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If you are like many people today, you may be having trouble making ends meet or are living paycheck to paycheck. Whether the mortgage is on a primary residence or vacation home, defaulting on a mortgage can have serious consequences for the homeowner. These consequences vary by state, province, and country, so you must be sure to completely understand them.

Defaulting on a mortgage in Spain, for example, has very specific consequences. If you are not a Spanish citizen but own a home in Spain, you may think its still possible to easily walk away from the mortgage with no consequences whatsoever. This was especially true if the homeowner was not a Spanish citizen and the home was a vacation home or second residence. But now Spanish mortgage holders can and do pursue every legal means necessary to collect on their mortgages.

One option you have when you default on your mortgage in Spain is to turn over the home to the bank. This option will save you money in court costs incurred by the bank when pursuing you for the balance, as well as additional interest on the mortgage during the court battle. You cant just turn the keys over to the bank without arranging it, however. The bank is under no obligation to let you out of the mortgage by taking the home back. They will be rather unlikely to take the home back without good reason such as a hardship. Any homeowners that can prove such a hardship to the bank will be even more likely to succeed in negotiating a turnover.

If you cannot negotiate a home turnover with the bank that holds your Spanish mortgage, you will need to sell the home as soon as possible. Try to get a final sale price that will cover the remaining amount on your Spanish mortgage or one that will come as close as possible to paying it off, as the bank will still expect the full amount from you in any case. If the shortfall is significant, the bank will be much more likely to pursue you for that amount. They will attempt to collect the remaining amount they are owed in any legal way they can. This means you may face liens on any assets you own, including your primary home and investments..

If you must default on your mortgage in Spain, it is vital that you contact the bank as soon as possible to work with them. Doing so can result in an agreement that will satisfy the bank, relieve you of your responsibilities associated with the Spanish mortgage, and allow you to keep other assets you may own.

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Atlanta Property Inspections will assist by furnishing you with a professional and comprehensive Atlanta Home Inspection before you buy. With over 16 years of Atlanta home inspection experience and our membership in some of the industry’s most prestigious organizations, you can rest easy that the Atlanta home inspections by Atlanta Property Inspections will greatly help you fully identify the condition of your property.
When in the market for a home in Seattle, you need a Seattle home inspection One thing you don’t want is to move into a commercial building, home, or condo unaware of existing or potential problems. Many problems can potentially be very costly to resolve or, , not repairable.
That’s why it is critical to consider a service similar to ours. Featuring years of Seattle home inspection experience and Seattle home inspection training, the Seattle home inspectors of North Starr Inspections are concious of precisely what to look for. If there are problems, we’ll discover them.
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Substitute windows and doors used to only be available in grey aluminium if you didnt want wood and the styles rarely improved the aesthetics of the buildings they adorned. Accordingly, we are left with a legacy of spoiled period homes which in some cases are a fire hazard because windows were fashioned without big enough opening sashes to escape through.

Then they became available in white UPVC which were initially cheap and of poor quality and poor design but which went on to become the excellent quality they are today and designed to suit the house ” not the pocket.

House owners now have a much better choice of door and window materials and fashions to select from.

The patio door market has been very big for many years because they offer an very good and convenient solution to let light and air in a house. They also provide an outstanding thermal barrier when closed. Patio doors have recently made way for the Rolls Royce in this market which is now the tremendously flexible bifolding door. Anyone thinking of buying patio doors now should first be considering whether they should increase their investment to a bifolding door.

Bi fold doors can be organized to span a very wide aperture or smaller spaces, behaving when closed as a glass wall to allow in enhanced light and to offer wide views over the outside scene or garden. The complete wall can be in effect removed by opening the complete doors seamlessly incorporating the room into the outside space. Alternatively, they can serve to expand available space in limited areas, such as permitting inclusion of a balcony to form part of a small flat on a clement day or lightening up an otherwise gloomy nook.
Fully opened, the doors concertina and store compactly to left, right or both sides to limit their intrusion. They can be incorporated to allow french style doors when full opening is not required and a single opening door for pedestrian access in the normal way.

Available in many of the latest materials, including wood, aluminium, PVCu and aluminium clad timber, this product is available in a wide range of colours and finishes from specialist window companies. It is in particular appealing in aluminium clad timber where the selection of colour on the maintenance-free aluminium outside can complement your house’s outside while the beauty and warmth of wood can enhance any interior.

The first thing you have to understand is that a roofing contractor is in business to install and change roofs. Roof repairs are a very petite part of his business, which brings him the smallest amount amount of profit. In many cases, whether to restore or repair is very borderline, and you can consider that most roofing contractors will urge replacement.

There are several things you need to consider which might affect the decision to repair or replace your roof. You have to remember that no two roofs are alike. If you have damage to 30 percent or more of you roof, or there is a lot of moisture damage to the roofing layer or the wood decking, replacing the whole roof possibly will be needed.

If your roof was damaged by a windstorm or whirlwind, then you should probably restore the whole roof. Damage that cannot be seen often occurs so replacement is the greatest solution. Better safe than sorry.

Pre-existing conditions can lead to a complete roof replacement such as lower material, bad design, rain throughout installation leading to mold, and poor installation practices.

Two indications of major roof repair are if the walls and ceilings in your home have moisture marks and/or the paint on your walls and ceilings are flaking or peeling.

Long, warm sunny days, wind, tree branches, and ice can cause damaged or missing shingles. In most cases the repairs are positively inexpensive and simple to accomplish. However, there is always the possibility of more serious conditions. That is the reason it is always essential to consult with a trained roofing contractor who can help you determine if there is a major problem.

Asphalt shingled roofs should last between 15-20 years if the supplies used in the original installation were of fine quality. If your roof is more than 12 years old and experiencing roof leak problems, you ought to consider replacement.

If you contain more than 3 layers on your roof and are having problems then it’s probably time to replace it.

When pressed for an answer, most honest roofing contractors will assign you an good answer as to whether to repair or replace. Always get three quotes and opinions with dealing with any contractor. Continuously check with the Better Business Bureau on several contractor you plan to use to make repairs.

Once youve chosen your ideal property and found a Spanish mortgage how do you go about completing the purchase?

It is in your best interest to hire an English-speaking lawyer to assist you in the process of purchasing regulated Spanish property. Validate that the Spanish property you plan to purchase is free of restrictive clauses and debts.

There are two different categories in the Spanish legal processes for the purchase of property. First you have the Contrato privado de compraventa, or the preliminary contract, and then you have the Escritura de compravents, or completion contract.

Once the buyer and seller are in agreement on the price then they need to sign a preliminary sales contract. The vendor needs to be able to provide proof that he or she owns the property, and that it is free of any charges, Before this Contrato privado de compraventa will be signed. Debts are charged to the property themselves in Spain, and any outstanding mortgage amount would then be passed on to the purchaser. Nota Simple determins which properties contain overdue debts.

Details to be included in the draft sales contract will include the date of closure, agreed upon purchase price and a detailed accounting of the property being purchased. When you reach this point, you can expect to pay a deposit of 5-15%. A bonded client account is where the funds will be kept for you. You can sign the private preliminary sales contract and not put down a deposit but it is not advised.

The Escritura de compraventa stage, is the second or final contract stage. On the completion date, the balance of the price of purchase and all fees need to be paid by the purchaser. Both the vendor and the buyer must sign the contract at the same time. This contract is equivalent to a deed on the purchased property. Also known in Spain as the escritura, the purchaser will received this deed which is usually in front of a Notary Public. A copy of this deed will also be passed to the tax office and to the property registry as well to make everything legal. If you are in Spain, a Notary Public will be required as a witness on you deed of sale. Don’t just rely in that, though. You will want to have your own lawyer to keep your best interests foremost throughout the proceeeding. Also keep in mind that as the purchaser you will be required to pay property sales taxes as well as the legal fees for the Notary Public.

Maryland home inspectors have most likely been around most likely as long as houses have been. The buyer would often ask someone they knew, such as a parent, builder, or sometimes even a friend, to pass judgment on the property they were planning to buy or sell.

All too often, that assessment was based on scanty observation, with little or no understanding of what was important, and quite often someone who was not at all educated in the nuances of buildings. These were simpler times, using simple construction techniques for the most part, and as was the case, it was much easier to perform an assessment.
That was then and this is now. Times have changed and subsequently so have home inspections. Fundamentally, the primary purpose of a home inspection is to inform the customer of any issues in the condition of the property, integral or influencing peripheral parts or systems of the property.

Atlanta Home Inspectors. If you are in the market to purchase a home in Atlanta, it is important to select the correct Atlanta home inspection service to assist you with one of the biggest emotional decisions and financial investments you might ever consider. Our very high ethics, extensive Atlanta home inspection experience as well as our unequaled customer support will easilly reveal to you that you made the best choice!

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Investment properties are 1 of the essential things if you are principal about making a lot of dollars. cheap Properties on a hold in general go up in economic value particularly in urbanized expanses so this is something you should consider about when its time to invest. Likewise it is serious to look out for areas that are being industrialized or invested in. If you are fortunate you can get in when the leavings are familiar so that you can get a hold of many genuinely cheap property. It is very regular for people to take advantage of news that an expanse is about to be improved so be questioning of extensive price growths. Investing in properties can be very honoring as you just loosen up and watch your portfolio rise. But you cannot take 1 thing without the other. What i think by this having some level of risk. Through the last one years has been really testing for mortals investing in property as the economic circumstances cause many individuals to loose their income. Property prices has plummeted with none light in vision

Even so, investing in properties yet continue to be the most good course of investing and will carry on to be so for the predictable future. With the economic system already starting to recoup and the green shoots of financial activity is further proof that we are soon to receive positive growth again. So investment properties is still recommended as a sustainable investment origin and people should go forward to do so. One finale thing Constantly recollect that there are risk associated with everything and when it comes to property investing a downswing in the economy can speedily turn negative.

“Virtual Real Estate Investing” is a relatively new concept. What is meant by “Virtual Real Estate Investing” ranges from online games like SecondLife (where real profit can be made) to the use of internet technologies to make normal real estate investors more profitable.

In order to figure out the truth of the matter, I sought out Bryan Ellis of BryanEllis.com, whose experience in the fledgling industry is truly impressive.

When I began using the term virtual real estate investing in the late 1990s, I did so because I saw clear parallels between the strategies used for profiting from physical real estate and those that would create income in the online world, said Ellis.

An example of the similar nature of “virtual” and “physical” real estate Bryan Ellis likes to point out is the methods of making a profit from domain names compared to physical real estate. He points out that control of a domain name or even a specific web page is much like controlling a real estate property ” those assets can be monetized in similar ways: By selling them for a profit, by leasing them, by offering advertising, etc.

The similarities really are obvious. For example, if you’re the owner of a desirable property, its desirability is (in a business context) largely due to its being in a location that is of interest to others. Similarly, ownership of a desirable domain name is valuable for the same reasons. In either case, you could sell or lease the asset and turn it into cash.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

Title insurance is generally associated with insuring a purchaser’s or lender’s interest in a particular piece of real estate. The right to use an easement is often considered less important than unencumbered title of the insured parcel. An easement, however, can significantly affect the value of the insured parcel. Questions regarding the validity or use of an easement may result in a dispute among neighbors that may require protracted litigation to resolve.

In light of the potential for such unpleasantness, the practitioner is well advised to be aware of any easements related to the property to be insured. The following discussion is intended as a brief and general overview of some of the issues a practitioner will encounter when a title company is asked to insure an easement or a piece of real estate affected by an easement. Of course, each title order will have its own set of circumstances requiring individual attention by the title examiner.

THE BASICS

An easement is a non-possessory right of the owner of one parcel of land to use the land of another. This right to use the other’s land is limited to a particular purpose and may be further limited as to the form of usage. 1 An analysis of this definition raises some important points. An easement is an interest in land and not merely a contract right. The non-possessory feature of an easement differentiates it from fee title to land. An easement holder may not occupy and possess the land burdened by the easement; he or she may only use it for the purposes and in the manner established by the terms and conditions of the easement.
The meaningful distinction between an easement and a fee simple estate is that the easement describes the right to the use of the land which is specific or restrictive in nature, while the title to the fee is the grant of title to the land itself. 3 This difference is significant because a fee owner receives substantive and procedural rights unavailable to easement holders.

Easements are also distinguishable from leases. A lease is a right to exclusive possession of another’s property for a specified period. The key difference here is between possession and use. In Baseball Publishing Co. v. Bruton, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts concluded that the “lease” of a wall for the purpose of maintaining a bill board was in fact an easement in gross because the wall was left in the possession of the owner, who still maintained the right to use the wall for any purpose not specifically granted or forbidden by the ” lease.”

Easements are also distinguishable from licenses. Much of the litigation in this area, including Baseball Publishing, begins with one party arguing that the right in question is a lease-an irrevocable interest in land- and the other party asserting that the arrangement is a license-a revocable personal right-when in fact the interest might actually be an easement. As a result, essentially the same arrangement has been found to constitute a lease in some cases, a license in others, and in still other cases, an easement.

CLASSIFICATION OF EASEMENTS

While the distinction between easements, leases, licenses, and fee estates may be somewhat murky, the differentiation among types of easements is little clearer. Easements are usually separated into easements appurtenant and easements in gross. An easement appurtenant is created to benefit the owner of another parcel, known as the dominant tenement. This easement will run over another tract called the servient tenement. The easement appurtenant therefore requires both a dominant and servient tenement. One owner’s land must be burdened in favor of the estate of another. An easement appurtenant runs with the land. If the dominant tenement is sold, the easement will pass to the grantee, even though it is not specifically mentioned in the document of conveyance. 6 Similarly, if the servient tenement is sold, the grantee takes subject to the easement.
An easement in gross does not require its holder to own or possess other land. There is a servient estate, but no dominant one. For this reason, an easement in gross has been described as an irrevocable interest in the land of another. Whether an easement is appurtenant or in gross is determined by examining the grant of easement to detect the intention of the parties and the circumstances at the time of the conveyance. While the deed of conveyance need not include the word “appurtenant,” the courts have often presumed that an easement is appurtenant rather than in gross. There is a constructional preference for easements appurtenant over easements in gross.

This preference for easements appurtenant can be overcome by an examination of the land involved. If the easement does not benefit the owner of a particular piece of land, there is no dominant tract and the easement is in gross.8 Utility easements are usually held in gross. An easement appurtenant can not be converted into an easement in gross. The easement’s classification will remain in effect throughout its usage.

CREATION OF AN EASEMENT

Most easements are created by express grant contained in an easement agreement or deed or by reservation in a deed. An express grant, however, is not always necessary to create an easement.

An easement may be acquired by prescription and by implication as well as by express grant. Whether an easement by prescription is appurtenant or in gross is determined by the use of the servient estate. If the prescriptive use was for the benefit of the possessor of a particular piece of land, the easement is appurtenant. If it is not for such benefit, it is in gross. Implied easements may be deemed necessary for the use of the dominant estate. Clearly then, they are easements appurtenant to the dominant parcel.

TITLE INSURANCE ISSUES

A title insurer will be faced with two major concerns regarding easements: whether the easement can be insured for a dominant tract and whether an easement can be waived as an exception to the coverage provided by the title policy for a servient tract.

If the title company is requested to insure an easement for the first time, the following questions will be raised:

A. Is the easement appurtenant?

B. What land is benefited by the easement?

C. Were the dominant and servient tenements owned by different parties at the time of the creation of the easements?

D. Was the easement executed by or consented to by all of the lienholders of the servient tenement?

E. How was the easement created, and was the document creating it properly drafted, executed and acknowledged?

F. Does the document creating the easement state its purpose?

G. Does the document state consideration?

H. Is the easement described specifically as an easement appurtenant, binding on successors and assigns?

I. Does the easement document provide that it runs with the land?

J. Does the easement indicate a duration, or is it described as perpetual?

K. Is the easement an exclusive right or may other property owners use it as well?

L. Has an event occurred which may have terminated the easement?

If the examiner is satisfied that a valid easement has been established, the next step is to verify the continuing physical existence of the easement. The examiner will review an inspection report or survey of the easement parcel to confirm that the easement is open and in use. In some areas, a title company may actually send out an employee to physically inspect the property. Upon receipt of the survey or inspection report, the examiner will want to verify that there are no barriers or obstructions which interfere with the purpose of the easements. A survey include the show the easement in its written legal description and in the depiction on the plat. If the easement has been recorded, the chain of title should cover the easement parcel.

The examiner will also decide whether any events have occurred since the creation of the easement which may have resulted in its termination. If the dominant tenement has been resubdivided, split into multiple parcels or undergone a change in use, the underwriter will review the situation to determine the easement’s viability.

Tax Sales

If an existing easement has its own tax number separate from the servient tenement, a tax search should be ordered to verify that there are no delinquencies affecting the easement. If an existing easement lies within a tax parcel affecting the entire servient tenement, however, tax delinquencies will not affect the easement. For any easements to be created at a closing, however, all tax delinquencies on the servient tenement must be paid or redeemed prior to the closing. A tax deed shall not extinguish or affect any easement which was created on or over that real property before the time of the tax sale, unless the entire sold tax parcel consisted of only the easement parcel itself. 35 ILCS 200/22-70 (1992).

Merger

The most subtle way of destroying an easement is the application of the doctrine of merger. The risk that the title to the dominant and servient tenements has merged is a dangerous possibility that must be addressed by the examiner. The doctrine of merger states that if ownership of the dominant and servient tenements becomes vested in the same party, the easement over the servient tenement will merge into the fee title of the dominant tenement and thus be destroyed. As an example, A owns Lot 1 and has an easement over adjoining Lot 2 for ingress and egress. If A buys Lot 2, the easement over Lot 2 will merger into A’s fee title and will be destroyed. A’s fee ownership of Lot 2 gives A far greater right in the land than the ownership of the easement, therefore the smaller right merges into the larger one. If A later conveys Lot 2 to C, the easement must be recreated by a new grant.

The examiner will search the title of both the dominant and servient tenements to look for an incidence of common ownership of both tenements in one party. If such commonality of ownership is located, a new easement must be created, even if the common ownership had been separated later in the chain of title.

In a recent Illinois case, the appellate court stated that a merger occurs when a dominant estate and the servient estates are owned by the same person, thereby extinguishing an easement by virtue of unity of title and possession, given that one has no need of an easement over one’s own property. Ownership of both the dominant and servient estates must be identical in duration, quality, and all other circumstances of right. In Ellis V. McClung, the Illinois appellate court held that where the evidence failed to show that the benefited property and the property subject to the easements was all owned by the same parties under identical circumstances, the easements were not extinguished by the doctrine of merger. These circumstances included the duration and the quality of the title. 10

Abandonment

An easement created by a grant, deed or reservation can be destroyed or lost by the owner’s voluntary abandonment. There is no duty to use or enjoy an easement as a condition of the right to retain the easement. Therefore, to constitute an abandonment, there either must be an overt act which affirmatively and unequivocally shows an intent to abandon the easement, or a failure to act. This carries the implication that the owner neither claims nor retains any interest in the easement. The dominant owner must clearly relinquish possession or use of the easement. The abandonment is complete the moment the intent to abandon and the relinquishment of possession or use unite. 11

Destruction by Agreement: Abrogation

An easement may be terminated by an agreement between the owners of the dominant and servient estates. This agreement is often known as an abrogation agreement because it abrogates or ends the easement. If the examiner encounters an abrogation agreement in the chain of title which terminates the easement to be insured, the easement is uninsurable.

Waiver of an Easement

If a customer requests that an easement be waived as an exception on the title commitment for a servient tenement, the title company will usually require that a validly executed abrogation agreement be recorded. This agreement must be executed by all parties having an interest in the dominant tenement. In some cases, a necessary parties search should be ordered to determine the list of parties who will need to join in the abrogation agreement.

This articles incorporates Chicago Title Insurance Company Underwriting Guidebooks and examining manuals, as well as a September, 1997 article on Easements by Jeffrey Rezwin and Mary Scmuttenmaer of Chicago Title Insurance Company. These materials are incorporated without specific citation.

1. W. Burby Handbook of the Law of Real Property S23 (3rd Edition, 1965).

2. The Law of Easements and Licenses in Land, Bruce and Ely, p. 1-2 (1988).

3. Park County Rod and Gun Club v. Department of Highways, 163 Montana 372,377; 517 P. 2d 353,355 (1973).

4. Baseball Publishing v. Bruton, 302 Mass. 54, 56, 18 N. E. 2d 362,364 (1938).

5. R. Powell, The Law of Real Property, P. 430 (1987).

6. Taylor v. Lanahan, 73, Ill. App. 3d 829, 832; 399 NE 2d 425, 428 (1977).

7. The Law of Easements and Licenses in Land, Bruce and Ely, p. 2-5.(1988).

8. The Law of Easements and Licenses in Land, Bruce and Ely, p. 2-6 and 2-7 (1988).

9. Curtin v. Franchetti, 156 Conn. 387, 389; 242 A. 2d 725, 727 (1968).

10. Ellis v. McClung 291 Ill. App. 3d 448, 459,460 (1997).

11. Illinois Real Property Service, Sales and Transfers, Section 30:48 (1988).

Neda Dabestani-Ryba is a licensed Realtor in Maryland. She is a member of the President’s Circle of Top Real Estate Professionals. She can be reached at (800) 536-3806 or visit her website for more information: http://neda.dabestani.pcragent.com/
Prudential Carruthers REALTORS is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity

All marketers face challenges, and real estate marketing is no
different. But sometimes we have a way of letting our challenges
grow “too big for their britches.”

In our minds, hurdles can become impossibilities, when in
reality they’re anything but impossible. To overcome a real
estate marketing challenge, you simply have to look at it with a
fresh perspective, ask the right questions, and then charge
ahead.

With that in mind, here are some of the common marketing
challenges I’ve heard real estate agents express over the years,
as well as ways to overcome those challenges:

Challenge #1 - I don’t know anything about marketing.

Every marketer approaches their first project with little or no
practical experience. Practical experience comes from, well,
practical experience. So in your real estate marketing
endeavors, start by gaining a knowledge base through reading and
research. Then build on that base through actual
experimentation.

“Analysis paralysis” affects a lot of would-be marketers. This
is the condition where every element of a marketing campaign is
analyzed, scrutinized and conceptualized — to the point that
nothing actually gets done.

Learn as much as you can about a particular marketing channel or
tactic by studying what others have done. Then get out there and
do it for yourself. Sure, you’ll make mistakes. We all do. But
that’s part of the learning process.

Challenge #2 - I don’t know where to start.

If you’re new to the world of real estate marketing, start with
the basics. First determine your goals. This will make the
entire process easier. Too often, I see people define marketing
goals that are overly vague. “I want to grow my business,” is
not a marketing goal — it’s something we all want.

Of course you want to grow your business. But to gain any
direction from this step, you have to get specific. For
instance:

“I want to create an educational website with free downloads and
reports, and promote the site with direct mail. Using this
system, I want to capture 20 new leads per month.”

Now that’s a goal — specific, measurable and directional.

Challenge #3 - I don’t know anything about technology.

Technology. The word alone scares people. But in truth,
marketing technology has evolved to a point of user-friendliness
that it never had before.

Today’s marketing tools — from website creation to list
management — are more than ever, even by people with little to
no technical skill.

And even when you can’t find user-friendly technology to help
you with a certain marketing task, you can bet there’s a vendor
willing to step in.

When researching technology, break the process down into simple
parts. First, refer back to your goals from Challenge #2 above.
What technology can help you achieve those goals? Once you’ve
answered this question, you’ll have taken an ocean of
technological possibilities and narrowed them down to a channel
that best applies to you.

And always remember: technology can deliver the message, but it
can’t create the message. It can help you show the value of your
services, but it can’t create that value in the first place.
That’s your job.

Challenge #4 - I don’t have time.

This one is simply a matter of priorities. If your marketing is
a top priority, then you can make time for it. Here’s an easy
way to do just that:

Start small, with just an hour a day. Spend 15 minutes reading
up on a particular marketing tactic, and 45 minutes actually
practicing it. The 15 minutes of research also helps reduce
Challenge #1 (not knowing anything about marketing).

Challenge #5 - I’m new to real estate.

Every expert from every industry was the new guy or gal at some
point. They managed, and so can you. Even if you’re new to real
estate, you’re still a professional, right? You’ll find that
people judge you by your personal behavior as much as your
credentials.

When it comes to your marketing message, this means being
knowledgeable and professional. Proper spelling, relevant
information, professional design and delivery — these factors
add up, and they’ll help you make a strong impression regardless
of how long you’ve been practicing real estate.