Simple Real Estate Definitions : Quitclaim Deed

Category: Consumer Education

Posted on in Consumer Education

Simple Real Estate Definitions : Quitclaim Deed

By its most common definition, a quitclaim deed is a document by which one person passes legal and financial ownership of a home to another person. It’s also a way for an owner of a home to remove himself from the title to the property. Often misspelled as “quick claim deed” or “quit claim deed”, quitclaim deeds have a multitude of applications, including: Assigning a home to a trust or entity Adding a partner to title after marriage Removing a partner from title after divorce In order to quitclaim a property, the grantor must have the legal right to assign the property to a grantee, or else the quitclaim deed is worthless.  For example, you can’t quitclaim your interest in City Hall to your neighbor because you don’t actually own City Hall.  This is where quitclaim deeds vary from warranty deeds (or grant deeds) — the types of transfers that occur when real estate is sold.  In instances of the former, the title […]

by jberman
Posted on in Consumer Education

How To Keep Burglars From Knowing You’re On Vacation

There’s some common sense ways to protect your home from burglary — keep the doors locked, the windows shut, and the alarm system on, for example.  But drawing from a series of interviews with ex-convicts, NBC’s The Today Show reveals there are ways by which a vacationing homeowner can unwittingly make his home a theft target.  Awareness is the key to prevention. As cited in the video, when vacationing: Have neighbors pick up mail and newspapers daily If it snows, have somebody drive tire tracks on your driveway Don’t announce your vacation on social media networks If you don’t have a safe, consider moving valuables to a child’s room You can’t protect a home 100 percent from burglary, but you can at least make it “not the easiest target” on the street.  Use your common sense, and follow the steps outlined in the video. It’s what the burglars don’t want you to know.

by jberman
Posted on in Consumer Education

To Use The $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Program, There’s Now Just 6 Weeks To Find A Home

If you plan to use the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program, time is running out. The program expires November 30, 2009 and closing on a home can take up to 60 days. That leaves you 6 weeks from today to find a home and go under contract. The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit program was passed as part of the 2009 economic stimulus plan. It credits up to $8,000 in tax payments to qualified buyers. The qualification criteria are as follows: Buyer may not have owned a “main home” in the past 36 months The home may not be purchased from a parent, spouse, or child Adjusted gross income for the household must be below $95,000 for single tax filers and $170,000 for joint tax filers Furthermore, not everyone who’s qualified will get the full $8,000. The credit can’t exceed 10 percent of a home’s purchase price, for example, and households with income approaching program limits get lesser benefits, too. […]

by jberman
Posted on in Consumer Education

Consumers: Watch out for bogus mortgage closing fees….

I received an email from my home office a few days ago. Apparently some originators are charging bogus fees. I can’t believe this type of behavior still needs to be addressed. Greed The days of originators (not including bankers) making 2% or more on a loan are gone. Charging bogus ‘handling’ fees is a short-term strategy and a disservice to consumers and the industry as a whole. Consumers If you are looking into refinancing and you think you are being charged excessive discount points &/or ‘broker’ fees in addition to origination fees on the good faith estimate, give us a call today for a ‘fairness’ quote. We will tell you if you are being charged too much and what you can do about it. Regards ~ JB “TB&W has received clarification from both HUD and VA regarding allowable fees. This is not a change to either HUD or VA policy, this is a clarification of their existing policies. Discount Points […]

by jberman
Posted on in Consumer Education

With Mortgage Rates, You Can’t Shop For Good Luck

After a series of increases starting April 30, mortgage rates finally took a dip Monday.  It was a welcome surprise for home buyers that went under contract over the weekend.  Same for homeowners looking to pull the refinance trigger. Versus mortgage rates on Friday afternoon, many lenders were already showing lower rates Monday morning before a late-afternoon rate sheet reprice even lower. The drop in rates lowered annual mortgage payments by roughly $180 per $100,000 borrowed. Rate dips like this aren’t expected, of course, bringing us to the one of the most important axioms of shopping for a mortgage rate: You can’t shop for good luck. This is because mortgage rates are inherently unpredictable.  On some days, rates are higher On some days, rates are lower On some days, rates are unchanged Occasionally, there are days when rates are all three. Monday’s rate dip, though — while sharp — may not last.  Early this morning, markets were pressuring mortgage rates to […]

by jberman
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