When Lee’s grandmother recently passed away, one of the greatest gifts she gave her family (in Lee’s mind) were the loan documents from when his grandparents married and bought their farm. On these documents, the cosigner of the loan was Lee’s great grandmother; it’s common for parents to cosign their children’s loans, especially student loans. Borrowers, cosigners and guarantors are all equally responsible for the debt of the loan.
Category Archives: Buying a Home
Legal-Ease: Three tips for underground utility agreements
If you own land, it’s likely that at some point you will be approached by either a utility company or an entity related to the government asking to install a buried water, sewer, gas or other line, tile or pipe. Usually the government or utility company requests for the permanent right to use a geographic area under the ground.
Legal-Ease: do I need a survey?
Transferring ownership of land can be time consuming, costly and complicated. While surveying in the early days of our country was done with less precision than today, the various uses of a piece of property might still necessitate that a new survey be conducted.
Legal-Ease: Looking at land contracts
The financial crisis of the last several years has left many people with less than stellar credit. While we have quite a few flexible, community-based lenders in our area, the newest rules and regulations regarding lending may tie their hands and may prevent potential loans from being workable. Therefore sometimes potential buyers of homes cannot secure the proper financing in order to purchase a home. This is when a land contract may be a good solution for the home buyers and sellers.
Legal-Ease: Who pays what closing costs
Spring is often the busiest times for home sales and closings. As you go into your home sale, it’s good to know what is customary regarding the closing costs.
Federal law requires that the buyer of the home receive an estimate on closing costs (if they’re borrowing money for the purchase of the home) several days in advance of the closing.
Legal-Ease: How do I buy a new-to-me house?
Interested in buying a new home but not sure where to begin? Lee recommends that you start by talking to local banks and credit unions. Once you have an idea of your budget, consider more seriously looking into local real estate. Or you can consider hiring a real estate agent if you don’t want to investigate local homes on your own.