Spring starts early in real estate

Q. My husband's company has transferred him to Chicago. We decided I will stay here until the children are out of school in June. Is there any use in putting our house on the market this early? Can we tell buyers that we won't be moving until June? What do people do in this situation?

A. Almost always, the best time to put a house on the market is as soon as you have decided to sell. Six months before the expected move is not too early. Otherwise you might end up paying on two houses at once for a while. And if your home is not sold by the time you leave, keep in mind that a vacant house hardly ever shows as well as it would with your furniture in place, so it may sell less readily or bring less money.

It's likely that another family with children will also want to move with the school year. Any purchase offer you receive should specify a target closing date, and you'll be free to negotiate the matter.

Even if satisfactory buyers for your present home appear promptly, the evermore complicated paperwork involved in their mortgage application, and the dovetailing of your needs with theirs, can result in problems if you're pressed for time.

Houses have certainly been transferred in less than a week, in unusual circumstances. You are most likely to receive the highest price for your house, though, if it's exposed to the largest possible pool of buyers. An unhurried approach to your sale is the best guarantee of sufficient exposure on the market. And if you wanted to experiment with price, you'd have the leisure to do so.

In this area, spring is the best selling period, and in the real estate market, spring starts early.

Q. We are moving to another state next month, when our house is ready. Where we live now, we had a veterans' tax exclusion on our property taxes. Can we transfer that to the new house we are buying?

A. The property tax exemption you have now is probably a state benefit, not federal. Almost every state offers some form of tax relief for veterans, and often more for disabled veterans. You can investigate the specific situation in your new location on the Internet.

Q. My aunt put myself and two other family members on her deed. Her lawyer set it up so she would have lifetime use of the home. When she became ill, she took residence in an assisted living home. The home needed to be sold to maintain her medical bills. She passed before all the funds from the sale of the home were used. In her will, she left the funds from the sale of the home to the family members. Do the funds have to be recorded with each person's tax returns or is this treated like any sale of personal property?

A. If the whole proceeds from the sale went to your aunt, then she probably received the money tax-free by claiming the homeseller's tax exclusion. If you then inherited what was left after her bills were paid, there's no tax on inheritances in New York state.

Those aren't all the if/thens that matter here, though, and the dates involved may be important also. The wording on that deed might make a difference. You'd better take the matter to a lawyer or accountant who can look at the whole situation and tell you where you stand.

Q. I am helping my granddaughter and her family purchase a home in a village near here. I just learned, last-minute, that the seller cannot afford closing fees and all papers have been signed. It is a foreclosure deal if that matters. Any guidance would be appreciated.

A. It's not clear just what is meant by "foreclosure deal." This doesn't sound like a completed foreclosure auction. Nor does it seem as if the lender already owns the property. It might be a short sale, in which the bank agrees to settle for less than is due on the mortgage. Or is it simply the homeowner's own sale, under pressure to head off foreclosure?

And then - does that shortfall represent just the seller's closing costs, or does it include unpaid mortgage interest and overdue property taxes as well? Exactly how much are you being asked to come up with in order to help the deal go through?

Without knowing all that, there's no way I can advise you. If a real estate broker is involved, ask now for full explanations. You'll be in a better position to consider your options when you understand exactly what's going on.

• Edith Lank will respond to questions sent to her at 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14620 (include a stamped return envelope), or readers may email her through askedith.com.

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