Do I Need a Lawyer to Buy a House?
Video Summary
A board-certified real estate attorney will be able to represent your interests as the purchaser of a house. Your attorney can advise you in the purchase of the house, checking the title, and some of the non-legal matters involved, such as inspections, checking the title, history of possible sinkholes, existence of open permits, land surveys, etc. The attorney can also help you understand the terms of the Title Commitment.
If you are interested in legal representation to buy a house, please call us at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos
How Will a Short Sale Affect my Credit?
Video Summary
A short sale itself will not have as much of an effect on your credit as will the period leading up to the short sale. Every late payment on your mortgage will have a detrimental effect on your credit score. A higher credit score will drop more quickly.
Currently, lenders are not inclined to begin negotiating a short sale until the borrower is at least two months late. The short sale process takes 3 to 4 months or longer to complete, so by the time it is complete you will likely have at least 5 or 6 instances of 30-day late payments which will hurt your credit score.
When a short sale is completed, the loan may show “paid as agreed” or “paid off.” Waller & Mitchell is not qualified to advise you as to the effect on your credit score at that time. Another factor affecting your credit is whether you are paying your other debts in a timely fashion.
After selling your house by short sale, you will be unable to obtain a mortgage from a federally insured lending institution for at least two years. In some cases, it may take as long as 4 years. However, if the property is foreclosed rather than sold in a short sale, the minimum time before you may be able to obtain a mortgage from a federally insured lending institution is 4 years.
If you have questions about short selling your house, please call us at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Real Estate - Foreclosure, Videos
What Assets Are Protected from Creditors When I Pass Away?
Video Summary
Hi. I’m Chip Waller. Many people are concerned about what assets are protected from the creditors when they pass away. The primary asset that the creditors cannot reach is your home. Many times your home is your most valuable asset. Given this present economic recession and real estate bust, the value of your home has gone down substantially, and if there’s a mortgage on it, there may not be any equity, but that is an asset that is protected, and the creditors cannot reach the home if you leave it to your children or your grandchildren or relatives.
If you leave your house to your relatives, it doesn’t matter how much credit card debt or judgments or any other debt that you may have; they will not attach to the home, and it will be passed to your heirs. If you leave it to a non-heir, then it can be reached by your creditors, and it’s called your homestead, and it’s protected under the Florida constitution.
If you’re interested in seeing about having your estate plan prepared either through a trust or a will, we can further discuss what assets are protected from creditors. Please give me a call at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.
What is a Quitclaim Deed?
Video Summary
A Quitclaim Deed is a form of conveyance whereby the person is transferring whatever interest they have in a property with no warranties. They do not state or warrant that they have any interest in the property. To give an example, I could sign a quitclaim deed for your house, although I have no ownership in it, and give it to a third party. I’m not stating that I have any ownership interest in your house, therefore I would be conveying no title in the property and would have no liability to transfer the deed to someone else, other than clouding the title, which could become a problem for you.
On the other hand, if I gave you a quitclaim deed to property that I own, I would be conveying marketable title or clear title to the property, or whatever interest I may have, whether it be subject to a mortgage or not.
So a Quitclaim Deed is simply a form of conveyance or a deed that says I convey whatever interest I may have in the property to you, whether it be no interest or a good title to the property. If you’re interested in us handling your real estate transactions or preparing deeds for you, give us a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos