Does it make sense to have the title to a primary residence held by a limited liability company (LLC)? If your LLC owns a primary residence you may lose various tax deductions. It may also be more difficult to obtain favorable mortgage financing because a property owned by an LLC may be considered an investment property.  

An ex-husband was supposed to continue to make payments on the second mortgage on his ex-wife’s home. He stopped the payments and she can’t afford them. Because a second mortgage is a lien, missing second mortgage payments could lead to foreclosure. Ilyce advises the reader to talk to her divorce attorney about having her ex-husband make the payments and to negotiate with her second mortgage lender to work something out or to contact a non profit consumer credit counselor. 

Can a home buyer get his earnest money back on the purchase of a home if the financial markets prevent him from getting a loan to buy the home? When a home buyer puts earnest money down on a home he’s bound by whatever the home purchase contract states. The home buyer can lose the earnest money if the contract allows the builder to keep it, regardless of whether the credit crisis affects the home buyer’s ability to qualify for a mortgage loan. 

When someone dies, who inherits the contents of the estate? Does it go to the person’s spouse or children, or both? It depends on the state where the deceased lives and whether that person had a will. To ensure that your estate planning wishes get executed make sure to have a valid will. 

How does the recording of a quit claim deed affect an inheritance? An Ohio family may own a West Virginia property received by an unrecorded quit claim deed. Ilyce advises contacting a real estate attorney in West Virginia, where the property’s located. If the quit claim deed is valid, title may have transferred when the deed was delivered. If the quit claim deed is invalid, the probate court for the former owner of the property would decide who the new rightful owner of the property is. 

If a quit claim deed is signed but never recorded and the former owner dies, who inherits the home? An Ohio family owns a West Virginia property through a quit claim deed but they never recorded the quit claim deed. The law of West Virginia, where the property is located, should determine whether the deed is valid. If the deed isn’t valid, then the inheritance laws where the property’s former owner lived should dictate who now owns the property. 

Many factors impact the calculation of a home value. The amount of land that comes with a home and its location are two important issues to consider. The home values of comparable properties also affect the home value calculation. A Think Glink reader asks whether a 1909 home that’s selling for $70,000 is a good deal, in spite of some plumbing problems. Ilyce says it’s hard to say whether the home value is accurate without knowing more details. $70,000 may be a good purchase in some parts of the country but not in others. Ilyce advises checking out home values of comparable properties. 

New construction homes generally come with warranties from builders. So long as the home warranty is in effect, the homeowner can contact the builder to resolve a problem with the property. But what can one do when the builder can’t be reached? A Think Glink reader says he recently bought a home and the builder has not followed through on a home inspection or repair requests. Ilyce says it sounds like the new home buyer feels some buyer’s remorse, but that he can’t return the home like another product. The home buyer may hire a home inspector separately and may have to come to terms with the builder’s financial situation during tough economic times.  

As the economy tightens, more Americans may be thinking about their household budgets. Household budgets include major expenses such as rent or mortgage payments, but also smaller costs such as cable television. How can you set up a household budget? In this Think Glink column, Ilyce talks about tracking daily expenses to see what you’re spending. Ilyce’s advice includes using a money tracking software program such as Quicken or Microsoft Money and tracking expenses throughout the seasons and ideally, constantly. 

As parents age, estate planning becomes a concern - they may move out of their primary residence into a nursing home and leave their primary residence empty. It may be difficult to buy homeowners insurance when no one lives in a home. In this Think Glink column, a reader asks about having a brother move into his widowed mother’s now vacant home to facilitate buying homeowners insurance. The family plans for the brother to buy the home but he can’t afford it until the house has been sold and he receives his share of the estate. Ilyce supports the idea of the brother moving into the home to help buy homeowners insurance but she questions the necessity to sell the home.