Saturday, July 20, 2013

Q&A: Taking Personal Property with You

Question: I took a few small bushes from my yard because they were given to me by my late Mom. The buyer noticed this and complained that they had to stay. Does certain personal property have to stay with the home when I sell?
Answer:  When selling or buying a home, you need to think ahead about what you are actually selling along with the property and the house.
The general rule is, "if it attached to the structure or the ground, it is real property and stays with the house."
For example, curtains are attached, but will the sellers leave them?
They may match the decor in the seller’s next home. What if they take them and the buyers assumed they would stay?
This can cause a disagreement. Disagreements tend to move from minor issues to major issues, because emotions rule and logic melts away. 
So if you want to take your curtains with you, put it in the contract. Don't "assume" anything.

Buyers and sellers can argue about the silliest things.
Believe it or not, there is a story about how a deal almost fell apart because the buyer wanted the sellers to leave the welcome mat. It must have been a really nice welcome mat. Normally, sellers are free to take their welcome mat with them when they move.

The point is that you need to think about these things in advance. If you have to unscrew a screw, detach anything from the interior or exterior structure, or uproot anything from the ground -- and you want to take it with you when you move -- put it in the contract. That way there are no possible misunderstandings later.

As far as the bushes go, explain to the buyer the sentimental value in these bushes and ask if you can replace them with something else suitable to the buyers.

Gas Prices Around the World

Interesting to see the wide range of Gasoline Prices around the World: 
Chicago: $4.44
Venezuela: $0.10  (yes 10 cents)
Saudi Arabia: $0.45
South Caroline: $3.19
NYC: $3.79
Los Angeles: $3.99
San Francisco: $4.06
Hawaii:  $4.36
China: $4.74
Canada: $4.76
Kuwait: $0.81
Egypt: $1.14
Iran: $2.15
Pakistan: $3.98
India: $5.00
Luxemborg: 6.81
United Kingdom: $8.06
Norway: 9.63
Turkey: $9.89

Here is the article: http://editorial.autos.msn.com/gas-prices-around-the-world-2?icid=autos_4402



Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Happy Red, White & Blue Thoughts

“A man travels the world over in search of what he
needs and returns home to find it.”
- George Augustus Moore

I don’t know about you, but we are quite sure that we  have the best
job in the world! It’s not an easy job by any means. It takes
dedication, creativity, resourcefulness and a good sense of
humor to do what we do each and every day. But when you
take a step back, you realize that there are not many people
who can say it is their job to help make dreams come true!

So, as we drive through our neighborhood this weekend or
head off to the home of a family member or friend, we will be sure to
pay special attention to the smells from the BBQ grills and the
sound of laughter from children running through a sprinkler
or playing baseball in the street. Listen to neighbors chatting,
dogs barking, lawn mowers humming and marching bands
leading the parade and then we'll take a moment to smile and feel proud
knowing that we have helped a countless number of people
find the place they call HOME!


Wishing each of you a very Happy Red, White and Blue
holiday weekend!
 
Jim & Cathy Higgins

Q & A about Home Inspections


Question: My wife and I are planning on purchasing a home.  We were told a seller has to fill out a property disclosure form on the home. My friend told us that he received a property disclosure statement saying that the roof was new, the A/C was five years old and the furnace was a year old. He was in the home three months and he had to have an HVAC company in to check out a problem with the furnace. They checked the serial number and found out the unit is over 12 years old which puts it near the end of its predictable life.

The disclosure clearly stated that the furnace was only one-year old.  What can I do to protect ourselves from this same potential problem?

Answer:  You should never rely on a seller disclosure.  Why? The most-honest seller on the planet may not have sufficient information or understanding to complete such a form. For instance, if a form asks "does the roof leak" it may be that to the owner the roof does not leak because he has no information to the contrary. Of course, it may also be true that the owner has never been in the attic. The owner in this situation can honestly answer "no" because to him that's the way it is.

Or “does the furnace work properly”? The owner says yes because he doesn’t hear any strange noises and the home heats up well. But What if there is a crack in the heat exchanger? The owner may not know about the crack, but can honestly state that the furnace does what it is supposed to do….heat the home.

As a buyer, you want information about the condition of the property and the only way to get that information on a reliable basis is to have a professional home inspection. When you make an offer to purchase property be sure that it's "subject to" a home inspection which is "satisfactory" to you.