Real Estate News For Sunday, October 23rd, 2005

For those of you who haven't heard of Robert Bruss, he does a great real estate question and answer section for Inman News. The Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times usually features a few of his answers. To learn more about him, visit www.bobbruss.com.

Here are a few of Robert Bruss' questions, for the answers, click here!

1.) Question: I want to sell my apartment building, but I don't know how to write an attractive ad or what publications I should use. Any suggestions?

2.) Question: Almost a year ago, I co-invested in a four-unit apartment building with a partner I met through the local real estate investors club. We were both single guys, eager to get started investing in real estate. I found the property, arranged the mortgage and hired the fix-up contractors. My co-owner provided the $26,000 cash down payment. As a busy dentist, he doesn't have time or desire to get involved in the fix-up work. We co-signed a $20,000 home-improvement loan to upgrade the property. It turned out beautifully and is now fully rented at top rents. I want to sell and he wants to keep the property for five years while it appreciates in market value. How can I get my equity of about $60,000 out?

3.) Question: I would like to invest in real estate but don't have much cash to get started. I am a homeowner with about $100,000 in home equity. My wife won't agree to refinance to get a "cash-out" mortgage to begin investing. Any ideas?

4.) Question: We want to refinance our home loan. But the mortgage broker we met at church wants a $500 application fee to start the paperwork. Should we pay such a high fee?

5.) Question: I recently inspected a clear-cut fixer-upper house that will require at least $10,000 for repairs. I am a building materials salesman and know a fixer house when I see it. After the house is fixed up, I estimate it will be worth at least $40,000 more than its market value today. If you were in my situation, with limited financial resources, would you buy it if the seller will carry back the mortgage for just 12 months?

6.) Question: When I moved, I hired a local Realtor to supervise my rental house. She charged me 10% of the gross monthly rent. Several months after my tenant vacated without notice and left the house a mess, she finally phoned to say, "We have a problem." At that point, I reluctantly sent her a $2,000 check to pay for fix-up work. She re-rented the house, but the next tenant was a deadbeat. It turns out my so-called professional property manager never even ran a credit report on the new tenant. When I fired her, she said I breached her property management contract. What should I do?

7.) Question: My husband and I bought our home five years ago. After moving in, we noticed the floors sloped significantly. We discovered the washing machine drain pipe was not connected, and it drained under the house into the crawl space. I feel sure the sellers knew about these problems. Our neighbor just told us our house had been moved onto the foundation. If we had known about these problems, we would not have purchased. Do we have any recourse?

Answers: Click here for Robert Bruss' answers to these intriguing questions.

Leaky ducts have been such a prevalent energy waster that on Oct. 1, a California building standard was imposed requiring most inland homeowners to have systems checked before the installation or replacement of a central air conditioner or heater. Ducts found to leak 15% or more in existing homes or 6% or more in new construction must be sealed. For consumers, it's spend now, save later. The California Energy Commission estimates that testing and sealing should cost about $660, depending on the condition of the ductwork. With the average home duct system leaking about 30%, according to Bill Pennington, manager of the commission's buildings and appliances office, cutting that in half would save about $16 a month on a $200 heating bill and $28 a month on a $200 cooling bill. The rise in heating costs this winter will shorten the time span to recoup the initial expense. Exempt from the new law are homes in specified coastal zones where people use less air conditioning and heating and energy savings would be minimal. To see if your city falls in an exempt zone, visit http://www.energy.ca.gov/maps/climate_zone_map.html . Cities in climate zones 2 and 9-16 are exempt. Also exempt are houses with less than 40 feet of ductwork; ducts constructed, insulated or sealed with asbestos; and a few extremely energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.
To read the entire article, click here.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com