Home Forum Extra
Seattle Times business reporter Elizabeth Rhodes posts the answers to your real estate questions as they pop up during the week. Join this ongoing discussion, which also features reader reaction to real-estate articles appearing throughout The Times.
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May 14, 2008 9:00 AM
Lack of written payment record worries tenant
Posted by Elizabeth Rhodes
Q: After more than a decade I'm thinking of moving out of my apartment building, which recently was sold. However I don't have a receipt for the first/last months' rent or the damage deposit. I never had a lease so obviously there's no written record there. The only recorded information I have is in my check register; my bank cannot provide a copy of long-ago checks. Is my check register a sufficient legal document to prove to the new landlord that I paid the last month's rent and deposit?
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May 13, 2008 2:35 PM
Overgrown easement impairs driveway access
Posted by Elizabeth Rhodes
Q: We have a 15-foot driveway/utility easement with our neighbor. Large trees and bushes in the easement portion of that neighbor's yard are interfering with our ability to use this driveway. The neighbor won't trim them. Can we trim the bushes on the easement to preserve our ability to get to our house?
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May 9, 2008 1:00 PM
A time of uncertainty
Posted by Bill Kossen
A constant topic at this week's meeting in Dallas of the National Association of Real Estate Editors has been the volatility of the housing market. Even the experts are in a quandary about what will happen next.
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May 9, 2008 12:40 PM
An expert's view of the housing crisis
Posted by Bill Kossen
With the nation in an economic slowdown, if not a recession, what's ahead?
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May 8, 2008 10:00 PM
Seattle's apartment boom expected to cool
Posted by Bill Kossen
Seattle currently is one of the country's top 10 markets for apartment construction, and it's also one of the 10 strongest for apartment demand.
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May 8, 2008 9:30 PM
Down-payment assistance controversy
Posted by Bill Kossen
With home sales sluggish, many sellers are contributing cash toward the buyer's down payment as a way to land a sale. That's a win-win, right?
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May 8, 2008 8:50 PM
Home sales to pick up, slowly
Posted by Bill Kossen
The sluggishness of early 2008 home sales should abate later in the year as mortgages become somewhat easier to get, Charles McMillan, president-elect of the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
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May 7, 2008 3:00 PM
Renter fears pot-growing neighbor
Posted by Elizabeth Rhodes
Q: How can I get out of my apartment lease? The people living in the unit next door were growing pot, and just a few days ago someone shot four bullets into their door. The police were called and I ended up talking to them in the parking lot at 1 a.m. The situation is really scary. What can I do?
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May 14, 08 - 09:00 AM
Lack of written payment record worries tenant
May 13, 08 - 02:35 PM
Overgrown easement impairs driveway access
May 9, 08 - 01:00 PM
A time of uncertainty
May 9, 08 - 12:40 PM
An expert's view of the housing crisis
May 8, 08 - 10:00 PM
Seattle's apartment boom expected to cool

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