Property purchase should be reviewed by attorney
DEAR BRUCE: DEAR BRUCE: I’m buying some property from a friend. He purchased this land approximately six years ago, and this will be roughly half of what he purchased then. It will include a modular home and waterfront lake property.
At the time he purchased it, he had the title looked at and brought the abstract up to date. I trust this person fully and will be a neighbor of his on this property. No mortgage will be involved; I will just write a check. My question to you is, do I still need an attorney to look this over? — M.L. DEAR M.L.: I understand how the transaction seems simple to you, and it likely is. On the other hand, I would never purchase a piece of property without having an attorney review all of the paperwork attached to it. Having no mortgage will simplify things, that is true, but I can’t overstate my position. Any time a piece of property is being transferred from one person to another, both parties should be represented by an attorney.
Don’t worry about your friend. It is his obligation to look out for himself. This isn’t an expensive proposition, and clearly you’re fortunate that you can just write a check for the property. By all means, consult an attorney first.
DEAR BRUCE: I have some HH bonds with the interest being deposited into a bank account that I no longer use since we paid off our mortgage years ago. I would like to have this
interest payment changed to my local bank where my Social Security check is deposited and then close out that account. If I fill out a direct deposit sign-up form, will that take care of all the bonds? — Reader
DEAR READER: I don’t think you should have any problem with this at all. Contact the bank where the HH bonds are being held and tell them you wish to have the monies applied to the new bank account. That should be the end of it! Closing out one account and having the direct deposit made in the other account shouldn’t be complicated. Send questions to bruce@brucewilliams.com. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.