-
6 days ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: We live in a small, self-managed townhome association in Illinois. The association hired an outside accounting firm to coordinate the financial matters of the property, including the issuing and collection of fines for rule violations. These violation and fine notices are sent out by email on association letterheads, with the accountant’s phone number, and signed by the owner of the accounting firm but not any of the association’s board members. Can they do that?
-
1 week ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Realtor.com published a study recently that found the typical household needs to earn $114,000 in order to buy a median-priced home. That’s up 70.1% (a $47,000 increase) from 2019, according to the Realtor.com® April Housing Trends Report. If those numbers weren’t jarring enough, consider that the median household income was only $80,610 in 2023. So, the household with median income can’t afford to buy a median-priced home.
-
1 week ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: In 1963, we bought a home for $17,900. We sold it a few years later for $19,500. That’s when we bought our present home for $30,000. We are now selling it for around $300,000. Will we have to pay taxes on the sale? A: The good news is that if you’re married, you and your spouse get to exclude $500,000 from federal income tax taxes when you sell your home.
-
2 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: Our granddaughter purchased a first-floor condo in a 30-year-old building last year. After living in her condo for about one year, she noticed round black marks on her knife block in her kitchen. She then began finding mold spores on her 2-year-old’s clothes folded in a chest. She moved out of the place when she realized that mold was in lots of places. She reported the mold problem to her condo’s management company. She also included a report from a general contractor.
-
2 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: Enjoy reading your columns every week. I know you have addressed probate many times in your columns, and I understand the purpose of it. My wife and I disagree on something. We do have a trust set up, and our house is in the trust. We also have several brokerage accounts, CDs, and checking accounts.
-
3 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: Our mother and father took out a reverse mortgage years ago. There is no equity in the property. Our mother died several years ago and our father passed away recently. We contacted the company that administers the reverse mortgage about processing a deed in lieu of foreclosure on their home. We sent them all the required information and the letter of intent.
-
3 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: We currently have an impound account for our home, which includes both property taxes and homeowner insurance. Because of the increases with both of these, every year our monthly payment goes up. We would like to have more control over our monthly payment and would prefer to keep it the same throughout the remaining life of the loan. We are OK with setting aside money for the property taxes and insurance on our own.
-
4 weeks ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: I recently read one of your columns and found something I thought may be misleading. When one owner of a property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship dies, I thought the surviving spouse receives that person’s share on a stepped-up basis. Thus, the surviving spouse avoids the capital gains tax on the deceased spouse’s share and still has their own $250,000 exclusion for as long as they want to live in the property. Am I wrong? A: You are not wrong.
-
1 month ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: We recently rented a home with a pool, and the pool service is included. For liability reasons we keep the screen doors to the lanai locked to prevent someone entering and falling in the pool. However, the pool service person needs access to clean and check water chemistry. So, we unlock the doors the day of service and relock upon his departure. Here’s the issue: We are leaving on an extended trip for several months and are concerned about leaving the lanai unlocked for that duration.
-
1 month ago | 
arcamax.com | Ilyce Glink |Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: I’m in desperate need of your help. We bought a property in Virginia back in 2009 and sold it in 2011. We cannot remember the name of the bank where we got the mortgage. We need that information along with all the payment dates from time of purchase to the time we sold the home. What should we do? A: We wonder why, more than 14 years later, you’d need that information. Too bad you didn’t elaborate in your email. Still, here’s some general advice on how you might go about finding it.
