By Stephen Metzger
Sean Dorn leads a tour of West Philadelphia -- all the coolest places to live, eat, drink, catch live music and generally make merry!
By Inman News Feed
Book Review: 'Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!' Tara-Nicholle Nelson Inman News Book Review Title: "Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!" Authors: Andrew W. Mayoras and Danielle B. Mayoras Publisher: Wise Circle Books, October 2009; 288 pages, $19.95. Everyone loves a good mashup. Whether the two worlds colliding are Jay-Z with the Beatles, books with video or Wi-Fi café/bookstores (genius!), Charles Darwin himself would be proud of these rapidly multiplying examples of interbreeding of diverse "species" spawning ever more robust progeny. In that vein, "Trial and Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights" ... and what you can learn from celebrity errors -- from married estate planning and probate attorney team Andrew and Danielle Mayoras -- is the ultimate mashup of voyeurism into celebrity financial scandals and simple, sound estate planning advice. If TMZ and Bankrate.com had a literary baby, it would be "Trial & Heirs." "Trial and Heirs" transforms the potentially eye-glazing, mind-numbing, but obligatory topic of estate planning into an easy-to-read, sometimes comic but always tragically entertaining foray into how the everyman (and woman) can avoid the common asset protection gaffes rendered disastrous in the big-money context of celebrity fortunes. Sneaking an estate-planning...
The Zestimate (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home's value. The Zestimate is pulled from data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account. Variations in price also occur because of negotiating factors, closing costs, and timing of closing.
By Inman News Feed
Land contracts are here again? Bernice Ross Inman News DEAR BERNICE: I live in Colorado. I was talking to one of my friends who lives in California. He has been hearing about "private" sales out there, especially in the higher price ranges where financing is hard to obtain. What is a "private" sale and are these legal? --Bill A. DEAR BILL: I suspect what your friend is referring to is something called a "land contract" or "land sales contract." Given the lack of financing in the jumbo loan market, this may a viable option for some sellers in this market. Land contracts were used extensively in the early 1980s, when home mortgage rates jumped to over 18 percent. All land contracts involve having the seller carry part of the financing. Since 35 percent of all homeowners own their property free and clear, seller financing can be an attractive option for those who must sell. When the seller finances the sale, there are normally no points or fees. This saves the buyer money. The deeds and other documents work in the same manner as in a transaction where there is bank financing. Unlike...
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