Written offers not the norm in area, relative is told

Q. We recently listed my mother-in-law's home in another part of the state. We selected the broker after interviewing three from that area. One aspect of our dealings is surprising: our broker tells us that written offers and counteroffers are not the norm in that area. We have received several verbal offers and inquiries about the listing price. My experience has been that all offers and counteroffers are done in writing. Is this just a quirk down there, or should we be concerned about the Realtor's approach to selling houses?

A. I believe the law known as the Statute of Frauds applies everywhere. When it comes to the sale of real estate, nothing is binding unless it's in writing. There's no use accepting an oral offer, because you couldn't hold them to it in a court of law.

Perhaps local custom down there does call for oral dickering, but you can simply say you're not used to it. Just stick to a polite: "We'll be happy to consider any written offer."

Q. I have read you for years - my husband even took your course years ago! And now I have a question for you.

There was an article in a newspaper recently that sounded like an answer to our retirement woes.

My husband is retired, and I'll be joining that category soon; we own our home outright, but know we cannot support the taxes here when I retire (unless we don't want to have any fun, that is) so we have been looking for a smaller, less costly footprint.

The article talked about a Home Equity Conversion program that allows seniors to sell their current residence and use a portion of those proceeds to buy a new home, allowing us to keep the rest of the cash. It stated that this loan is a variation of a reverse mortgage and buyers must be older than 65, which we are!

I have not been able to find much information about this Federal Housing Administration program. The couple in question was purchasing a new townhouse; I hope that new property is not a requirement!

My husband would not consider a reverse mortgage on this home, even though we love it; however, he would consider this new idea!

A. I found the article you mentioned. That Home Equity Conversion loan is indeed an FHA-insured reverse mortgage. What's different is that instead of taking it out so they could stay in their present residence, those seniors used it to buy a different one.

A reverse mortgage can now be used to purchase a house, if the elderly buyers are ready - like the downsizing couple in that article - to combine it with a substantial down payment. In that instance they used some of the cash from the sale of their old, more expensive home.

Yes, as the article said, no payments will be due until they die or move out. Then the whole loan - plus accumulated interest - would become due. You can tell your husband that it works like any other reverse mortgage.

A. My wife and I own half of a vacation condominium property with another couple. The property is deeded joint with rights of survivorship, and we paid all costs equally.

My question is this: If my wife and I no longer want to own this property, can the other couple stand in the way of a sale? There is no written or verbal agreement to dictate what should happen, (shame on me).

A. If joint tenants cannot agree to sell, any one of them can force a sale and division of the proceeds. The process is known as partition. It involves a court-ordered sale, which in many areas is similar to a public foreclosure auction. It seldom yields full market value.

Sometimes just mentioning the possibility is enough to move your co-owners to cooperate.

Q. I must take exception to an answer you provided in a recent column. The reader asked about an agent who took a couple to a listed house and then left them alone to lock up. You suggested that if the seller were to learn about this, they should cancel the listing.

It is not clear whether the agent in question is the listing agent. Unless you are absolutely sure that the listing agent is the one guilty of this infraction, it is unfair to suggest that they be fired for it.

If the guilty agent were a cooperating agent (from a different brokerage) I am sure the listing agent would be just as upset as the seller. This is a serious ethics violation and the guilty agent's broker in charge should be notified immediately.

A. Thanks for writing. You make a good point. That negligent broker may well have been from some other real estate firm, rather than the one that listed the property.

• 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.

© 2015, Creators Syndicate Inc.