ArcaMax

Dear Monty: We recently sold our home. We were planning on using an agent we knew. He worked for one of the large companies in our city. He came and looked at our home and took many photos and notes. He also measured the house. We felt he was very thorough. A few days later, he returned with his analysis and gave us a comfortable range. We ...Read more

Dear Monty: We recently closed on our new home. We were pre-approved, and we shopped online for many hours using real estate websites and other websites to learn more about neighborhoods around homes that interested us. We used municipal websites, crime maps and Google Earth as helpful resources. After two months of searching, we zeroed in on ...Read more

Dear Monty: Our home has been on the market for a month. We have a sign in the yard, and we bought an ad on an FSBO website. So far, we've had no offers. We've had several showings, and they seem interested, but only at a low price. They want the commission we are trying to save. Agents call looking for a listing but have yet to bring in a ...Read more

Dear Monty: We recently sold our home. We have prepared and filed our tax returns in the past. Next year for our 2023 return, we are considering having an accountant file our return. Adding a home sale into the tax forms is a bit intimidating. Our primary concern is regarding what is tax deductible when selling a home. We would appreciate your...Read more

Dear Monty: In the back of my neighborhood is an abandoned school. It was purchased recently, with a section now being used for a cell tower (the tower is outside my line of sight when looking straight from my back door). I wanted to know how to research the possibility and process of purchasing a piece of that parcel, specifically, the part/...Read more

Dear Monty: We will soon sell our first home. It is well-maintained. We have a good handle on the price range. We want to sell direct without an agent. We have heard opinions from friends and co-workers on what to say and not to say during a showing. Do you have any thoughts to share?

Monty's Answer: People buying and selling homes come from ...Read more

Dear Monty: We have a showing scheduled next week for a home. The seller's agent is asking for a copy of our preapproval letter. Our approval is for quite a bit more than we are willing to offer, and we are concerned that when they learn we can pay more, they will not be as open to a lower offer. The preapproval request was the first time this...Read more

Dear Monty: Our offer was accepted after the first buyer backed out because they didn't like the inspection report. We have already signed the contract with the seller and transferred the earnest money. The original buyer has resurfaced and wants to continue where they left off. The seller sent a mutual release to the first buyer, who never ...Read more

Dear Monty: We were selling our home and listed it with a real estate agent we know. We just finished the final touches to show the house, so it goes on the market in a few days. The agent has a customer who looked at it a few days ago. We listed it for $424,900. This customer offered $415k. We said we wanted to put it on the market before we ...Read more

Dear Monty: We have an offer on our house. There are several contingencies, one of which is a home inspection yet to be scheduled. When the buyers initially looked at the house, they asked if we ever had any condition issues. I told them we hadn't. We had a leaking roof several years ago, but I didn't mention it because we had it repaired. ...Read more

Dear Monty: My grandmother owns a home and wants to downsize and live in another property she has. My husband and I want to buy it for a rental property. My grandmother's idea is to sell to an outsider and gift us her equity to fix up an apartment in a building that we already own for us to live in. We currently do have a mortgage and will be ...Read more

Dear Monty: I want to buy my first rental property with my husband. We plan on purchasing with cash and buying cash flow of $1,500 a month. We found a property with three units and a monthly rent of $1,500. The only red flag is that it is reasonably priced and has been on the market for 100-plus days. I looked into the purchase history and saw...Read more

Dear Monty: We bought our first home in 2021. We paid $287,400 for it. We saved our $30k down payment by living on one income (we both work) for the first six years of our marriage. My wife just received a big promotion, but we have to relocate. To prepare to sell, we obtained three estimates of value. They average $300k. We will lose money ...Read more