ArcaMax

Reader comment: Like one of your readers, I also live in an homeowners association (HOA) community (44 units) where no one wants to step up to be on the board. We have three people there now and two are past their two-year commitment, nor do we have a management firm. Frankly, I think we do a fantastic job of addressing residents’ needs and ...Read more

Q: My mother died in 2021, and she created a life estate where my two sisters and I were listed on the deed. Initially we thought we were just added to the deed, but we discovered the information about the life estate recently (we still haven’t sold the house).

We are now in the process of trying to sell the house and are confused about the ...Read more

Reader comment: I read your recent article on wills and trusts. To add gilding to the lily, as my late father used to say, I wanted to add some thoughts to your column.

We had a trust set up and the preparer gave us a three-ring notebook with the trust docs, will, powers of attorney, etc. I scanned the documents and created a DVD for each of ...Read more

Q: I am a senior citizen. I’m thinking ahead to a time where I might consider selling my house and moving into a retirement community.

Can you tell me what to look for in a retirement community? I have heard disturbing stories where the retirement community filed for Chapter 11 because they had financial difficulties. I’ve also heard that ...Read more

Q: We bought our home in 1984. The deed read that the home was built on one of two separate lots. We are now thinking about moving. In considering our options, we realized the property values in our neighborhood have increased dramatically. In fact, they’re so high that we’re thinking of razing our existing home and selling the two ...Read more

Q: I learned something new in your recent article. I did not know that a person could receive the benefit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule that allows homeowners to exclude from federal taxes the first $250,000 in profits from the sale of a home. Your column said that you can take that exclusion every two years.

That leads me to my ...Read more

Q: My son and his wife live in an apartment complex in Orlando. He’s been a resident there for over 10 years and has always been a good tenant. The ownership has changed several times. The new management is refusing to make necessary repairs to the aging buildings. They have reported a leak from the ceiling into the master bedroom several ...Read more

Q: I am looking to buy a home in the near future. I recently heard that my credit card with a big box discount store would come to an end. I signed up for a credit card with the big box store years ago to get a discount while buying gas and for purchases at the store. The store card will be replaced with a generic cash-back card that I can use ...Read more

Q: I just read your column on the bad home inspection. First, who paid for the inspector? If the mortgage company paid, the lender didn’t get their money’s worth. Second, on the question of the open sewerage, that seems like a no-brainer to me, as it was clearly a housing code violation. Third, the disclosure sheet provided by the seller to ...Read more

Q: I just read your response to the question about the 20-unit homeowners association (HOA) that can’t get people to run for the board. I used to manage HOAs and have a few thoughts for your readers.

First, before they do anything, they need to carefully read their HOA documents and see if they can reduce their number of board members on the ...Read more

Q: We enjoy reading your real estate column each week. Our daughter is having her dream house built in Maryland for around $800,000. They picked a “flat” lot to build the house. They paid a premium for that lot. When they met with the builder to discuss options they selected two basement windows to be installed in a large, 24-foot-by-32-foot...Read more

Q: I am 60 years old with a pension. I have invested in rental properties in the past. I currently own six rental properties. I have no mortgages on these properties and paid around $100,000 for each of them some years ago. They are now worth around $350,000 each.

I’m wondering whether I should sell them, take out mortgages on them or do ...Read more

Q: We only owe about $60,000 on our house (thanks to your sound financial advice when we got the mortgage, and suggestions about making extra payments along the way). We have two dividend reinvestment plans (DRIP) worth about $110,000 (again, due to your advice).

Should we take money from the DRIP investments and pay off the house? We have no ...Read more

Q: I belong to a 55-plus community of 20 single-family homes. We are self-governed by a homeowners association board of five members. This past spring, the terms of two of the members expired and they declined to run again. No other residents volunteered to serve, so we are down to three board members.

Next spring two more board seats expire. ...Read more

Q: I live in a townhouse cluster governed by a homeowners association and a master community association. I have been having an issue with a neighbor’s downspout. I’ve noticed a large amount of water descending from this downspout onto my driveway. I’m concerned, because during the winter icicles hang from his gutters and the downspout ...Read more

Q: I read your article on multigenerational living and found it incredibly interesting. My family and I are planning a similar multigenerational living arrangement by adding on to my parents’ house. We are located in Colorado and hoping to find both a financial advisor and a real estate attorney to guide us through the process. Can you give us...Read more

Q: My daughter purchased her first home — a one bedroom condominium in a suburb of Chicago back in 2017. Recently, she was notified that the building was going to deconvert and become a rental building. We are questioning all parts of this move, as very little real information has been made available.

Is it legal to deconvert a condo building...Read more

Q: I read about people putting their home in trust to avoid probate. Our estate plan is a simple will. Our house and everything we own, including our money and personal effects, is left to our son. I thought that would be proper. Were we misguided when the will was made?

A: There’s nothing wrong with putting together and signing a will. We ...Read more

Q: Well, I just paid off my house and don’t know what the next steps might be. I did receive a letter from my mortgage lender congratulating me on paying off my loan, but I don’t know what specific paperwork I should be looking for or requesting.

My home is in a trust. Upon my death, the home will go to my son. I don’t know if or how that...Read more

Q: My mother’s original will was kept in her attorney’s office. At some time after she signed the will with her attorney, the attorney died.

My sister hoped our mother died without a will so that she would get half of what my mother owned. My elder law attorney was able to find my mother’s will from my mom’s original attorney’s law ...Read more