Mecklenburg Times: News for Mecklenburg, Union and Iredell counties Real Estate, Development, Construction, and Community News in the Charlotte area and throughout Mecklenburg, Union and Iredell counties
Reader question: We live in a 75-lot development completed in the early 1990s. We do not have an HOA. Our problem is we are on our own for upkeep and repair to communal areas. We have garage sales and take ...
Tagged with: city hall
Read More »Dear Monty: You can’t fight city hall – or can you?
Dear Monty: My real estate taxes doubled – is this legal? 
Reader question: My real estate taxes went up over 100% this year. Is it legal to raise taxes so high in one year? Monty’s answer: For real estate taxes to double in one year would be extremely rare. One has ...
Tagged with: property taxes
Read More »Not knowing your property line when buying a home can be expensive
Reader question: I recently had my lot surveyed, and it turns out one neighbor’s fence is three feet over my property line, butted up against the back of my garage. The neighbor to the side has a fence that is ...
Tagged with: property lines
Read More »Marital property law vs. Common law: A financial factor in real estate
Reader question: My name is not on the deed of our home. My spouse put the house up for sale after 22 years. Am I entitled to half the profits of the deal? Monty’s answer: Ten states embrace marital property ...
Tagged with: Marital Property
Read More »Dear Monty: Are referral fees in real estate ethical?
Reader question: We sold our home and moved to a different state. Our old agent helped us find an agent in our new city. We have gotten to know this agent and become friends. He told us our former agent ...
Tagged with: referrals
Read More »Dear Monty: Avoiding bombshells over permits when remodeling, buying, or selling a home
Reader question: Back in 2001-2002, we remodeled our home without a permit. We didn’t know it was required. Now we want to sell, and the question is on the seller condition report. Is there any way to overcome that issue ...
Tagged with: Dear Monty
Read More »Dear Monty: Avoiding bombshells over permits when remodeling, buying, or selling a home
Reader question: Back in 2001-2002, we remodeled our home without a permit. We didn’t know it was required. Now we want to sell, and the question is on the seller condition report. Is there any way to overcome that issue ...
Tagged with: Dear Monty
Read More »Fixing a leaky basement can be tricky
Reader question: We own a 45-year-old home in a development. The house is well-built, with a full basement and sits on more than a half-acre of land. We have made some significant renovations and the house is in great shape. ...
Tagged with: basement
Read More »3 tips for a potential real estate investor
Reader question: I am a young person who inherited money. I’ve been looking at different career options, and I have decided to invest in real estate, but I have little knowledge about it. Where do I find people with money ...
Tagged with: investment
Read More »Dear Monty: Will a zoning change cause our property value to drop?
Reader question: We own a small, well-cared for, older home in a moderate neighborhood in a small midwestern city of about 30,000. We are one block off of a feeder street near downtown that has both similar single-family homes plus ...
Tagged with: Dear Monty
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