Q & A with Barbara Corcoran

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Q1 - How do I add my wife's name to the title of our house? Do I need a lawyer to do it?

A - New York attorney Michael Beckman of Beckman, Lieberman and Barandes says an attorney will charge you very little to add your wife's name to the title of your house. But most owners forget to add the same name to their outstanding mortgage. You can do this yourself by simply alerting your lender in writing about the change so that everyone's on the same page.

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Q2 - In your column recently there was a question about foreclosures, your niece bought one and made a profit. Is it a good idea to try to buy a foreclosure at an auction? And also on the ethical/human side of the factor, I don't know whether I would sleep ok at night knowing it was a family that lost the house because the head of household could not find work.

A - Whether or not you find buying a foreclosed home ethical is strictly personal.  You could feel you're taking advantage of the next guy's misfortune, or you could feel you're taking an empty home off the market and helping the community.  But buying a home at auction is like jumping into a shark tank because the dark waters are filled with not only individual home buyers but also professionals who know exactly what they're doing.  Lots of bank owned properties look like a good deal from the outside but aren't, and you need to know the difference.  To shop smart, do what the big boys do.  Don't try to buy a foreclosure in an area you don't know well, because most bad real estate investments are made in somebody else's backyard.  Weeks before the auction, look at all the houses.  If you find a few you like, take a shrewd broker back with you to tell you what the house is really worth before you decide on your bid.  If you can't get inside to inspect the homes, also take along an experienced contractor to give you his guesstimate as to which improvements are needed and what they might cost.  Once you're at the auction, try to bid on the first few houses because they always sell for less while other buyers are hanging back to see where prices will land.  Make sure to dress in your Sunday best and stand in the front close to the auctioneer.  Once you raise your paddle the other bidders will assume you're from the bank and stop their bidding.

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Q3 - We are getting our house ready to put on the market.  I help run a family business out of my basement which requires me to have boxes of ceramic antiques as well as shipping boxes stored in my shipping room.  In other words, my work area isn't pretty.  Can I leave it as it is while showing the house and just explain about my work or do I have to relocate my workspace?

A - Here's what you should do:  Stack all your boxes in perfect order, buy a can of cheap white paint and whitewash the boxes.  Your neatness will impress any would-be buyer and the tower of white will make your basement look much brighter.

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Q4 - My wife has her heart set on a beautiful house which is priced at $620k.  This is by far the best house in the town, but I think we could get a better price because there are a lot of houses for sale nearby.  None of the others are as nice as this house, but they're all priced under $500k.  I'd like to spend less, but my wife won't even look at them.

A - If you buy this house for $600,000 and the others are selling between $450,000 and $500,000, it will prove a bad investment.  No matter how much you have to spend on a new house, you should always know what typical homes sell for in the town you're shopping.  The best home to buy is one whose price falls firmly in the middle of what most others in its town sell for.  If you decide to go ahead, the good news is your wife will have the prettiest house with biggest bedrooms and swankiest baths, but the bad news is you'll both have a heck of a time finding another odd-ball buyer like yourselves when it comes time to sell.

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Q5 - My husband and I are closing on a home on Thursday.  In the last 30 days the prices for similar homes have gone down.  Can we renegotiate with the seller due to the uncertainty of the market?

A - Yes you can!  Even though you've already signed your contract and are legally obligated to close at that price, you can take a shot at renegotiating, but you should use your attorney as your bad guy.  Let him call the other attorney and insist on a lower price because of market conditions.  In effect you're bluffing, but if the seller calls your bluff and refuses, you can blame it all on your lawyer and still pay the price you've agreed on.

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Q6 - We're planning to sell our 1930's Dutch Colonial home on two acres of private, beautifully landscaped property across from a lake.  Our home and the property it sits on are appraised at $1,500,000.  We also have an adjacent lot assessed by the city at $470,000.  We've had many people inquire about our home over time and are going to contact them before we hire a Realtor. I'm told there could be a bidding war, and I hope we get that lucky.  If that happens, how does one handle that?  Should we accept sealed bids, or what?  

A - If there's a bidding war, call me immediately because I'll phone it in to the Guinness Book of World Records!  Chances are that when you call the eager beavers who expressed interest in buying your house, they won't even call you back.  Let me give you my real estate story:  Last month I finally talked my husband Bill into selling our picture perfect renovated school house up in Dutchess County.  It took me six years to talk Bill into it even though we only go to the house once a year.  Well, I thought, I'll have this house sold with just one phone call!  So I called my richer-than-God next door neighbor in her mansion.   Her 50 green acres abut my little one-acre lot and she's been walking past my house for the last ten years always with the same greeting, "If you ever sell that adorable house, Barbara, you'd better call me first because I just love and I'll buy it!"  I believed her.  Four phone calls later, Miss all-words-no-action still hasn't called me back.  But you might get luckier than me, and if you do, ask each of your clamoring buyers to give you their best and final bid in a sealed envelope, and whether or not they'll need financing.  Then you can open the envelopes together and sell your house to the best bidder.

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Q7 - On the TODAY Show a few weeks ago, you talked about an FHA replacement mortgage.  This sounds like something that is exactly what my husband and I are looking for.  Where would we go to find out more about this and how to apply?

A - The best thing to do is go through a mortgage broker.  But if you want to find information yourself on the new FHA loans, you can visit the Office of Housing and Urban Development online at www.HUD.gov where you'll find the information and a list of FHA lenders.  You can also call HUD at 800.569.4287 and an automated service will provide you with the name and number of the HUD-approved counselor closest to you who specializes in replacement mortgages.

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