Q–More than a year ago, my mortgage servicer failed to pay my property taxes on time even though there was plenty of money in my escrow account. When I got a delinquent notice from the local tax collector, I immediately contacted my mortgage servicer and the taxes were paid.
However, they deducted the interest and penalty from my account. When I argued, I got the runaround. I tried deducting the amount from my mortgage payment but it was returned to me and I got a late charge.
The amount in dispute is only about $210, but I hate to see the mortgage servicer get away with this. What can I do?
A–If more borrowers got tough with their loan servicers, especially on mixed-up escrow accounts, lenders would shape up. Write your loan servicer one more time, setting a deadline for either crediting your account with the $210 or sending you a check.
If you don’t get a favorable response and your loan servicer is a bank or S&L, contact their federal or state regulator. If your loan servicer is a licensee, such as a mortgage broker, contact the appropriate state licensing official for help.
Small Claims Court in your town is the appropriate place to sue your mortgage servicer since your chances of winning the $210 are excellent.
Q–I am considering buying an almost-new mobile home in an excellent mobile home park. Do you think my buying a mobile home would be a good investment?
A–No. Most mobile homes depreciate in value, just like your car loses value. A few mobile home owners have profited from local circumstances, such as rent control or scarce availability in desirable mobile home parks, and sold their depreciated mobile homes for more than they paid, but those are limited situations.
Mobile homes can be wonderful places to live if you enjoy the lifestyle. Also, they are usually less expensive to buy and maintain than single-family detached houses. However, as you probably are aware, they usually do not do well in severe weather, such as rain, hurricanes, tornados and windstorms.
Q–I am getting ready to sell my home. Should I give an open listing to several realty brokers so they will compete to find me a buyer? I might be able to sell the home myself and then would not have to pay a sales commission. Does an open listing sound like a good idea for my situation?
A–No. An open listing is really no listing. It is an offer to one or more real estate agents to pay a sales commission to the first agent who produces an acceptable buyer. Meanwhile, the seller is free to find a buyer, thereby avoiding payment of any sales commission.
In other words, an open listing creates a race between the agent and owner to find a buyer. Since the agent lacks control over the sale, most agents refuse to work on open listings.
You’ll be better off interviewing at least three successful local agents and, after checking each agent’s references of recent home sellers, selecting the best one to receive a 90-day exclusive right to sell listing.
Q–I don’t have much equity in my home but must sell it since I can’t afford the payments. Although I prefer to hire a real estate agent, if I do so there isn’t enough equity to pay the sales commission, so I must regrettably sell my home without any agent.
My question is, How much below the asking price should I expect to get? If I set the asking price at $175,000, can I expect to get $150,000?
A–There is no answer to your question. If you set your home’s asking price at its market value, you should be able to get very close to the full asking price. However, if you overprice the home, you either won’t get any purchase offers (because buyers will think you’re not a serious seller) or you will get purchase offers below the market value to allow room for negotiation.
Before you decide to sell your home alone without a professional agent, please consult several successful local agents about a “short sale.” That means the agent gets the mortgage lender to agree to a sale which will net the lender below the balance you owe on the mortgage. Depending on the circumstances, a short sale may solve your problem.
Q–My family doesn’t get along well. When I die, I want my brother to get my house. But I’m afraid my sister will attack my will, as I have a history of mental and drug problems.
A friend suggests I give a deed to my house to my brother now with instructions he is not to record it until after I die. Is this a good idea?
A–No. Delivering the house deed to your brother now is a very bad idea. A deed which is conditionally delivered is not legally delivered. If your sister attacks it in court, she will probably win on the grounds of defective delivery.
A better alternative is to put your home’s title and other major assets, such as bank accounts and automobile, into a living trust. You can still control the assets in a living trust, such as buying and selling, but it becomes irrevocable when you die. It is virtually impossible to attack a living trust since it doesn’t go through probate. Please consult an attorney about establishing a living trust.
Q–About two years ago, at Thanksgiving dinner in front of about 10 relatives, my father said he would give my wife and me a rundown cabin he owns with my mother. But the condition was I had to fix it up before they would deed it to me.
Now it is a beautiful three-bedroom home where my wife and I live with our two daughters. But the title is still not in our names. My mom and dad say they are letting us live there cost-free, except we pay the expenses, such as real estate taxes, and this is enough. My dad, a lawyer, says the Statute of Frauds requires a written contract and since there is none there isn’t anything I can do to gain title. Is that true?
A– As a general rule, the Statute of Frauds requires any agreement regarding real estate to be in writing if it is to be enforced in court. However, there is a major exception: When one party begins performance of the contract in detrimental reliance on the oral agreement, the other party is “”topped” to deny existence of the oral contract. Your situation seems to qualify since you relied on your father’s promise and fixed up the rundown shack.
Although it will cause family trouble, if you really want title to that house I suggest you retain a real estate attorney to bring a specific performance lawsuit against your parents. Also, record a lis pendens against the title to effectively prevent refinancing or a sale.
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Please note: Real estate laws differ from place to place, so you should check local laws before making decisions on real estate problems. Letters should be addressed to Tribune Media Services, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1400, Chicago, Ill. 60611.
