Author Archives: Jay Butchko
House Hacking
In better economic times, people used to daydream about building up enough equity in their homes that they could move to a bigger house and use the old one as a rental property. There were times when becoming a mom-and-pop landlord seemed to be within the reach of almost all homeowners. These days, good… Read More »
Can Listing Beneficiaries on Non-Probate Assets Backfire?
Conventional wisdom holds that the first step in estate planning is to write a will. This way, when your estate goes to probate after you die, the court will distribute your property to your heirs in accordance with your wishes. The next step is to keep as much of your property as possible out… Read More »
Think Twice Before Writing a Real Estate Love Letter
Love is insincere when there is money involved. How many successful businesspeople find themselves the center of attention at networking events, but when they get home, their spouses revile them, their children want nothing to do with them, and their extended family members only contact them when they need money? Almost anyone who has… Read More »
3 Types of Real Estate Properties That Are Old News
The best reason to buy a real estate property is that it is a place where you want to live. It has just enough bedrooms for the members of your household, and it is easy to get from your new home to your workplace and your children’s school. If the long-term financial investment is… Read More »
New York City Faces Lawsuit Over Real Estate Broker Fee Law
The struggles of tenants in New York City are well known; there is a reason that the musical Rent was such a big hit even in parts of Middle America that generally have little sympathy for New York. Of course, being a landlord is not exactly easy, either. At least New York landlords do… Read More »
What Can Go Wrong If You Gift a Real Estate Property to a Family Member?
Now that the new year has been going on long enough that people have started breaking their New Year’s resolutions, everyone is talking about the annual gift tax exclusion. In 2025, the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000. This means that you can give a whopping $19,000 per recipient to as many recipients as… Read More »
What to Do If You Are Stuck in a Starter Home
Buying a house can give you a feeling of permanence, but what if moving into your forever home does not really mean forever. The concept of a starter home exists for a reason. Many homebuyers, especially young, newlywed couples, who can afford to qualify for a mortgage at all can only qualify for a… Read More »
Junk Fees Drive Up the Cost of Mortgage Closing
After people stopped listening to the aspirational claptrap about how you could pay down your debts faster by making coffee at home instead of stopping at Dunkin Donuts on the way to work, personal finance experts have begun to focus on reducing the biggest expenses in your budget, such as housing, which is more… Read More »
Jointly Owning Real Estate With Your Siblings Is a Sticky Situation
If you own a house, you are one of the lucky few. If you own a house, then chances are you inherited it, or else you inherited money that enabled you to buy it. Admonishing people not to attempt to micromanage from beyond the grave is the province of estate planning lawyers, not of… Read More »
New Law Requires New York Real Estate Sellers to Disclose Flood Risk
When real estate agents show a property to a prospective buyer, they point out all the features that have been newly replaced, and the old ones that are built to last. When young couples look at properties, eager to fall in love with their dream home, their Baby Boomer dads accompany them, knocking on… Read More »