To Sell to Gen-Y, You Have to Meet Them Online

After reviewing the data, you can make a decision to sell or keep your rental property.

My daughter is buying a house from me with 25 percent down in cash. We can close anytime, and, at age 28, she has excellent credit (over 700). Should she get a mortgage now or should we hold off a few months for a better interest rate, as rates are now climbing again?

I don't think anyone knows where interest rates are going at the moment. But it's true that mortgage interest rates have been on the rise lately, despite the Federal Reserve lowering the short-term federal funds rate. That, in conjunction with falling home values, is making some buyers nervous.

I hope mortgage interest rates don't climb much beyond where they are at the moment. If they go too much higher, first-time buyers may have trouble qualifying for a home.

In your case, it sounds as though you have the luxury of time. If I were you, I would help your daughter find a quality lender and get pre-approved for her mortgage. That way, when you're ready to close, the lender will be ready as well.

If your daughter decides to obtain financing now and rates go down to a level that would justify her refinancing the loan, she can do that later. The interest rate your daughter gets on her loan today is still near a historically low level.

Rates may rise over the next couple of months, and if she waits she will have lost the opportunity to get today's rates. But if she takes today's rates and over the next year or two rates decrease, she can refinance. And, if rates decrease after she applies for the loan, many lenders will give her the ability to re-lock her loan rate once or twice before the deal closes.

My father and I are joint tenants with rights of survivorship on a two-family house. He is 88 and is not well. We went to a real estate lawyer and had the house put in my name.

If Dad goes into a nursing home, what is the lookback period for Medicaid? Would Medicaid be entitled to half of the equity in the property? Would I have to sell the house?

Under new federal rules, the Medicaid lookback period is five years from the date of transfer. In other words, if Medicaid has to pay for your father's stay in a nursing home because your dad is broke, the government could reverse any transfer of wealth from your father to anyone for the previous five years, if they suspect him of trying to hide assets or he transferred assets that could have been used to pay for Medicaid costs.

Would you have to sell the property? Maybe. It's also possible the government would put a lien against the property that would have to be satisfied when the property is sold or refinanced down the line.

For more details, talk to a real estate lawyer or an estate lawyer.

Ilyce R. Glink is an author and nationally syndicated columnist. Her latest book is "100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask." Samuel J. Tamkin is a real estate lawyer in Chicago. If you have questions for them, write Real Estate Matters Syndicate, P.O. Box 366, Glencoe, Ill. 60022, or contact them through Glink's Web sites, http://www.thinkglink.comandhttp://www.expertrealestatetips.net.

© 2008 Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin

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