Estate Planning – Next Steps, Part 2
Again, congratulations! Not only have you executed your estate planning documents, but you also have reviewed the beneficiaries of your life insurance and retirement accounts and created your account with the Social Security Administration in order to appoint...
Estate Planning – Next Steps, Part 1
Congratulations! You have executed your Will, Statutory Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney (with HIPAA Authorization) and Directive to Physicians. Your estate planning documents are complete, but you have more to do. In this first article, we will discuss...
What You Should Know About the Fair Housing Act
Those of you who are landlords are probably familiar with the Fair Housing Act. It is the law that makes it illegal to discriminate in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin sex, familial status or disability. What you might not know is that...
Wraparound Financing Basics
COVID-19 is rapidly turning our real estate world on its ear. We have had several clients who have had buyers who lost their loans at the last minute and are inquiring about closing using wrap-around financing. Virtually all residential and commercial mortgages...
A Seller Financing Primer
Financing for residential purchases including seller financing and unlicensed third-party lenders has been substantially affected by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly called the “Dodd-Frank Act”. Click here for a discussion of the...
The Dodd-Frank Act and Its Impact on Financing Home Sales
Financing for residential purchases including seller financing and unlicensed third-party lenders has been substantially affected by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly called the “Dodd-Frank Act” which was passed in 2010 and...
“As Is” or Is It?
What is required to allow the seller to convey property “as is”? More particularly, do the provisions in Section 7D of the TREC contracts meet the requirements allowing a seller to convey property “as is”?The short answer to whether you can rely on the printed...
Five Ways to Reduce Liability for Real Estate Professionals
Here are five relatively painless ways to reduce your liability when listing and selling real estate. Require the Use of Buyer Representation Agreements When Representing Buyers. If you do not have written authorization from both buyer and seller, you cannot qualify...
Co-Ownership Agreements
If you own property with a marital partner, there are laws which regulate each party’s right to use, manage and occupy the property. If you purchase property with anyone other than a spouse, there are very few laws which regulate those same rights and obligations. A...
Understanding Tax Prorations
Tax Prorations can be confusing if you are not a seasoned veteran of real estate closings. Most real estate contracts will contain a section dealing with tax prorations. In Texas most residential transaction use the Texas Real Estate Commission (“TREC”) contracts....
Transferring Real Estate at Death Without Probate
There are two relatively easy ways to transfer title to real estate at death while avoiding probate and the tax trap often created by an outright gift of real estate. These two methods of conveyance can also be used to avoid a Medicaid lien. However, neither of the...
What You Should Know About Small Condominium Projects
This article is written for novice condominium developers. That usually means the condo project has a small number of units; typically, two to four units. I will, therefore, address some of the issues faced by a novice developer of a small unit condo...