I am going to summarize the question for our readers and then post the full question below. The question: With a rent-to-own or lease option agreement, will I lose my down payment money if I fail to exercise my option? Here is what the visitor actually wrote: I was hoping that you could help me. […]

Real estate purchase contracts are just that. A contract. So, I get this question constantly. Can you cancel a real estate contract and if so what are the ramifications? Here is a recent reader question: “I have been looking at a house and decided I wanted to look into buying the house. I met with […]

I will reprint the entire question then answer it below. I am the seller and will be paying closing costs for the buyer. On our contract with our agent she showed up to $17,000 in closing costs. We have learned that closing costs are now less that that amount. My question is - Does the […]

Here is the question: Randy asks, Is it possible to transfer a property into a corporation and out of my name? I have several mortgaged rental properties that are worth less than I owe, and an investment company has offered to take over the properties, although the loans are not assumable. Any options here? My […]

Here is the question… Before closing on property I was selling for $519,000, the buyer requested that I increase the purchase price to $600,000 and give $36,000 in seller concessions because they were having some cash flow issues. Subsequently, they got a mortgage for $592,000. Since the increased purchase price was less than the appraised […]

Here is the whole question… My husband and I obtained a loan for a new house in December of last year. We recently were notified of an escrow shortage of close to 2300. If we don’t pay this our mortgage is due to increase more than 400.00 per mo. After some digging we discovered that […]

I will reprint the question, then I will answer it below. Are there any 100% mortgage programs for apartment buildings? My Answer: I get this question a lot so I’m surprised I have yet to answer it. Investor mortgage programs are always very tight on underwriting standards especially the loan-to-value (LTV) quidelines. Apartment building mortgage […]

Here is the question in total: My husband and I purchased a lot in West Virginia in 2005. It was an investment in a new development. Long story short, the developer took the money and didn’t do anything. We paid $70000.00 for the lot. We put 10% down and $63000.00 is in a balloon loan […]

Here is the Reader question…I’ll answer below. Is it easier to evict a tenant on a month to month lease than one on a 1 year lease? My answer: A tenant is in default of his lease is in default on his lease regardless of the duration of the lease. So the answer is “No”. […]