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Month: August 2019

  • Buyers unknowingly paid $20K more than the appraisal. Who should have warned them?

      Reader Question: They paid $20K more for the property than it was worth. My daughter and her husband purchased a home for $145,000 and found out a few weeks later, the appraisal was only $125,000. Neither their agent nor the lender advised them of it. Who should have? Monty’s Answer: There are several considerations…

  • You can’t fight city hall – or can you?

    Reader Question: Can we fight city hall? We live in a 75 lot development completed in the early nineties. We do not have an HOA. Our problem is we are on our own for upkeep and repair to communal areas. We have garage sales and take up collections and pitch in when the need arises.…

  • My real estate taxes doubled. Is this legal?

      Reader Question: My real estate taxes went up over 100% this year. Is it legal to raise taxes so high in one year? Monty’s Answer: For real estate taxes to double in one year would be extremely rare. One has to wonder if any community in the United States has ever experienced such a…

  • Not Knowing Your Property Line When Buying a Home Can Be Expensive

    Reader Question: I recently had my lot surveyed, and it turns out one neighbor’s fence is three feet over my property line, butted up against the back of my garage. The neighbor to the side has a fence that is about five feet inside their property line. I have someone cut my grass and don’t…