In this era of HGTV, Flip or Flop, Flip This House, and my wife’s favorite – Fixer Upper . . . it is easy to under-estimate the challenges of being a first time real estate investor. At its worst, what you are wagering is that you think you can successfully compete with more experienced property…
Long gone are the venerable days when you hired an attorney for $1,000 and he actually visited the courthouse to search title to the property you were buying. The closing industry has become so competitive that most settlement fees are 1/3rd to 1/2 what they were 50 years ago! Attorneys had a monopoly in Virginia…
In a perfect world, selfless children would be a daily presence in the lives of their elderly parents and family. But whether it is a child or a neighbor, we all need to be vigilant to look out for one another. Take time to check in on those that can no long take care of…
While our beloved Commonwealth of Virginia prides itself on keeping up with the Joneses in all matters of E-Commerce, we have taken more of a “wait and see” attitude toward the most electronic of closing technologies. Naturally, big states with fewer Notary Publics per square mile would need to take the lead on electronic notarizations. …
Newsflash! HUD (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) has declared June as National Home Ownership Month! Some believe the hype is a way of trying to generate better economic figures and arguments for the incumbent party to convince voters that the incumbent party deserves another four years in the White House. According to DS…
A client called today to have our lawfirm engage in a discussion with his CPA as to tax ramifications for “subject to” sales of homes. For those of you who have never considered using “creative financing” to sell your home or buy a home, a “subject to” means the buyer takes over the seller’s mortgage…
The bad news: It is nearly two months into 2014 and Congress has not extended the Mortgage Debt Relief Act. (MDRA) The good news: There are still more than 10 months remaining before any taxes may be due for short selling homeowners who close in 2014. If you were a betting person: One of our…
Yes Virginia, there really is a Santa Clause! In some cases, Sellers can get out of an upside down residence or investment property without a short sale. We naturally encourage shortsales because: (1) less damage to your credit than a foreclosure, bankruptcy or ongoing loan payment default; (2) The client experiences Closure as compared…
