March 16, 2012
After languishing on the market for months, a buyer has finally signed a contract to purchase your home. Think congratulations and Champagne are in order? Or try this scenario: After months of open house appearances and weekend dates with your Realtor, you've finally found a place you'd be proud to call home and signed a contract to buy. Think you've arrived at the finish line? Maybe, maybe not. Survey data from the National Association of Realtors found that 33 percent of its member agents reported a contract failure in December, up from 9 percent in December 2010.
March 14, 2003
Everyone has met them at one time or another. They're known as "difficult people," but that doesn't begin to describe them. Difficult people--demanding, arrogant, irrational, rude, manipulative, obnoxious, explosive--represent at least 3 percent of the population, says Dr. Albert J. Bernstein, a clinical psychologist and author of several books on the topic (who provides tips on dealing with difficult people on his Web site, www.albernstein.com)....
October 31, 2013
If you're desperate for a child or desperate to be rid of one, the Internet is here to help. You can save time, avoid bureaucratic interference and escape the prying eyes of child welfare busybodies. Yes, it's every bit as awful as it sounds. But it's true. Illinois, we are told, has some of the strongest adoption laws in the nation. But those laws "are not enough to stem the horrible practice of 're-homing' adopted children who are in perilous circumstances," according to state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D- Chicago, who chaired a hearing on Internet adoptions this week.
November 26, 1998
Qualms about entertaining at home are often expressed in terms of how perilous it is to have the boss over to dinner. So much can go fatally wrong, everyone agrees, even when you are trying your best. It's not just that the food might burn or the children might turn obstreperous. Worse, the setting itself, or the way you do things at home, might fall short of the boss' standards. Instructions abound about how to deal with the myriad tasks involved in shaping things up, at least enough to pass muster by candlelight.
February 11, 2011
Canadian contractor Mike Holmes has built a fan base in the United States with "Holmes on Homes," the HGTV series in which he comes to the rescue of homeowners who have been the victims of shady, careless or inept contractors. This season, the cable network added "Holmes Inspection," in which the star pinpoints structural and other issues that he maintains should have been uncovered during a pre-purchase home inspection. He paused between working on his myriad projects to talk about how he believes homes should be built better, among other topics: QYou've made a TV career for yourself by demonstrating to viewers how many things seem to go terribly wrong during building or remodeling.
August 26, 2011
Financing a home purchase has become extremely difficult since the housing boom turned to bust. Getting an appraisal to match the price for which one's lender has preapproved a mortgage can be more art than science. In June, a sizable share of U.S. purchase contracts for previously owned houses, signed 45 to 60 days earlier, were canceled by buyers because of appraisal/asking-price mismatches. In a month when Realtors expected sales to rise, they dropped instead. Having a contract fall through is tough on the buyer and it leaves the seller, who might have contracted to buy a new property in anticipation of selling the old one, out in the cold too. Is there any way to salvage these deals?
January 11, 1998
Are you about to relocate your place of residence? A professional home inspection is essential to help protect your interests. And that's true whether you are buying or selling a house. Millions of residential inspections are conducted throughout the nation, a move that is strongly endorsed and encouraged by real estate professionals and lending institutions alike. However, many consumers are unfamiliar with the quick and easy process. So what should you expect from an inspector?
January 28, 1995
When you're buying a house, it's a good idea to make the contract contingent on a home inspection. The reason, as any homeowner knows, is that many, many things can go expensively wrong without any warning. Because problems are so common in resale houses, real estate agents routinely write home inspection clauses into contracts for their clients. The inspection itself costs about $250 (higher in some parts of the country) and takes an average of 2 1/2 hours, according to HouseMaster, a national inspection company.
July 10, 2014
By Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin Q: I recently read an article you wrote about selling a home "as is." I agree with all that you said, but I wonder why you did not mention the value of a pre-listing home inspection? Your website (ThinkGlink.com) has a full article on this, so I know full well that you understand and support the concept under certain conditions. I think that an estate sale of a home is most certainly one of those times -- and, yes, I am a Realtor. A: When a home seller is preparing to sell his or her home and wants to get it into tip-top shape, a pre-listing home inspection is a great idea.