Buyer Taking Possession Dear Phyllis, I find your real estate questions and answers so interesting, thank you! After a year, my daughter and her husband finally had an offer accepted and closed escrow. They had a quick escrow of just 30 days. The owner had moved out before the house was put on the market, […]
Was There Really Another Offer? Dear Phyllis, My mother reads your real estate question and answers and told me to get your opinion. My fiancé and I made an offer on a La Crescenta home that had been on the market for nearly three weeks. Our agent confirmed with the seller’s Realtor that there were […]
Deciphering Escalation Clauses Dear Phyllis, I look forward to your real estate advice. My daughter and her husband wrote an offer for a home in Thousand Oaks. There were eight offers, and the sellers accepted an offer with an escalation clause. My daughter is the backup buyer. I don’t believe you have addressed this topic […]
Termite Company Warranty Dear Phyllis, We just closed on our home and discovered termite droppings. We did have a termite inspection which indicated there were no termites. We contacted a different company to do an additional inspection and were advised that we need to have the house fumigated and some repair work done. We have […]
Probate Disclosure Requirements Dear Phyllis, My husband passed, but he didn’t have a living trust. He purchased the home before we were married, and I was never put on the title. Therefore, the home had to go to the probate court, which took forever. When my brother became terminal, I moved into his Glendale home […]
Mortgage Pre-approval Affects Credit Dear Phyllis, My daughter hopes to buy a home and she is early in the process. Even so, her Realtor insisted she get prequalified before showing her any homes. The Realtor explained to my daughter that if she found a home she loved, she would need a pre-qualification letter to submit […]
How To Select My Trustee Dear Phyllis, Having read your column for years, I know how important it is to have a living trust. And I recall you mentioning that it’s preferable to have just one trustee or an odd number so that there can be a tiebreaker in the event of a disagreement. I […]
Evicting A Family Member Dear Phyllis, I am an “Ask Phyllis” fan and hope you can help me. My parents had a vacation home in Palm Springs. For years, our extended family enjoyed weekends there. About ten years ago, my brother got fired and needed a place to live. My parents had him move into […]
Selling An Out Of State Fixer Dear Phyllis, My cousin passed away and I am the trustee of his estate. He never married and never had children. Several cousins are the beneficiaries. His home is in Oregon and there is a roof leak. I have three young children and can’t spend too much time away […]
Dealing With Squatters Dear Phyllis, I love your Dear Abby-like real estate advice column. Not to go on a rant but during COVID my tenants didn’t pay rent for six months. They finally moved out of my La Crescenta rental. Then while I was having the home painted it became occupied by vagrants. Have you […]