her, sent her clients and potential employees. We decided to move and listed…

  • Should my real estate agent also represent a buyer?

    Reader Question: If my listing agent has a potential buyer, can he represent a buyer as well as the seller? Michelle G. Monty’s Answer: The agent that listed your home contracts with the broker who is your agent in the sale. You have representation, so the question is; will the buyer seek representation, and if…

  • Deal with inherited property issues quickly

    Reader Question: We have inherited property issues. My father passed away and left the house to his four children of which I am one. We all agreed to allow a disabled sibling to live in the house free of charge. He lived in the house for five years and passed away. His fourth of the house…

  • Eight tips for a relocated employee incurring a $90,000 loss

    Reader Question: My husband is a relocated employee through his employer. They use a large relocation firm. Our benefits package pays some costs, but no house buyout. We bought a new home in the new location. Our old house has been on sale for over 18 months. The agent says new home construction is the…

  • Five important home condition disclosure points

    Reader Question: I am concerned some important issues may be missed in inspections. In one condo development, for example, the ground in the heavy clay soil was not graded properly, and the internal construction had some major flaws. The selling agent at the condo explicitly stated he did not want to know about the issues.…

  • Home inspector pressured by a real estate agent

    Reader Question: I am a home inspector. ​I work with an agent who is always pressuring me to “take it easy” with the home inspection, I refuse to lower my standards, but I’m concerned about him finding a replacement. How would you suggest I approach ​t​his? ​Monty’s Answer: The situation you describe may be a…

  • What makes a condo warrantable vs. non-warrantable?

      Reader Question:  I am trying to learn what makes a condo warrantable vs. non-warrantable. Can you help me? Jonathan D. Monty’s Answer: The answer is that condominium, co-op and planned unit development (PUD) projects with particular attributes can be riskier than other types of development projects. The United States Department of Housing and Urban…

  • Seven tips when selling partial property interests

      Reader Question: I currently co-own a house with my two sisters. It was in our mother’s estate. One of the sisters wants to buy the two of us out which is fine with us, but we want to make sure the price she is offering is fair to us all. We had an appraisal…

  • Appraisers evaluate appraisal management companies

    Reader Question: Your recent article about why consumers cannot pick their appraiser was excellent, but only reviewed the process from the lender point of view. Residential appraisers hold a more educated viewpoint on appraisal management companies (AMC’s) than the lender as we do the work. My question is why didn’t you interview real estate appraisers?…

  • Right-of-first-refusal complicates negotiations

      Reader Question: My wife and I own a large tract of land. We want to sell off a one hundred acre parcel. We have a written offer-to-purchase that has been in negotiation for over ninety days. The buyer wants a “right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) should we sell off more land in the future. The offer contains…

  • Why can’t I pick my home appraiser?

    Reader Question: A lender is telling me I cannot pick my home appraiser I know to be a solid appraiser, and that the lending rules have changed. We have not purchased a home for fifteen years. Is this true? And if it is true, why did the rules change? Jerry G. Monty’s Answer: The simple answer…

  • Can a home seller have two prices?

    Reader Question: I showed a home to my client eight months ago. The price at that time was $1,200,000. The current price of the property is $624,900. The listing broker told me that because my client looked at the higher price, they still must pay the original price even though the price has dropped dramatically.…

  • Seven tips for buying in overheated market

    Reader Question: We live in an overheated market. Home sellers are receiving multiple offers very quickly after listing and sell for more than the list price. We want to buy a home here, but we are reluctant to jump in and end up overpaying. What, if anything, can we do to avoid this situation? John…