Question: I can no longer make my mortgage payment and I'm ready to file bankruptcy because I lost my job. I'm wondering what options I might have. I have a friend who might be able to pay the mortgage, but would like the house in his name, which is fine with me since there is no equity. How do I go about doing this? Do I need a real estate attorney?

Answer: If the property is in your friend's name it means it's owned by your buddy so continuing with the current mortgage may not be possible. Why? Because you are the borrower, not your friend, and the lender may call the loan as soon as title to the property changes.

There may be other options here. How about taking in a boarder? Renting the property? Seeking a loan modification. And yes, you do need an attorney.

Question: I'm a young investor in the Washington area and have recently made some real estate investments. I'm currently looking to branch off and invest, possibly in the Arizona condominium market. The prices right now seem to have bottomed out and I have started dealing with an agent who has access to a lot of lender-owned properties. What is your general opinion on the Arizona market place. Is there big money to be made like I think?

Answer: Washington -- whether the state or the nation's capital -- is a long way from Arizona. Given that real estate is a localized commodity you should invest where you nest and where you can carefully track local property and pricing trends.

Arizona is a big state and what's true in some areas may not be true elsewhere. Moreover, price is not the only issue. What about rental rates? Condition? Financing? Before going further please contact Arizona buyer brokers who can provide specific advice.

Question: When we sold our home in 1998 the title company did not find a 1993 lien against our home. Now the current owners are getting a new mortgage and the lien was discovered. Is the title company responsible for resolving this title issue?

Answer: The title company used by the current owners when they purchased the property is responsible. This is not your problem. The current owners should contact their original settlement agent and title company to get this straight.

Question: We've had our home on the market for eight months. It's vacant but staged and shows really well. Our greatest obstacle are neighbors who have years of accumulated junk in plain view for potential buyers. The neighbors are very nice people and we have expressed my concern regarding the adverse affect their junk is having on the sale of our property. They have been working hard at clean up and we do notice a difference. But it's just not quite enough and ultimately their definition of valuable things and a good looking home are far different than mine. What can we do?

Answer: Since you have friendly relations with the neighbors, and since the neighbors seem willing to be helpful, you could offer to clean up the area. However, this is an approach with red flags. They would either like the idea (because you would be doing the work), or they would resent the suggestion and do nothing.

Alternatively, if a vacant property has been on the market for eight months perhaps the problem is not the neighbors. It may be that your perception of value and attractiveness are not consistent with marketplace realities.

Speak with your broker and see if the marketing plan is being followed. If yes, see if it needs to be changed in light of evolving market conditions.

Question: I need to know everything I can know about getting a home loan. I just started a new job, have a low credit score and wouldn't want to pay more than 5% down.

Answer: Given weak credit and little down you might want to look into an FHA mortgage -- otherwise you may be steered to a high-cost subprime loan.

Your best choice is likely to finance nothing until you have more time at your new job and a better credit standing.

Question: Our family purchased a house in April of 2007. We noticed in July 2007 that the driveway was sinking. We contacted the contractor who handled the patch that the previous owners had done and the contractor admitted that when the patch was done the previous owner did not want to fix the patch properly and told the contractor he and his wife were planning to move anyway. The contractor fixed the patch as cheap as possible and the house was on the market at the time. We were not told that this sinking issue had ever been repaired or even disclosed at settlement. We ask that everything be told to us about the house and the sellers agreed. What do we do now?

Answer: Unless there's video of the conversation between the owner and the contractor you don't know who said what to whom. What you do know is that several months after buying a property the driveway began to sink.

The fact is that the driveway was not sinking when you bought or you would have seen a dip in the pavement. No one provided an eternal anti-sinking guarantee. And, the reality is that the former owners tried to resolve the problem -- no one with any sense says to a contractor, "Gee, let's find the most expensive way to fix this problem."

Get a repair estimate from a different contractor and forget about pursing the past owners unless you want to spend lots of money on attorneys in an effort which is likely to be unsuccessful.

Question: I'm a New York attorney specializing in real property law. I teach real property at the local college and have been credited in books and articles involving real property. Is there reciprocity for any or all of the requirements to become a real estate salesperson in Texas?

Answer: The general rule seems to be more distance between jurisdictions equals less reciprocity.

If you were simply a real estate licensee then the appropriate action would be to contact the Texas Real Estate Commission at 512/465-3900 or online at http://www.trec.state.tx.us They can explain what reciprocity options, if any, may be available.

However, your situation is different. State laws often feature special provisions for attorneys. Experience and educational standards required for real estate brokers can often be waived by licensed attorneys because they are presumed to have certain qualifications. Such rules vary by jurisdiction, thus -- again -- you are best served by contacting the Texas Real Estate Commission.

If special provisions are available for Texas attorneys, your next step would then be to obtain a license to practice law in the state.

Question: I made the highest offer on a home, but another buyer got the house. Why is this?

Answer: Remember the offer you made? It had a lot more than one line with a price, it addressed dozens of different issues of which price was just one.

A real estate seller is not required to accept the highest price. Instead, an owner can look at all the factors addressed in an offer and then make a decision, items such as the amount down, date of settlement, contingencies, required seller contributions, etc.

What a seller cannot do is reject an offer for discriminatory reasons, because the buyer is a member of a protected class under federal, state or local rules. For specifics, speak with the broker who is handling your listing or with a local real estate attorney.

Question: How can I be sure that now is the time to sell?

Answer: You can't. There's no way to time the market, to buy at the low point and to sell at the high. What you can do is buy or sell in response to your needs and preferences.

If you think about the most-successful real estate "investors" it often turns out that they're simply people who needed shelter, lived in their home for many years, paid down or paid off their mortgage and then had significant equity when they sold. It's an old formula -- and one which has largely worked for most owners, most of the time and in most markets.

Question: How do I go about finding a lender?

Answer: In many cases the idea of "looking for a lender" means looking for the lowest advertised rates. But as many borrowers have found out, low rates are just one issue to consider. You also have to ask other questions: For instance: Is the interest rate fixed for the entire loan term or does it become an adjustable at any point? Is there a prepayment penalty? If so, how much is it and how long does the penalty period last? What is the interest rate at "par" -- the rate of interest without points?

The best place to find lenders is speak with real estate brokers and those who have recently financed. You want a lender who can lock in a rate, deliver a loan as promised and get a good faith estimate right. Be sure to speak with several lenders before making a choice.

Question: Who are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Answer: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not a "who" they're a "what." Once federal agencies, they are now private companies that buy mortgages from local lenders. The cash paid to those lenders is then used to create more loans.

Where do Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac get the dollars to buy loans? The raise cash by selling bonds and mortgage-backed securities to investors worldwide.

Have a real estate question? Send your inquiry to Ask Realty Times. Because of the volume of mail received, Mr. Miller cannot respond to questions individually or privately. Published letters may be edited for space and style. For comments regarding other Realty Times articles, please contact individual authors by pressing here. For past columns, please press Ask Realty Times.

This column is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is made available with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal services or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

Published: April 18, 2008

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

---

Related Articles:

• California Site Allows Title Insurance Price Comparisons
  
• Captive Title Re-Insurance: What About The Rest of the Questions?
  
• Seven Steps To A Credit Score Makeover
  
• Housing Counsel: Creative Financing -- A Wrap-Around Mortgage
  

Have a real estate question for Realty Times? Wondering about buying, selling, financing, refinancing or renting? Here's where you can send your question to Peter G. Miller, OurBroker®, a nationally-known columnist, author and reporter. Peter G. Miller has written six books -- including The Common-Sense Mortgage -- a guide with hundreds of thousands of copies in print. Miller was the original creator and host of America Online's Real Estate Center and joined Realty Times in 1998. Send your questions to . Because of the volume of mail received, individual questions cannot be answered privately and not all questions can be used. Published letters may be edited for space and style and all letters become the property of Realty Times upon receipt.