Don't expect to buy a home in Cuba soon

Don't expect to buy a home in Cuba soon
David Myers

Our country is building new economic bridges to the island nation just
90 miles off the coast of Miami, but most Americans probably won't be
able to purchase a house there, at least for the next few years.

Q. I have been to Cuba twice, both times for business purposes. It's a
beautiful country. Now that President Barack Obama says he wants to
"normalize" relations with it, would I be able to buy a retirement home
there?

A. Probably not, at least in the near future. Until our nation's
54-year-old trade embargo against the island nation is officially
lifted, a private U.S. citizen who buys a home in Cuba would be subject
to a lifetime prison sentence under the federal government's Trading
With the Enemy Act and related laws.

If you get sent to prison, though, at least your housing (plus food and
utilities) would be free.

Unlike the United States, most of the other nations in the world have
free-trade agreements with Cuba. That means that a man from London could
buy a house in Havana with a Cuban woman, but the property likely would
have to vest solely in her name.

Real estate trivia: The United Nations formally recognizes 195
sovereign, self-governing countries around the world. Two others --
Vatican City and Palestine -- are officially sanctioned "U.N. Observer
States," but are not considered to be independent nations.

Q. I followed your earlier advice by ordering my annual free copies of
my credit report from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Everything on
each report is accurate, except that one of the three credit bureaus
shows the address of the apartment that I left last year instead of the
home I bought about four months ago. I don't think that this is a big
problem because I never missed a rental payment on my old apartment or a
single monthly payment on the house I bought in April. What are your
thoughts on this issue?

A. Contact the credit bureau that has the wrong address on its files and
have it corrected immediately.

Out-of-date addresses on a credit report can lead to all sorts of
problems. For starters, it means that you might not be credited for the
monthly mortgage payments that you have been religiously making since
you bought your first home earlier this year.

That could keep your score lower than it should be, which might
translate into a higher loan-interest rate if you want to refinance or
buy another home months or years from now.

By "sharing" your old address with someone you don't know, the credit
bureau also might assume that you're responsible for debts of the tenant
who took over your previous apartment. If the tenant doesn't pay his or
her bills, your score may suffer.

Even worse, an outdated or otherwise wrong address could even prompt a
bureau to "blend" your credit score with the person you don't know.
That's a cool deal if the bureau confuses your home address with that of
Bill Gates, but not so much if the tenant or borrower is a criminal or
financial deadbeat.

Q. The housing market in our area is superhot. We made an offer on a
home that was $4,000 above its listing price in late July, but the
sellers rejected it and made a written counteroffer for an additional
$2,000. We rejected the counteroffer and then proceeded to sign a
purchase contract for another house at its listed value. Now the sellers
of the first house have changed their minds and say that they'll accept
our original bid for $4,000 over their asking price. Are we legally
required to buy it?

A. No, you are under no legal obligation to buy the first house, even
though you offered to pay the sellers $4,000 more than they originally
were asking.

I get this type of question every time the housing market heats up, when
sellers get a bit greedy and buyers begin worrying that they'll soon be
priced out. But real estate law in all 50 states says that a buyer's
offer is immediately rendered null and void when a seller makes a
written counteroffer. This means that you are free to make an offer on a
different property, and the seller of the first house has no basis to sue.

If you decide to cancel the purchase of the second home, though, the
seller of the second property can keep the deposit that you made and
even sue you for breach of contract.

• For the booklet "Straight Talk About Living Trusts," send $4 and a
self-addressed, stamped envelope to David Myers/Trust, P.O. Box 4405,
Culver City, CA 90231-4405.

Source: Don't expect to buy a home in Cuba soon - DailyHerald.com -
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150904/entlife/150909395/