A growing number of seniors are providing a salary or other form of reimbursement to their family members who provide them with personal care. If you’re thinking of doing so, it can be a very good idea to draw up a written contract. This can make it easier to qualify for Medicaid, and can help a family in other ways as well. It might seem odd to sign a contract with your family. Many children feel
If you lease your home to someone for a week or two through Airbnb, HomeAway, FlipKey, or some other short-term rental service, do you have to report the income on your taxes? Maybe! The answer can be complicated. In general, the key question is whether you lease your home in this way for more than 14 days a year. If you do, then you have to report all of your rental income on your federal income
Aside from child custody, the most emotionally charged issue in a divorce is usually who gets to keep the house. For most couples, a house is their most valuable asset, and it has an enormous symbolic value as well. But while couples often fight over who gets the house, keeping the house isn’t always the smartest plan. In some cases, the better route is to jointly sell the property, split the proceeds, and then buy or
When a parent gets older and begins to need additional care, it can create a lot of stress within a family. Sometimes, it can create conflicts and misunderstandings between family members as well. For example, siblings might argue over what’s best for an aging parent. Or if one family member is doing the bulk of the care, it can lead to resentment within the family, especially if the person providing the care is also receiving compensation
The federal government has tightened the rules for reverse mortgages, making it harder for some seniors to get these types of mortgages and reducing the amount of a home’s value that can be tapped. Reverse mortgages allow elders who are house-rich but cash-poor to use their housing equity. Homeowners who are at least 62 years old can obtain a loan that doesn’t have to be repaid until the homeowner moves, sells, or dies. The homeowner receives a
Can an apartment complex require elderly residents to prove that they can live independently? How about a retirement community that caters to both independent and assisted-living residents – can it designate certain apartments or activities as only for people who are independent? The answer might be more complicated than you think. Two federal laws – the Fair Housing Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act – protect people with disabilities against discrimination. Landlords who try to
Federal regulators recently announced a number of initiatives to loosen mortgage lending. Their view is that the current standards, adopted years ago in response to the financial crisis, were an overreaction, and the current tighter rules are choking off a housing recovery. Here’s the background: After the housing bust six years ago, the government wanted to prevent another round of risky loans that led to foreclosures. So it required that lenders insist on higher down payments
What can you do if you live in a condo, townhouse or multifamily home, and you need more space but don’t want to move? For a growing number of people, the solution is to buy the unit next door, tear down a wall, and create a single, larger unit. Recently there’s been an uptick in the number of people combining two small condos into one larger one, or converting a two- or three-family home into a
Most stores that lease space in a mall or other commercial area would like a guarantee of “exclusive use,” meaning that the landlord won’t also rent space to a competing business. Here are some things to consider if you’re negotiating over such a right in a lease: What’s the use? The “use” you have in mind should be described in detail, to avoid problems later. For instance, if an ice-cream-cone shop also sells some ice-cream cakes,
Some homeowners are running into a big problem when the take out a mortgage (or refinance a mortgage) to pay for a remodeling project. The problem occurs if the remodeling is so extensive that the owners temporarily move out while the work is being done. Generally, lenders give better terms and rates to homebuyers who plan to stay in a home as their primary residence, as opposed to investors who plan to quickly remodel a home
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