My mother died about two years ago. Her will left everything to my sister and me equally. I was living with my mom when she died of cancer, so my sister has allowed me to live in the house if I pay the property taxes and insurance. There is no mortgage. The house is worth around $400,000. Now my sister thinks we should sell the house, but I don’t want to sell, as I am very satisfied with the status quo. Can my sister force me to sell?

Yes. As a co-owner, your sister can bring a partition lawsuit to force the sale of the house. In most partition lawsuits, the judge orders the property sold with the sales proceeds divided among the titleholders. (more…)

After slipping last week, mortgage rates moved up this week better reflecting the trend borrowers can expect in the coming months. That means iron-clad mortgage rate locks and speedy loan closings should be the strategy of choice for home buyers as well as refinancing and equity-tapping home owners. Inflation was brisk in May spurred by higher housing, gasoline and energy costs. The seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in May, representing a 5.2 percent annual rate. For all of 2005 the rate was only 3.4 percent.

When the fed increases the cost of money to curb inflation, short term consumer borrowing costs for credit cards, home equity loans and adjustable rate mortgages likewise take a hike. Mortgage interest rates have fallen eight times this year, but during the first 24 weeks in 2006 they’ve risen twice as often, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Last week, Freddie reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.62 percent, down from the previous week s average of 6.67 percent. (more…)

search for : mortgage rates, home buyers, refinancing and equity-tapping home owner

Bit by bit, volunteers sow seeds for new Cobb County public garden Nowadays, it’s the eager chatter of volunteers and the constant clatter of rototillers that fill the air at what’s to become Cobb County’s first public garden. Plans for redeveloping the private garden, which the city purchased two years ago, as the Smith-Gilbert Arboretum are progressing rapidly.

Gilbert and Smith cultivated nearly 3,000 varieties of plants on the grounds of their Victorian farmhouse, complemented by their extensive collection of outdoor sculpture. After Smith died suddenly four years ago, Gilbert, a retired Buckhead periodontist, began to fear for his property’s future as developers closed in. So he offered to sell the site, along Pine Mountain Road off Cobb Parkway (U.S. 41), to the city for use as recreational space. Residents approved the $2 million purchase in a referendum, and the county is helping to shoulder the costs of converting the site to an outdoor classroom emphasizing nature, art and history. (more…)

search for : Buckhead, Cobb Parkway

North Carolina’s newest state park hasn’t even opened yet and already there’s talk of making it bigger. Lawmakers voted a little over a year ago to create a new park in the Hickory Nut Gorge area of western North Carolina. Now the state is negotiating with the owners of the private Chimney Rock Park about acquiring some of their property.

Hickory Nut Gorge is about ten miles long and goes through the Bat Cave and Chimney Rock areas. The area is home to rare plants and animals, as well as geological features including the famous cave. Gov. Mike Easley included $15 million for the park’s expansion in his budget proposal last month. “It is funding based on the legislation passed during the last session,” Easley spokesman Seth Effron said. Morse said the state is also talking with other property owners in the area. (more…)

search for : Hickory Nut Gorge, western North Carolina, Chimney Rock Park, Bat Cave, Gov. Mike Easley

The city of Pine Mountain has been asked to annex 191.2 acres off Georgia Highway 354 and to rezone it for an upper-end subdivision. West Georgia Land Group LLC of Tyrone is expected to close on purchase of the property from Granger Investment Co. of Pine Mountain at the end of June. Granger is headed by G. Harold “Hal” Northrop, who retired as president of Callaway Gardens.

The project is to be discussed by the Pine Mountain City Council June 12, but no action is expected. The annexation/rezoning is to come before the Harris County Planning Commissionat 7 p.m. June 21, said Becky Gray, county zoning technician. The commission would make a recommendation to the city council. The council is then expected to decide first on the annexation July 10, and if that is approved, to vote on rezoning the land from agricultural to single-family residential. The county planning panel also provides services to Pine Mountain. (more…)

search for : Pine Mountain, West Georgia Land Group LLC, Granger Investment Co, Callaway Gardens

If you are getting ready to move out of your longtime home and into more sunshine, you can actually gift your home to a child or friend but that gift will come with a few strings attached. In many countries around the world, once the parents die, the children simply move into the home and take over the master bedroom. While that progression still occurs in the United States, estate taxes, rising home values, job transfers, and the desire for a separate space and different environment have changed the use of the traditional family home.

The actual gain is the difference between the adjusted sales price (selling price less selling expenses) and the adjusted basis. The adjusted basis is the original cost plus capital improvements. Capital improvements are the cost of improvements having a useful life of more than one year. Examples include the new roof, dock, deck, remodeled bathroom, and finished basement. Generally, an expense is a capital improvement if it adds value to the property or extends its useful life. If these criteria are not met and the expenditure is considered necessary to maintain current usefulness, it is a maintenance cost. (more…)

search for : estate taxes, rising home values, adjusted sales price, Capital improvements

Linda Falcone, a Eugene-based RE/MAX Realtor who began her career in Phoenix 24 years ago, remembers when her life was ruled by a tyrannical pager. It would beep, and she would dash to the nearest phone - usually a phone booth where she would have to stand in stifling 100-degree heat. “It seems like the Stone Ages now,” she said Falcone said she was so relieved when mobile phones were introduced that she was the 11th person in Phoenix to buy one back in 1981. The bulky device was mounted on the floor of her car and cost $1,500, plus more than $1 a minute. These days Falcone routinely communicates with clients via cell phone and e-mail, and relies on a range of other gadgets, including a Palm Pilot and digital camera.

Buyers, too, are flocking to the Internet, to view listings and photos of houses for sale. Finding the right house, however, is only a small part of the overall buying process, said Bob Percy, principal broker at John L. Scott real estate, a Eugene realty. “There’s a lot that comes after you find a house that isn’t affected by technology,” he said, including making an offer, negotiating with the seller, overseeing inspections and closing the sale. Even though buyers are doing more of their own legwork online, most still hire a real estate agent, according to a recent survey by the California Association of Realtors. Nearly all (97 percent) of traditional buyers hired an agent; and 83 percent of Internet buyers hired an agent, the survey found. (more…)

search for : RE/MAX Realtor, mobile phone, cell phone, e-mail, Palm Pilot, digital camera, Internet