| Subject | Date Asked |
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| Getting our money back out of escrow | 12/18/2008 |
Q: We are in Southern California and are trying to buy a home. We found a house we thought would work ...
A: Whew! Sounds like you didn't have a real good time with this and I'm sorry for all of the problems ...
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| Selling land that was owned by my deceased grandmother | 12/21/2007 |
Q: My dad wants to sell some land that was owned by his deceased mother. She died about 10years ago and ...
A: First off, I would get the land put into your Dad's name. You can do this very simply by going to a ...
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| Multiple offers | 12/9/2007 |
Q: Can I (thru my agent) make simultaneous offers to let's say 3 different properties and if all 3 ...
A: Technically you probably could but it's not very ethical. When you make an offer, you are basically ...
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| HOA rules | 11/26/2007 |
Q: My husband and I are in the process of buying our first home and boy, has it been a nightmare!! We ...
A: Well, I sure feel for you and what you've gone through and I can tell you that these situations are ...
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| Getting back earnest money | 11/17/2007 |
Q: I am a 1st-time housebuyer who backed out of the deal after the inspection report showed many costly ...
A: Arbitration here in California is approx $1000-$1500 and it's free to let the Department of Real ...
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| Selling my half | 11/12/2007 |
Q: I co-own a house with a friend, a non-domestic situation. I want out of the deal, if someone is ...
A: Yeah, you can do a "quit claim deed" to your current partner. That takes you off of the title, then ...
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| Selling my half | 11/12/2007 |
Q: I co-own a house with a friend, a non-domestic situation. I want out of the deal, if someone is ...
A: It is up to how you took title if you can sell your part or not. The bad news is that it would be ...
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| proceeds form sale of house | 10/15/2007 |
Q: I and my 2 brothers are joint owners of a Santa Barbara, California house. I wish to give my portion ...
A: You can talk to an escrow company now and ask them which is the best way to do this. It may be ...
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| Loss a sell due to a greedy RE broker. What to do? | 9/25/2007 |
Q: My listing agent (who is also a real estate broker) failed to follow through on an offer that I had ...
A: You can ask the real estate agent to let you out of the listing agreement and see if there is ...
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| House with remodeled bath & kitchen and windows changed with no permit | 9/23/2007 |
Q: We are planning to buy this house which has had its windows changed and kitchen and bath remodeled ...
A: (I like those initials!) I can't really tell you if you should go into the deal, but I can give you ...
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| Tenant forced out due to short sale/foreclosure? | 9/12/2007 |
Q: I am a tenant 5 months in to an 18 month lease. We were sent a termination of lease paper (60 days ...
A: First off, I'm not an attorney so I can't speak to the legal issues, but I can give you my opinion ...
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| Same Agent? | 9/8/2007 |
Q: I want to sell my home and do not have an agent. I have a particular home in mind I would like to ...
A: It doesn't really matter but if there is an agent that you find and you like them, then it might be ...
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| Water rights | 9/1/2007 |
Q: Ray, We bought our property 19 years ago. The original owner allowed the two adjoining properties ...
A: First off, I'm not an attorney and I would suggest that you talk to a local attorney because the ...
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| home contract cancelation | 8/30/2007 |
Q: HAVE A QUESTION , I HAVE A SINGLE FAMILY HOME CONTRACT ON MY HAND AND EVERY THING HAS BEEN DONE AND ...
A: The seller is only required to fix the items that he agreed to in a "request for repair" list from ...
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| BUYING A HOME - WAIVING CONDITION OF SALE OF CURRENT HOME | 8/27/2007 |
Q: My brother and his wife recently purchased a home and waived the condition of selling of their home ...
A: I know that it feels that his agent is the bad guy, but this almost always is not the case. The ...
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| Short Sales | 8/26/2007 |
Q: There are a lot if short sales coming out in our area, and we think there will be a lot more, we ...
A: The Department of Real Estate is the governing body for agents in California. That being said, on ...
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| Short Sales | 8/25/2007 |
Q: There are a lot if short sales coming out in our area, and we think there will be a lot more, we ...
A: When dealing with short sales and repo's, you're basically dealing in the world of speculative real ...
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| Renter agreement | 8/11/2007 |
Q: I'm a first-time home buyer in california without a real estate agent. I found a home which I liked ...
A: If the seller has (or had) a listing agreement with the agent, then there is a clause in there that ...
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| purchasing bank owned residence | 8/6/2007 |
Q: I have recently found a home in California that I would like to make an offer on. The home is being ...
A: There are good and bad things with buying a foreclosure (bank owned) property. One of the good ...
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| cancel contracts in PA | 7/11/2007 |
Q: we are contracted to sell our home, and buy a newly constructed home, within 2 weeks, in PA. The ...
A: Usually, I like to see problems fixed between the buyer and seller without having to utilize an ...
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| taking offers on home | 5/25/2007 |
Q: My mom passed away in Jan. My siblings and I are selling her home ourselves. We have a disagreement ...
A: Sorry to hear about your mothers passing. I'm going to be blunt. It doesn't matter who has seen the ...
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| Selling or keep it..... | 5/5/2007 |
Q: my questions is should my husband and I keep our townhouse or take a short sale and sale it? We are ...
A: First off, thank you to your and husband for serving in the armed forces. In my opinion, I would try ...
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| what is a window covering? | 4/23/2007 |
Q: I recently purchased a home. In the contract my agent hand-wrote that "all window coverings" were ...
A: Oh boy..sound like you're getting a little run around. This comes down to technicalities and ...
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| purchase agreement | 4/21/2007 |
Q: The owners on the home we want to make an offer on want to stay in the house for a month or two. ...
A: The closing date is the closing date. You're particular contract with the seller will determine how ...
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| Bad roof | 4/12/2007 |
Q: What are the California statutes on selling a house with a roof that no insurance company will ...
A: I'm sorry you're having trouble with this. I have a 25 year old wood shingle roof and I am insured ...
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| Bad roof | 4/10/2007 |
Q: What are the California statutes on selling a house with a roof that no insurance company will ...
A: First off, there are many variables that can make an insurance company not want to insure a ...
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| First time home buyer | 4/10/2007 |
Q: I'm 23 years old and I'll be looking to buy my first house within the next two years. I've always ...
A: Sometimes there are local (city or county) monies available for first time homebuyers. Check with a ...
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| for sale by owner | 3/30/2007 |
Q: I'm selling my investment property to my brother do I need a realestate lawyer because it has a ...
A: Yes, I would use and attorney (or escrow company) because of the title transfer. You want to make ...
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| sale or keep | 3/20/2007 |
Q: my Q is little confusing but that how my wife and i do all day is talk about it and not know what to ...
A: It's a tricky situation and one that I can tell you MANY people are in. If there is anyway to ...
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| Earnest money | 2/28/2007 |
Q: We recently put a bid on a house and were accepted. We provided the earnest money two days ago. ...
A: Is it legal? Yes. Is it ethical? Probably not. There's the problem. It may have been a rotten thing ...
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| purchase contract | 2/12/2007 |
Q: I signed a contract to purchase a new home but did not give deposit. Can i back out?
A: Tricky question. Typically though, if escrow is not open and the buyer has not given his deposit it ...
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| buying a house sight unseen | 12/18/2006 |
Q: Since I am able to view houses for sale over the internet I am wondering if it is an acceptable idea ...
A: I wouldn't recommend buying a house without seeing it first. Not only would it be difficult to make ...
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| Selling our home in a bad market | 12/18/2006 |
Q: My husband and I moved out of our house last June, and listed with a 3% real estage agency. The ...
A: I'm sorry to hear about all of the trouble you're having selling your home. I can tell you that ...
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| buying down points | 11/3/2006 |
Q: In a nutshell, i'm in escrow on a second house. I'm doing the loan with Countywide. It's a stated ...
A: It's comes down to simple math. If the amount of interest that you will save on the loan will be ...
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| deposit | 11/2/2006 |
Q: I do have a follow up question regarding the deposit we put into the contract. We have put $150,000 ...
A: I can understand how you could come to the decision to not buy a house with extensive termite ...
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| deposit | 11/1/2006 |
Q: We signed an offer to buy a house in CA, but the house didn't pass the termite inspection. We want ...
A: Houses don't really "pass" termite inspections. The termite report may have extensive repairs noted, ...
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| interest only loan | 10/23/2006 |
Q: Looks like i'll be squeezing nickels to make this home purchase at $500,000 (approx.) I have my ...
A: Well, you asked the $64,000 question...interest only vs. 30 year fixed. Personally, I like a 10 year ...
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| Transferring a house. | 9/27/2006 |
Q: - Thanks for the question. The way it works is that your dad can quit claim his ownership in the ...
A: Yeah, if something happens to the borrowerer, then the loan has to be paid by the estate or the home ...
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| Transferring a house. | 9/27/2006 |
Q: My father is considering transfering our house to me, but we're rather concerned about how much say ...
A: The way it works is that your dad can quit claim his ownership in the property to you, but he will ...
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| lease with option to purchase | 9/15/2006 |
Q: Ray, I live in Northern CA. I own a parcel with 3 homes on it. Even though the market was changing ...
A: That's a very good question. It sounds like something that would bolt me out of bed at 3:00am when I ...
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| lease with option to purchase | 9/15/2006 |
Q: Ray, I live in Northern CA. I own a parcel with 3 homes on it. Even though the market was changing ...
A: What is a Lease-Option? A lease-option is a combination real estate rental, sales and finance ...
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| Lien Follow-Up | 9/13/2006 |
Q: So basically what you're saying is that you think the IRS has received payment for my lien when the ...
A: Yes, you would return to the county where the property is located because that is where the IRS ...
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| Counseling and Assistance Agreement | 8/25/2006 |
Q: I am with MLS and have up the commission I am willing to pay to 3%. I have seen little or no ...
A: Yeah, I agree with the agents you have talked to. I would tend to let anyone who wasn't happy with ...
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| discounts? | 8/25/2006 |
Q: how do i find real estate at deep discounts? how do i know when the listing is deeply discounted ...
A: I have never heard of houses being sold at a 75% discount. They would never have to be discounted ...
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| Counseling and Assistance Agreement | 8/23/2006 |
Q: I with currently listed for sale with "Help U Sell". My home has been listed with them for three ...
A: I'm sorry that you're having so much trouble selling your home. Unfortunately, if you signed a 5 ...
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| Hi Regarding Financing | 8/15/2006 |
Q: I am worried about how much I will be paying monthly. It sounds like it will be a lot since I will ...
A: You do not have to pay mortgage insurance on the 20%. You only pay mortgage insurance on loans that ...
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| Hi Regarding Financing | 8/15/2006 |
Q: I am looking to buy a home. I was wondering how the no money down system works. I really want to own ...
A: It's actually a pretty easy process, when you have good credit. (Like you do) You would probably ...
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| Termination of purchase agreement | 8/14/2006 |
Q: However, I would like your comments regarding this matter, given a little more details. Fact: I ...
A: First off, I'll have to refer you to an attorney becasue this is outside of my scope and more of a ...
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| Termination of purchase agreement | 8/14/2006 |
Q: What is the reasonable time for a purchase and sales agreement to be terminated, cancelled following ...
A: In the case of a contract going past it's written close date, after the date is past, either party ...
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| Loans | 8/7/2006 |
Q: Long story short, my wife & I have a property in FL that we desperately want. We are closing on our ...
A: What you are looking for is a NINA loan. (No Income No Assets) Now, you'll need good credit for this ...
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| closing date in contract | 8/6/2006 |
Q: we are selling our home.the buyer has signed the contract gotten a mortgage and left a decent ...
A: Escrow's hardly ever close on time. Escrow close dates are like baby due dates...it's the only day ...
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| FSBO questions | 8/3/2006 |
Q: My best friend is wanting to sell her house without an agent or a broker. We have a buyer who has ...
A: What you're looking for is to have a real estate agent "write up" the deal for you. You would also ...
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| Buyin a home from a realitive | 7/8/2006 |
Q: My uncle wants to sell me one of his rental houses. I currently live there and am very interested in ...
A: You can be put on the title and then get a loan in your name only and then take your uncles name off ...
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| Contingency Offers | 7/6/2006 |
Q: Ray, My husband and I were going to make a full offer on a townhome that we had viewed on the MLS ...
A: "In California does the contingent offer have an expiration date should the buyer not sell his house ...
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| Apprasial | 6/16/2006 |
Q: if a seller is asking 39000.00 for his house, and a third party independent appraiser said it was ...
A: Not usually, unless you get a loan that allows for that. If it does, you'll pay extra interest rate ...
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| Unethical, Dishonest Broker Coerces Us into a No Win Situation | 6/13/2006 |
Q: Unethical, Dishonest Broker Coerces Us into a No Win Situation The real estate problem that I’ve ...
A: Did you sign a buyers agreement with him? If you did, then he will get his commission from any ...
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| Tenant Rights - Owner Selling Home | 6/9/2006 |
Q: I have a lease for one year.I have signed a lease for a townhome in San Diego. I also have placed a ...
A: Again, I'm not an expert on lease law, but I can give you a couple of avenues to pursue with an ...
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| Tenant Rights - Owner Selling Home | 6/8/2006 |
Q: I have signed a lease for a townhome in San Diego. I also have placed a $1500 deposit down on the ...
A: Wow, what a bummer. This is beyond my scope but I will tell you my opinion about what I would do. ...
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| Recently split partner considering buyout | 5/16/2006 |
Q: My Ex-girlfriend and I jointly purchased an apartment in March 2004 and have recently split up. We ...
A: Here's what I would do. I would have an appraisal or a comparative market analysis done on the ...
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| Retainer/deposit | 5/9/2006 |
Q: I live in MA and looked at a home that we liked. We signed an offer to purchase - gave a $500.00 ...
A: The answer is, probably not. The only way that you can get your deposit money back is if the escrow ...
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| shared equity or quit claim | 5/8/2006 |
Q: i want to sell my home which is located in rialto ca.i owe 365, it is valued around 390, but with a ...
A: My suggestion would be to put the home on the market at your rock bottom price and wait for a buyer. ...
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| selling a house... | 4/19/2006 |
Q: My father died a few months ago. His house went to my sister. The house is in my name. She wants to ...
A: First off, thanks for your question. I'm not a tax expert, but I can give you my opinion on the ...
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| Buying a New Home from Builder | 4/18/2006 |
Q: My boyfriend and I are currently looking to purchase a new home directly from the builder. We saw a ...
A: Congratulations on your decision to buy a new home. Welcome to the wonderful world of trying to get ...
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| Do you need a business to be paid commission on a real estate transaction? | 4/15/2006 |
Q: I appreciate your time. This is a fairly simple question, however I've never been able to find the ...
A: The answer unfortunately, is yes and no. As a broker licensed with the DRE, you can do business ...
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| real estate | 4/13/2006 |
Q: I have been looking at houses in Texas, San antonio. Houses there are cheap! 3 to 4 bedrooms $ ...
A: I'll do my best to answer them. First off, the low prices in San Antonio reflect a few things. ...
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| title insurance | 4/7/2006 |
Q: Explain what exactly is title insurance and is it necessary for an all cash deal to buy my property ...
A: That's a good question. Technically, I don't believe title insurance is required in California if ...
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| Housing business | 4/6/2006 |
Q: Beggs: Thanks for your answers. So, anyway, spec homes are those built on a 'speculative' basis - ...
A: Yes, I would say that in the context that you are refering, that "spec homes" are what we call ...
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| Housing business | 4/6/2006 |
Q: 1. You develop or buy lots and build homes on them and sell them on a speculative basis - these ...
A: I'll do my best to answer it. 1) Typically, if you buy lots and build homes on them to sell, you're ...
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