ArcaMax

Q: I’m interested in a property that is under contract but is also under a contingency. I find it odd that this house has been contingent for over six months! I want to submit a backup offer. How can I find out if their deal is rocky or just slow to go through?

A: The residential real estate market continues to befuddle most buyers these days...Read more

Q: I own and have rented a townhouse in one of the northwest suburbs of Chicago since 1990. I used to get my renters through newspaper ads, then Craigslist. More recently, I hired a local Realtor to list the unit in the multiple listing service (MLS). The Realtor found a new tenant much faster than I would have, and provided a credit check ...Read more

Q: Our real estate attorney misread an estimate to remediate the underground storage tanks on the property we purchased. The sellers had started to remove and remediate some old underground oil storage tanks. The seller’s attorney and our attorney ended up recommending that we take a credit for the remediation estimate rather than have the ...Read more

Q: My daughter is looking to purchase a home soon with her boyfriend. They are not yet married, and I would like to give her some advice on how to title the home before they get married so she is protected just in case they decide to part ways instead of getting married.

Should they hire attorneys to set up a contract between them? How should ...Read more

Q: We recently purchased a townhouse in Columbia, Maryland. The day after we moved in, the sewer backed up into the utility room. We had the sewer pipe snaked out by a qualified plumber, who found tree root intrusion in the pipe about 10 feet off the back of the house. We subsequently had the faulty portion of the pipe replaced.

All told, we ...Read more

Q: My husband and I have found it impossible to find a contractor to build a small family room and deck off the back of our Chicago home over the last four years.

While it is a modest project, there are structural issues and some unusual elements, including relocating basement steps while avoiding a grease trap. Most of the builders who have ...Read more

Q: If I pay off my home mortgage what happens to the equity that I’ve built up in the home?

A: Home equity is the difference between what you owe a lender and what the home is worth.

Let’s say you have a home that’s worth $300,000 and you have a mortgage on the home for $200,000. The mortgage is your “debt.” Subtract the mortgage ...Read more

Q: Can I use the Illinois “Small Estate Affidavit” procedure to avoid probate even though my total estate’s value is over $100,000? While my total estate is greater than $100,000, my financial assets have “Pay On Death” beneficiaries and my home has “Transfer On Death” beneficiaries. My remaining assets transferring through my will...Read more

Q: My wife and I own a single-family house in Chicago. Over the past 40 years we’ve had remodeling work done, especially in the basement, installing a bathroom, but without a permit. Now we’re thinking of selling but are worried the unpermitted work will cause any legal problems during the sale. What should we do about it?

A: You and your ...Read more

This week, we’re publishing comments and observations about two recent columns involving inheritances. In the first, two siblings wanted to distribute their parent’s assets differently than the way the parents stated in their will. Basically, they wanted to switch inheritances.

There were two homes, and instead of selling them both and ...Read more

Q: My daughter is thinking of buying her first home. Can you give her some pointers on what to look out for when looking at homes?

A: Thanks for your question. It’s terrific that in this day of elevated interest rates, first-time homebuyers are eager to get out there and claim their share of the American dream. In Ilyce’s book, “100 ...Read more

Q: My brother and I inherited two houses upon my father’s death. We each share half interest in each property. Over time it has evolved that he spends most of his time at one property and I end up at the other.

We’re concerned that when it is time to sell either property it may be complicated by the half ownership on the title, particularly...Read more

Q: I read your column regarding a condominium owner that was denied homeowner’s insurance coverage for sewer water damage he sustained. I don’t believe your answer adequately responds to the issue at hand. It may be relevant in Illinois, but there are substantial differences in other states, and specifically in Florida.

What the owner in ...Read more

Q: I am one of four siblings whose mother passed away last year. She had a will. In it, she left an equal share of her house and all other financial assets to her children, all four of us.

For a variety of reasons, I’m not interested in receiving my one-quarter share in the house. I’d prefer to allow my share to pass to my youngest brother...Read more

Q: I read your column regularly and always find it very interesting and informative.

I have a rather complicated question: My brother and I inherited my father’s vacation home when he passed away. It was part of his trust. All of the assets of the trust have been distributed except this house. I want to sell it, and my brother wants to buy me...Read more

We’ve received several comments and observations about a column we recently wrote about divorce, death and joint tenancy. A grandchild wrote about how her grandparents had a difficult marriage and divorce. But even after the divorce, they kept the property in both names. Whoever died first lost the house. But there were some questions about ...Read more

Q: I live in a highrise condo building. Recently, a sewer pipe burst outside my condo between units. The water caused a substantial amount of water damage to my kitchen and the floors in my unit.

The condominium association has been in the process of repairing the pipe and fixing the walls but they won’t repair my kitchen or my floors. I put ...Read more

Q: My life partner and I owned our home as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. We were not married. She died and left me her share of our home. I am the executor of her estate and the home is in Maryland.

I filed her income taxes in the year she died and she owed the IRS and the state of Maryland around $1,500. She only had about $300 to...Read more

Q: We gave our daughter $30,000 for a down payment so she could buy a house. She’s married. If she dies or divorces, we would like this money to come back to us instead of becoming a marital asset. How should we do this?

A: Well, interestingly, if she’s closed on her home and she’s married, those funds you gave her may already be part of ...Read more

Q: My mother-in-law passed away more than 25 years ago. Her son, his wife and their children lived in the house. They still live there, maintain the home and pay the taxes.

A probate estate was never opened when Mom passed away, as she didn’t have anything of value and lived with us. The only thing she owned was the house. My husband and his ...Read more