Answers to Home Buying and Building Questions

Home Buying and Building - Home Buying Legal and Finance - Home Selling

Q. Would a foreclosed home would be cheaper to buy? If so, what are things to watch for in the process? How would I find out about foreclosures in my area?

A. The simplest answer is, sometimes yes, sometimes no. First, in some states, foreclosure is the term used, even though the procedure in that state is a "trustees sale." If a state actually does "foreclosures" the person who was foreclosed on may have some right of redemption, a period during which he can pay the arrears and regain title to the house. Do not ever buy a foreclosure under those conditions.

Secondly, just because a house is being foreclosed does not mean the lender is just going to "dump" the property to get a little cash. Bankers do not get rich by selling things at fire sale prices. They are going to get a broker's opinion of value before selling anything, and the PMI provider is going to make sure the banker does due diligence or they will not kick in their coverage.

Third, a foreclosure is sold "as is, where is." So, unless you know enough about a house and a neighborhood to buy something "blind," it might not be a good idea.

Q. The county is requiring a minimum lot size of 10,000 sq. ft, for a building permit, but this lot is only 9,351 square feet. Is there some type of special exception I can get? How do I go about purchasing a strip of land from an adjoining lot?

A. Even if this is a County zoning or subdivision requirement, your lot may be "grandfathered" (surveyed and recorded prior to the requirement) and may be exempt from the requirement, or you may be able to get a variance. Talk to the County Planner or whoever is in charge of the department that regulates such things to find out your options, if any. The only other remedy is to buy a strip from an adjoining property owner, if they're willing to sell and can afford to sell it without creating the same minimum size problem for their property. You'd have to contact the adjoining property owner directly to see. Consult an attorney to advise you on all of the above.

Q. We canceled our offer on a home after a very thorough inspection, which revealed some major problems such as leaking roof and soon-to-need-replacement electrical and heating systems. Now the seller is requesting a full copy of the inspection report as a condition to release our deposit, despite the fact that I've given them the most outstanding portions of the report as a proof that we backed out of our offer for a reason. I've consulted with my inspector, who told me under no circumstances should I give out the full report to anybody. Also nowhere on the offer (which has inspection contingency conditions) can I find any obligation for buyer to give out a full inspection report upon cancellation. I am feeling the sellers are trying to take advantage of us. How should I handle this?

A. You do NOT have to provide a copy of your full inspection report to the seller or anyone else, short of a court order. That is a confidential document between you and your inspector. All that you should need to do is provide the portion of the report that has a "significant" defect in it. There is no specific legal definition of a "significant" defect, but from what you've described, almost any court would consider that you have legitimate reasons for terminating the purchase agreement under the inspection contingency. If the seller refuses to return your earnest money, take him to Small Claims Court if it is within that dollar amount limit, or to a higher court if necessary. You should win. Try to recover your legal expenses for doing so.

Q. Would I need a lawyer to give an offer on a house, or does the real estate agent do that? At what point would I need a lawyer to purchase?

A. The real estate agent will tell you that you don't need a lawyer, that she or he can handle everything. Technically that's true. However, you will be signing a ton of papers, all of which were prepared by attorneys, all of them designed to give the other party an advantage over you. Contact an attorney before you sign any papers, and get him or her to review all papers before you sign them.

Q. I have just started building a house. When I picked my lot from the builder, I was told that my lot was 138 DP. It turns out that there is a fence at the 128' mark, so the last 10' of my lot are unusable. This was not told to me before I purchased the lot. Do I have any recourse hear or am I out of luck?

A. If that other 10' is your property, then you have no case. It's still yours, just not fenced all the way to end of property line. Ask the builder to move the fence for you.

Q. What is the difference in the homeowner's insurance for condo vs. a single-family house?

A. The biggest difference is that you're only insuring what you and your mortgage company own. A condominium is a form of ownership where you only own from the plasterboard (drywall) inward. So essentially, in a condo, you're only insuring the "contents." It's kind of like renter's insurance.

Your "homeowner's" insurance on a single family home includes such things as damage from falling trees, fire, lightning, airplanes falling on it, hailstorms, liability for anyone who may get injured on your property and anything that may happen to the structure.

On a condo, anything happening to the part of the structure, which you own, is probably going to be caused by a "third party" or outside agency. If a pipe in a wall breaks, the condo association owns the pipe and the wall, and any of the things mentioned above are covered by the condo association's insurance. Of course, you're paying that insurance - it's part of your association dues.

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