Tag: Accounting/Consulting
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I’m a recent widow. I’m building a house on my son’s and daughter-in-law’s land. Do I have legal ownership? What if they decide to sell, divorce, or die before me?
Dear MarketWatch, My son and daughter-in-law just moved into their new home, which is on a one-acre lot. They want me to move nearby, as I lost my spouse recently. My dilemma is this: Construction has already begun on a small one-bedroom house for me, for which I am paying cash. What if they decide ... -
‘She has a poor work ethic’: I rent out rooms in a single-family home. I charge $1,300 per room, but my sister only pays $800. Should I ask her to pay more?
Dear Quentin, I own a rental property single-family home. I rent the rooms out individually for $1,200 per month plus utilities (about $1,300 all in). I have a very good track record of maintaining full occupancy. One of the tenants is my sister, who has lived in the house for 10 years. Due to our ... -
Selling a vacation home that’s gone up in value? A Section 1031 exchange is one way to avoid a tax hit
Say you own a highly-appreciated vacation home that you’re ready to unload for whatever reason. If you simply sell it, you could face a whopping big income tax bill. See my earlier column on that unfortunate outcome. Ugh. But if you’re still bullish on real estate and not a fan of paying taxes unnecessarily, you ... -
My family owns a house that’s split among my father and his three siblings. He spent $100,000 on renovations and wants to buy his siblings out. What can he do?
There’s been a property in our family going back decades. It was actually split into four equal parts among the original owners, who have now all passed away. So the kids of the owners have the rights to the property. They each have 25%. My grandma and her son (my uncle) were living there rent-free ... -
‘Not one sibling wants to pony up the money to purchase the property’: My father owns a family home with 3 siblings. He spent $100,000 on renovations. Can he force them to sell?
There’s been a property in our family going back decades. It was actually split into four equal parts among the original owners, who have now all passed away. So the kids of the owners have the rights to the property. They each have 25%. My grandma and her son (my uncle) were living there rent-free ... -
I put $200,00 towards a down payment for a condo with my boyfriend. He is on the title, but not on the mortgage. How do I protect my equity investment now?
Dear Quentin, I recently sold my condo and put the equity earned (over $200,000) towards a new condo I own with my partner. My partner — we are not married — is on title, but not on the mortgage. He pays half of all expenses monthly without fail. What would be the best way to ... -
1 in 3 Americans earning $250,000 or more say they live paycheck to paycheck — are they really? and the winners and losers in Biden’s plan to cancel $10,000 in student-loan debt
Hi, MarketWatchers. Don’t miss these top stories. I had a date with a great guy. I didn’t drink, but his wine added $36 to our bill. We split the check evenly. Should I have spoken up? ‘He had a Chardonnay with his salad, and a Cabernet with his main course. I don’t drink during the ... -
After 2 stormy years of ‘moonshot’ house prices, don’t hold out hope for a major correction. Why COVID-era property values may be here to stay.
There is hope for first-time buyers looking to enter the U.S. housing market, but observers say they will have to be patient. After a two-year surge in home prices during the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing market is finally showing signs of cooling — in terms of demand and sales, if not those persistently high prices ... -
‘Celebrating that your job gets to live in your house rent-free’: Remote work has fueled U.S. house prices during the pandemic — so what happens when people return to the office?
Remote work has played a big part in the rise in house prices in the U.S. during the first two years of the pandemic, but just how much? Many fortunate people have had the freedom to live wherever they choose during the pandemic. John Mondragon, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco ...
