Source: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/realestate/columns/kassbennyl/rssheadlines.xml
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| washingtonpost.com - Housing Counsel
Housing Counsel
It will no longer be as easy to erase your debts under the bankruptcy law that President Bush signed this week.
Q We made a big mistake three years ago and now we are in potential trouble. We took out an interest-only mortgage loan and put down 5 percent of the purchase price. I just lost my job and cannot afford the high monthly payments. We have considerable equity in our house, but we have started to receive threatening letters from our mortgage lender. What should we do?
Several years ago, we paid $200,000 for our house. We barely were able to scrape up $20,000 and took out a 90 percent loan for $180,000. Because we did not have enough for a 20 percent down payment, we had to obtain private mortgage insurance, called PMI. Since then, in addition to our regular mortgage, we have been paying about $75 a month for PMI. Because of this wonderful real estate appreciation, our house is now worth almost $300,000. Is there any way, other than refinancing our loan, to get rid of this PMI obligation?
Q We have signed a contract to buy our first house. Before we signed the agreement, there were two refrigerators in the house -- one in the kitchen and the other in the basement. The real estate agent told us that both refrigerators would stay with the property. Settlement is scheduled for next week, and now we have been advised that the basement refrigerator will be removed. I do not understand when a refrigerator is a fixture and when it is not.
Q We have just settled on our new house. The title attorney gave us a copy of the title report and there is a reference to a "utility easement" in favor of the local telephone company. It looks as if this easement is somewhere in our back yard. What is an easement? Does this affect us? We plan to expand our house in the back and also have a vegetable garden there.
Q I have a standard mortgage on a single-family house that I own by myself. I would like to add my live-in girlfriend to the deed. She will pay me half the current value of the house. If I do this, can I retain my current mortgage, thereby avoiding more closing costs and the loss of my favorable mortgage rate? Also, is this a taxable event that would require me to pay capital-gains tax? I know that the simplest solution would be for us to get married, but there are other financial issues involved and we would like to avoid marriage now if possible.
After our mother died, my father remarried. He added his new wife as an owner of the family home, and they now own our house as "tenants by the entirety." He showed us his will, which appears consistent with his desire that the house be transferred to us upon his death. Are we protected?
Predatory lending remains a cancer in the American economy. There are still too many lenders in this country that prey on people and take advantage of them -- and take their money, despite the efforts of local, state and federal agencies.
If you once owned a home that at one point was your principal residence, but was later rented out, the IRS may just have given you some good news. Depending on the facts of your situation -- and the timing -- you may be able to combine the principal-residence capital gains tax exclusion of up to $500,000 with a tax-deferred exchange, and pay no federal tax at all when you sell your house.
Q I have been a member of the board of directors of my condominium association for about five years. We have some issues that we have been unable to resolve because the governing documents would have to be amended for us to act. For example, we would like to change the provisions regarding leasing units and pets. Everyone says it is nearly impossible to amend the documents, so they don't even try. What do you think?
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