For Sale by Owner, Home Ownership, House Title, Real Estate Investing, Rentals, Sell Your House

3 Things to do with your old vacant house

There’s a lot of reasons why some old houses are vacant. Some properties were inherited from their parents or relatives and some moved to another location for better mobility and career opportunities. Let’s face it, we do not want these old houses to rot. Also in some areas, these properties are robbed or vandalized because no one is living in them anymore.

Tip #1 – Rent it out

Here are practical solutions for your old vacant houses.

There’s a lot of reasons why some old houses are vacant. Some properties were inherited from their parents or relatives and some moved to another location for better mobility and career opportunities. Let’s face it, we do not want these old houses to rot. Also in some areas, these properties are robbed or vandalized because no one is living in them anymore.

Tip #2 – Have a family relative live on your property

e have family relatives that might be starting with their careers and family that might be interested in taking care of your old vacant house. Instead of relatives paying rent, why not have these families renovate that property and taking care of all the quick fixes for themselves. Be sure that they will be responsible for the property and visit them just to make sure.

Credit: Shutterstock

Tip #3 – Sell it fast with real estate investors

If you need to dispose of or sell your old vacant house, there’s a lot of real estate investors like 8dayhomesale.com who will buy the house. Fast transactions, especially with old vacant houses, are the niche of real estate investors. They take good care of your property and renovate it to find the perfect buyer for your once-old vacant house.

In conclusion, old vacant houses can be made into a perfect home for the right family.

Check out out our other blogs for more real estate tips especially in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

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House Title, Sell Your House

How to Sell Your Inherited House with Title Issues

You’ve taken the first steps and said, “sell my house.” You already know that you are in for a long haul. Whether you are going to try to sell the house on your own or pay the extra commissions and fees for a real estate agent, you are still looking at waiting six months to a year just to find a buyer. Now you are hit with another delay: you have title issues you weren’t aware of, and that could add days, weeks, or even months to the time it will take you to sell your Washington, DC house.

Does it really have to be such a frustrating hassle? Isn’t there an easier way to say, “sell my house” when it has title issues? There is an easy solution – but first, let’s take a look at what it means to have title issues with your house.

Title issues appear when the owner and seller of the house does not have the legal right to sell the property, or when there are defects that prevent the seller from being able to transfer the title of the home to the buyer.

There are a lot of reasons this could happen, and it isn’t as uncommon a problem as it may seem. For instance, if you inherited the house from a trust, you may be surprised to find out that one of the beneficiaries or co-owners listed on the title of the home is overseas or can’t be found. Without that co-owner’s signature, you can’t legally transfer the title of the home to the new buyer.

More commonly, wills, heirs, trusts, divorce decrees, liens for child support, past-due spousal support, fraud and forgery issues between spouses (when one spouse signs the signature of the other spouse on a document or deed without telling them), defective or outstanding tax records, liens (placed by a general contractor against a property), bankruptcy filings, or court judgments could all impact the title of the home and the seller’s ability to legally transfer the title.

All of these encumbrances can be resolved, but it can take days, weeks, or even months. You may not have the added time it takes to deal with the house, or the extra time and legal processes may cost you the sale you already had lined up.

What’s the alternative? Say, “sell my house” to a home buyer and fast-track your way out of those cumbersome and costly title issues. 8DayHomeSale has worked with many homeowners that were selling a house with title issues. Working in conjunction with our partners, we’ve helped many buyers clear their title issues and quickly get to closing.

We have the experience you need when selling a house with title issues. Work with us for a much faster and easier way to sell your home.

If you are hoping to say, “sell my house” in Washington, DC and are feeling trapped by title issues, call us at 8DayHomeSale today.

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House Title, Sell Your House

Understand Title Insurance

While terms like car insurance and homeowners insurance are quite familiar to most of us, most are unaware of title insurance and its importance. It is a crucial part of any house purchase.

What is title insurance?

When selling your house, your closing attorney executes a title search to ensure that the property is free of any existing liens or zoning restrictions. For this, he looks at the deed papers as well as court records for ownership history verification. Title insurance plays a crucial role here. A special type of indemnity policy, it safeguards your financial interests if you face any type of defect with the property’s title. If you are trying to sell my house fast in Maryland or Washington DC, title issues can be a huge problem.

At the time of title insurance policy purchase, an independent search is conducted by the title company to verify that there are no disputes or legal issues surrounding the property’s ownership. Usually, you are required to pay a one-time premium for the policy at the time of closing. Any future discrepancy when the house is sold that needs to be fixed by an attorney will be covered by title insurance.

Protection provided by title insurance

The coverage provided by the title insurance typically depends on whether the policy belongs to the lender or the owner. A lender’s policy is purchased if you are taking a loan from a public mortgage lender. It provides insurance to the full loan amount to the lender if any dispute or problem arises with the home’s title post financing. The policy remains valid until the time you pay off your entire loan, sell the house, or get it refinanced.

The owner’s policy covers the amount paid for purchasing the home. It covers numerous problems like tax liens, deed errors or omissions, fraud, mistakes in public records, forgery of deed documents, etc. It also provides protection in scenarios of unknown heirs surfacing to stake a claim on the property. Few of these policies can also offer extended coverage like protection against structural damage, building permit violations, zoning law violations, etc.

In case of title dispute, both policies cover all legal costs and losses including your down payment, principal payment or any other improvement cost incurred by you.

Is the title insurance really worth it?

The one-time premium amount of title insurance depends on your area of residence and the policy itself. Usually, the cost can be about $2.50 for every $1,000 of coverage. The owner’s policy is slightly more expensive than the lender’s policy. The total title insurance amount can range from few hundreds to few thousand dollars which may look big but is trivial compared to the cost of facing a lawsuit later and getting a complete peace of mind.

Bottom line

Title insurance is worth the money. Without it, the cost of defending a title claim can prove so expensive that you may lose your property.

As always, at 8 Day Home Sale, we buy houses in Maryland and Washington DC for cash. If you want to sell your house, contact us for a cash offer. We will handle title issues for you!

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