Three-day visit is long enough to find house

Q. We are moving out of state for new jobs and we're ready to buy our first house. The problem is we need to stay at our jobs until the last minute and don't have much time for house hunting. If you have any advice about buying a house out of town, it would be appreciated.

A. I gave up my real estate license years ago when I started this column, and I know things are different these days. But I think it's still true that you can find the right house and arrange a satisfactory purchase with a three-day trip to your new town.

Do as much advance work as possible. Ask your future co-workers where they live and if they have suggestions about neighborhoods or real estate brokers. Spend lots of time with the Internet, and call listing agents. You're looking for someone who seems active in the neighborhoods that begin to interest you. Above all, you need a salesperson or broker who is ready to drop everything for those three days, to stick with you through every bit of the process. That agent will set up appointments ahead of time.

First morning there: The agent picks you up at the motel for a tour of the area. That afternoon, the agent helps zero in on areas you like, makes more appointments. You start viewing houses. If you can make that first day a Sunday (in some areas, a Saturday) it's easy and efficient to visit open houses. You may be overwhelmed, so take notes.

Second day: View remaining properties, narrow your options, revisit final possibilities. In the late afternoon, the agent helps you write a purchase offer. Agent presents it that evening, it's accepted or some negotiations take place, deal is finalized that evening.

That leaves the third day free for your mortgage application.

You don't say where you're from, and you're first-time buyers anyhow, so I don't know if you're familiar with real estate closings. Procedures differ widely from one part of the country to another. But your contract may require prompt approval by your attorney. The agent may suggest (that word is preferred over "recommend") the names of several who specialize in real estate. Or you can call any law firm and ask who handles their real estate matters.

Q. My wife and I are in the process of planning a divorce, and we are doing fairly well without bringing in the lawyers yet. However, we have one big item that we are stuck on. She wants to keep the house, and I want to sell it. She says neither one of us can sell the house unless the other one agrees. Is that true?

A. Each state has its own laws about co-ownership of a family home by husband and wife. I can't tell what applies where you are, and I don't know if you were married when you bought the property. It's quite possible your wife is right, and that neither of you could leave your share to any other heir, and neither has the right to force a sale.

Divorce, though, will usually change whatever your form of co-ownership is. You may become what is known as "tenants in common." If so, you could ask for a court-ordered sale. That's messy, though, and you probably wouldn't receive what the place is really worth. My advice is to keep trying for an amicable solution. In many cases, a wife understandably clings to her home, only to find that once she's alone, it's an unmanageable burden.

Q. I am writing with regards to having one name (husband or wife) on a mortgage. I was told recently by a real estate salesperson that it was better to have one name on a mortgage in the event of one spouse dying. She said the living spouse would not be responsible for the mortgage payments. She said the house would automatically be hers. I responded with yes, if the spouse had mortgage insurance; she said you would not need it, if only one person's name was on the mortgage.

I would appreciate an answer, as I find this hard to believe that a bank would hand over a house "paid in full."

A. That real estate salesperson is not supposed to give legal advice, and as you suspect, it's wrong all over the place.

For starters, a surviving spouse may or may not inherit the house automatically. The form of ownership, provisions of any will and state laws will determine that. The only break the next owner gets is the right to take over an existing mortgage. When the borrower dies and a family member inherits, lenders will not call in the existing loan.

• 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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