Category: Home Owning
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Four steps to fill vacant retail space
Reader Question: I have vacant retail space. I own an 8000 square foot retail building fronting on a street with a 15,000 daily car count. The building is brick and block with a retail glass front, and about 60 years old. The parking is adequate. Two tenants occupy the building. One pays about $14.00 per square…
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Eight tips when selecting a house sitter
Reader Question: We have a chance to take a six-month trip to Australia. We have always cared for our home ourselves. We have several pets, yard work, maintenance items and other responsibilities. Is a full-time house sitter a good idea? Monty’s Answer: The internet has allowed the advance of this business model which has fueled…
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Ten costly homeowner mistakes
Reader Question: Did we make some costly homeowner mistakes? We are selling our home we bought 40 years ago. We finished the unfinished upstairs ourselves to save money after we bought it. We raised four children here. Now the real estate agents say because one of the bedrooms is accessed through another bedroom and lacks a…
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Will adding solar panels affect the value of my home?
Reader Question: How will adding solar panels to my home affect its value? Are the panels an asset or a liability? Does their value change with time? Monty’s Answer: You are asking questions that rely on science and future events that are beyond the scope of my expertise. With that qualification, here is one person’s…
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How to predict the costs of home maintenance
Reader Question: We will be buying our own home in the next year or so. There are numerous published articles about the hidden costs of home maintenance and caring for a home that offer conflicting information. Do you have any tips on taking care of a home? Monty’s Answer: Taking good care of a home…
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Eight important considerations with termite fumigation
Reader Question: I need termite fumigation. I own property in located in Florida, where termites are a big part of the pest population. I will be selling the five unit building soon, and four units are rented currently. Two of the four units have leases expiring in July. The property has to be tented to exterminate…
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Four steps to a tough negotiating stance
Reader Question: A real estate agent approached us with a commercial client who would like to buy our property. The agent wants to list our property to get the process started. Why would we need to list the property if she already has the buyer? And what should we pay for commissions on this type…
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Do homebuyers have a septic tank problem?
Reader Question: We have a septic tank problem. We moved into our house two days ago. Yesterday, we came in from the yard to discover the toilet in the half bath overflowed and flooded the bathroom, laundry room and part of the kitchen. We searched the rest of the house and saw that the other two…
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Three options for homeowners in a weak homeowners association
Reader Question: We have a weak homeowners association board. Our homeowner’s association (HOA) has bylaws. The HOA is not proactive in enforcing them and has allowed residents to violate, only addressing the violations if someone files a complaint. This refusal to proactively monitoring property conditions puts the complaining homeowner in harm’s way by exposing them to…
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Ten advantages for considering Aging In Place
Reader Question: We are considering aging in place. We are in our late seventies and both in pretty good health. Our children keep hinting to us that we should sell our house and move into some age-based community. We have checked out some different options, of which there are many, and it seems they all have…
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Ten questions to ask before hiring an HOA property management company
Reader Question: I am trying to negotiate a contract with a new HOA property management company for our condominium homeowners association. They not only want a monthly fee for their services but they want a fee for anything extra. Also, any maintenance that they do they want to charge 10% over the cost of the…
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Six tips for out-of-state landlords with a trashed home
Reader Question: We have a trashed home. My husband and I live on the east coast. Our son attended school in the Midwest, and we bought a home there. We completely renovated it like a new home. After graduation, we hired a management company to rent and oversee the home. Our manager informed us the tenant…
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Six questions to ask when choosing a mortgage counselor
Reader Question: I am retired, and our Social Security is all we have coming in. We recently applied for refinancing, and we did not qualify because of our neighborhood (no houses around worth enough according to our online lender). Our interest rate is 7.795 percent. What can we do? Monty’s Answer: With the information you…