I received a loan modification on the house in AZ and I’ve been transferred to another state and must move immediately. I’m unable to locate affordable rental property and can’t afford to maintain a mortgage and rent. What are my options
by Lori Bonnett
Lets say I am selling my home and my apartment is is good condition except needs paint job and few scatches on floor and wall.
My question is if the buyer wants to get out of contract can he get an inspector to say more problems with my place than it is? Just to get out of contract? Can he claim there is leaks when there isnt? If his inspector comes back with lies what can i do to enforce the contract?
Sorry I am so nervous I never sold a home before…
Thanks…
What are the implications of selling a home below the price you paid for it. How can you write that off on your taxes and does it make sense to do so.
It is an investment property with current renters in there.
Its not a principal family residence.
It was a family residence at some stage though
Fiber sells homes!
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Sign placed by the developer to sell homes. And, yes, we’ll soon have fiber to the fridge! 
Tags: Help
I’ve heard of this before. Get you’re own inspector to show that these problems do not exist and contact the state licensing board about the other inspector.
A home inspection is like $ 300.
Haven’t read every contract from every State in the country but
many inspection clauses simply read something like this, Buyer must approve the report. With wording like that, there doesn’t even have to be anything wrong, nor a formal inspection by a “home inspector”.
Not to scare you but, like the song, there must be, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (contract) and the inspection clause is only one of them.
Don’t be nervous. Most buyers are quite serious when they make an offer on a property – they won’t be inventing problems in order to cancel. A *real* home inspector won’t invent problems either.
If a buyer really wants to cancel, they will use a contingency to do so. In California, the contingency is very open-ended and they can pretty much use any reason – like they don’t like the next door neighbor. So there isn’t any reason for them to lie about the condition of the property. If something does comes up in the inspection, you can just agree to have it fixed.
If you want to get serious buyers and the most money you can in today’s market – do the painting and touchup now wherever necessary. Get rid of any clutter and clean it so it sparkles. Get the home inspection suggested in the previous answer and make sure that any suggested repairs are taken care of. Let your agent do the worrying – it’s their job to make sure that the buyers who do make an offer are serious and qualified.
No. Inspectors are licensed by the state, and there aren’t too many inspectors that are willing to put their ENTIRE livelihood on the line so SOMEONE ELSE can get out of a contract.
Keep in mind, that you have to read real estate contracts very carefully. Too many people think that an inspection is just a free-for-all to get out of a contract, and it isn’t.
Anything that is COSMETIC that was obvious and in plain view when the buyer toured the property, is automatically EXEMPT….b/c the buyer contracted knowing full well the flaws existed.
I helped a client get out of a contract THE DAY OF CLOSING, because when we toured the property the morning of the closing for final walkthrough, the area rugs had all been taken up, and there were massive, black, permanent pet stains on all of the hardwood floors. These cannot be removed by refinishing, they have to be replaced.
We went to closing, and asked for $ 8,000 to replace the hardwoods, since the owners knew the damage occurred and did not disclose it, and it was a hidden defect.
They refused, so we refused to close. It ended up in court on an emergency hearing and the sellers lost and were told to refund the earnest money.
It also helped that my client wasn’t desparate to move and was in temporary housing already.
Your best bet is to hire your own inspector. In fact, I usually recommend my clients have an inspection done before it goes on the market-that way you will have the opportunity to correct any problems before a buyer’s inspector notes them.
Having your own inspector look specifically at the items mentioned in the buyer’s report, or hiring a specialist to inspect a particular item (i.e. having and HVAC inspection) is the only way to check the validity of the buyer’s report. But, I think it is very unlikely that an inspector would be willing to fraudulently claim defects that did not exist, so be ready to do repairs or offer an allowance in order to close the sale.
Incidentally, not every state requires a license, outside of a business license, to work as an inspector. In many states, you do not need any special training to do it. ALWAYS insist that any buyer’s inspector be ASHI Certified (American Society of Home Inspectors), as the most reliable and professional inspectors will be members.
You cannot deduct losses on the sale of a personal residence. Such losses can only be deducted if the property is an investment property.
It follows the same concept as attempting to deduct a loss on the sale of a personal vehicle. Can’t deduct that either.
You can’t write that off on your taxes, sorry. A loss on a personal home, or on other personal possessions, isn’t deductible.
This is a rather complex transaction that should be left to a tax professional.
Your loss or gain is calculated on the sale price less your basis less sales expenses.
The basis is calcuated by taking the cost or fair market value when you converted it to a rental plus improvements less depreciation.
You could sell it for less than you paid for it but still have a taxable gain.
You may have a gain, or you may have a loss, even if you sell the property for less than your purchase price.
Example: Purchase the home for $ 100,000 and eventually convert it to a rental. The basis of the rental is the original purchase price or the FMV at the time of conversion, whichever is less. Assume the basis is $ 100,000.
Each year you rent the property, you are allowed an amount of depreciation. Suppose you have taken (or were allowed to take) $ 40,000 of depreciation on the rental property. Your basis in the property is now $ 100,000 – $ 40,000 = $ 60,000
If you sell the property for $ 75,000, your gain is
$ 75,000 – $ 60,000 = $ 15,000
You have a gain of $ 15,000 even though you sold the property for less than you originally paid for it.
So, take your rental records to a tax preparer who can figure your gain or loss accurately for you. If you have a gain you will of course pay tax on the gain. If you have a loss on the sale, you may be able to deduct that loss in the year of sale, or carry it forward if necessary.
To those who care, the photographer was the spearhead of this technology to the developer.
Good job Herr Berger.
Doug