A few years ago, we helped a client who had lost a residential income property to tax foreclosure for failing to pay what began as less than $100 in property taxes (attributable to an inadvertent oversight). The house was ultimately sold by the count…
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I’ve been hearing a lot of ads lately for a subscription service that promises to protect you and your property from title theft – for a monthly fee, of course. According to the ads, the FBI believes that title theft is the fastest growing cyber-…
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“It’s easy to think [a reverse mortgage] can be the answer to your prayers,” said Danielle Laura of the Wayne Metro Community Action Agency. “My advice would be that a little healthy skepticism never hurt anyone.” Revers…
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If you’ve lived in Michigan a while, you know that we have a quirky system for determining the “Taxable Value” of residential real estate. Under Proposal A (passed in 1994), the increase in the taxable value of residential real estate cannot ex…
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I’m constantly amazed at the number of ways that people can mess up real estate transactions. Just this past week, two particularly striking examples crossed my desk. The first was an easement agreement prepared by one attorney and reviewed by a se…
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Scams can be big and bold, small and pesky, or anything in between. Here are a couple that probably qualify as small and pesky, yet are of interest because they target us here in Michigan: The Principal Residence Exemption (PRE), which gives Michigan…
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Real estate transactions are a big part of what we do at Wright Beamer. Lately I’ve noticed an uptick in sales involving commercial properties using residential purchase agreements. Here are a few reasons why it is never a good idea to use a one-si…
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Disclaimer: If you own or are employed by a title agency, please delete this post and pretend like it never existed. I mean no disrespect. Title companies are wonderful (truly). Does anyone remember the good old days when the buyer had a real estate…
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Because it protects buyers, sellers and lenders alike, title insurance is an integral part of every real estate transaction. While we at Wright Beamer regularly deal in real estate law and are well-versed in the documentation involved, one title insu…
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I have a client who recently moved from his own home into assisted living. He’s not likely to return home to live, yet he does not want to sell. This is not an uncommon situation in my practice. One of the concerns for my clients who find themselve…
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