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Author: Monty

  • Not Knowing Your Property Line When Buying a Home Can Be Expensive

    Reader Question: I recently had my lot surveyed, and it turns out one neighbor’s fence is three feet over my property line, butted up against the back of my garage. The neighbor to the side has a fence that is about five feet inside their property line. I have someone cut my grass and don’t…

  • Marital Property Law vs. Common Law: a Financial Factor in Real Estate

    Reader Question: My name is not on the deed of our home. My spouse put the house up for sale after 22 years. Am I entitled to half the profits of the deal? Monty’s Answer: Ten states embrace marital property law. During a marriage in these states, all assets and debts acquired are “community property.”…

  • All real estate referrals require due diligence

    Reader Question: We sold our home and moved to a different state. Our old agent helped us find an agent in our new city. We have gotten to know this agent and become friends. He told us our former agent made the connection for a fee. He called it a referral fee. Our old agent…

  • Avoiding bombshells over permits when remodeling, buying, or selling a home

    Reader Question: Back in 2001-2002, we remodeled our home without a permit. We didn’t know it was required. Now we want to sell, and the question is on the seller condition report. Is there any way to overcome that issue now? Monty’s Answer: Permits can be a challenge for several reasons; ordinances change over time,…

  • Investing In Blacktopping Can Be Tricky

    Reader Question: We are not selling our home anytime in the foreseeable future. We are wondering how much the value of our property will increase if we invest in blacktopping our gravel driveway? Monty’s Answer: Blacktopping your driveway may or may not increase the value of your property. Because certain variables impact the desired outcome,…

  • Protect Yourself When a Tenant Dies In Your Building

    Reader Question: We own a 24-unit apartment building. We have an eighty-eight-year-old tenant with no next of kin according to him. When he passes on, what are we to do with his belongings? He has nothing of any value; his biggest asset is a twenty-year-old car. Whom do we notify? He seems healthy and active…

  • Buying Landlocked Property Carries Significant Risks

    Reader Question: I found a great parcel of land I want to buy. It is landlocked, but the seller is an estate and willing to sell it way below market if I buy it as is. They want to settle the estate quickly. I am leaning towards taking a chance because the price is so…

  • Fixing a leaky basement can be tricky

    Reader Question: ​We own a 45-year old home in a development. The house is well-built, with a full basement and sits on more than a half-acre of land. We have made some significant renovations, and the house is in great shape. The major problem we have is a leaky basement when it rains very hard,…

  • Is earnest money returned when real estate transactions fail?

    Reader Question: If we paid our good faith money to the agent, and the deal doesn’t go through, do we still get that money back, or do we have to go to court? Monty’s Answer: This question is a potential landmine. Real estate law varies from state to state, contracts are often poorly drafted, so…

  • Three Tips For A Potential Real Estate Investor

    Reader Question: I am a young person who inherited money. I’ve been looking at different career options, and I have decided to invest in real estate, but I have little knowledge about it. Where do I find people with money who are looking for attractive real estate deals with a partner? Monty’s Answer: Real estate…

  • Will a zoning change cause our property value to drop?

    Reader Question: We own a small, well cared for, older home in a moderate neighborhood in a small midwestern city of about 30,000. We are one block off off of a feeder street near downtown that has both similar single-family homes plus a few apartments and small medical offices. The zoning allows for a medical…

  • Who pays the real estate commission?

    Reader Question: We are preparing to place our home for sale in the spring market. As we interview real estate agents, they differ on who pays the real estate commission in the transaction. This difference is curious to us. How would you answer the question? Monty’s Answer: Who pays the real estate commission is an…

  • Must a home be listed in the MLS to be “for sale?”

    Reader Question: Must a home be listed in the MLS to be for sale? What, if any, legal issues would be caused by offering on a home that’s off the MLS but was on it recently? Should the seller’s agent re-list it before one makes an offer? Monty’s Answer: Any seller is free to sell…

  • Our offer was accepted. How do we get out?

      Reader Question: We have an accepted offer on a home. The home we really wanted has come down in price, and we would love to get it. Can we do this? Monty’s Answer: The first consideration is to accept that going down this road will involve a cost to you to determine if it…

  • Household waste disposal gone wild

    Reader Question: I have a neighbor with a house for sale. It’s household waste disposal gone wild. He had another neighbor with a backhoe come into his yard the other day and dig up a portion of the yard to bury a large amount of trash. By trash, I mean lumber, building materials, large metal…