Bank of America offers relo assistance to short-sellers

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As seen in Inman.com

Bank of America says it will provide up to $30,000 in relocation assistance to delinquent borrowers who work with the bank to obtain a preapproved short-sale price before submitting purchase offers.

Short sales must be initiated by the end of this year and close by Sept. 26, 2013, to be eligible for the payments, which will range from $2,500 to $30,000 at the completion of a qualifying short sale. Payments will be determined on a case-by-case basis using a calculation that includes the value of the home, amount owed and other considerations, Bank of America said in announcing the program.

Click here for full article.

Certification of Trust: When and why is One Necessary?

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In the State of California a Certification of Trust, per probate code section 18100.5, is used in place of the trust itself as proof of its terms whenever all parties that created the trust area still viable.  It should be signed and notarized and include the following provisions:

  1. Legal name.  The legal name lists the name of all Trustees, the trust name and date it was signed.  For example: John Smith and Jane Smith, trustees of the John and Jane Smith Revocable Living Trust dated January 2, 2008;
  2. Date the agreement (trust) was created;
  3. The name of the Grantor;
  4. The name and address of the current trustees;
  5. A statement as to whether the trustees are authorized by the document to sell, convey, pledge mortgage, lease, or transfer title to any interest in real or personal property and if so are there an limitations;
  6. Whether the agreement is revocable or irrevocable;
  7. A certification statement to guarantee the voracity , correctness and authenticity of all claims being made in the document by the true and rightful representatives of the trust.

If any of the trustees/trustors of the trust are no longer capable of signing, the complete trust and any amendments should be forwarded to the title officer for review. 

Click here to download Trust Certification

IMPORTANT NOTE: A Power of Attorney cannot be used with a trust.

Easy access to school information throughout Southern California…

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No matter what city your clients live in, or would like to move to, in Southern California we can provide them up to the minute school information they need to make a knowledgeable decision on what schools will meet their children’s needs.

It’s all at your fingertips on our website in the  Resources Center section.  We have information on every school district in Southern California.  So make it easy on yourself.  When your client wants school information just point them to:  Western Resources School Information Link.

California Home Prices Going Up, Inventory Down, C.A.R. Reports

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As seen in DSNEWS.com

After 16 months of year-over-year declines, median home prices in California posted a gain, according to the California Association of Realtors.).

The median price of a single-family home for March 2012 was $291,080, a 1.6 percent increase compared to a revised $286,550 for March 2011, and a 9.2 percent increase compared to February’s median price of $266,660. The month-over-month increase was the largest since March 2004.

When breaking up prices by specific regions, the San Francisco Bay area was an exception, seeing a year-over-year decrease of 1.6 percent, but a 9.1 percent month-over-month increase.

“In areas, such as Los Angeles and Riverside counties, where the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wants to implement the REO bulk sale pilot program, inventory is running at levels well below the long-run average,” said C.A.R.

For the full article click here.

BofA Makes Changes to Trim Short Sale Timeline

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As seen in DSNEWS.com

Bank of America is making changes to its short sale procedures and introducing an improved task flow within the short sale technology module from Equator, BofA’s short sale management platform of choice. The goal: to reduce the timeframe for a short sale decision to less than three weeks.

Starting Saturday, April 14, real estate professionals working with BofA will be required to submit five documents for short sales initiated with an offer:

The acknowledgement and disclosure form, short sale addendum, and the form for third-party authorization are available through the company’s online Agent Resource Center.

For the full article click here.

Understanding Legal Descriptions

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A Legal Description (also known as a Land Description) consists of the written words which delineate a specific piece of real property.  In the written transfer of real property, it is universally required that the instrument of conveyance (in California, a Grant Deed) include a legal description of the property.  Please click here to download PDF examples of how legal descriptions appear on title documents of record.

IMPORTANT TITLE TIP:

As a title company, it is the Legal Description and the corresponding Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) that we insure, NOT the property’s address.  The Post Master and Tax Assessor employ two different means of classifying property.

If you have additional questions please contact your Western Resources Title Representative.

Property Tax Schedule

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The following schedule is intended to serve as a general guide to property-owners.

July 1 Beginning of the fiscal year.
August  Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office mails delinquent prior year secured notices.
August 31 UNSECURED TAX DELINQUENCY DEADLINE as of 5:00 p.m. A 10% penalty plus a $75.00 collection fee is added as of 5:00 p.m.
Sept 25 – Oct 5 The Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office mails out original SECURED PROPERTY TAX bills.

In addition, SUPPLEMENTAL TAX bills are mailed throughout the year. 

October Unsecured Tax liens filed for unpaid unsecured accounts.
November 1 First SECURED PROPERTY TAX installment is due; delinquent UNSECURED accounts are charged additional penalties of 1.5% per month until paid.
December 10 FIRST INSTALLMENT payment deadline. A 10% penalty is added after the deadline.
January Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office mails delinquent notice for unpaid FIRST INSTALLMENT and SUPPLEMENTAL SECURED INSTALLMENTS.
February 1 Second SECURED PROPERTY TAX installment due.
Feb – March Treasurer-Tax Collector mails delinquent prior year secured installment.
March – July UNSECURED PROPERTY TAX statements mailed.
April 10 Second SECURED PROPERTY TAX installment payment deadline. A 10% penalty plus $23.00 cost is added after the deadline.
May Treasurer-Tax Collector mails delinquent notices for any unpaid first and second installment taxes and SUPPLEMENTAL SECURED INSTALLMENTS
June 30 End of fiscal year.
July 1 Delinquent SECURED and SECURED SUPPLEMENTAL accounts are transferred to delinquent tax roll and additional penalties added at 1.5% per month on any unpaid tax amounts, plus $15.00 redemption fee.


Please note that the list above includes only the more significant dates and may not include all items or activities in the regular tax cycle.  If a delinquent date falls on a weekend or holiday, the delinquent date is the next business day

This Spring Could Be The Best Home-Buying Season In Years

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Great article by Morgan Brennan, Forbes.com

The lion’s share of home sales typically come in the spring and early summer. April, May, June and July account for more than 40% of all housing transactions annually, in large part thanks to weather. Economists, realtors and Wall Streeters have been quick to surmise that 2012 will be the year of the market bottom, and with that prognosis circulating, it begs the question of what sellers and buyers can expect in housing as that high season nears.

“The spring home buying season looks bright because of an elevated level of contract offers so far this year,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist of NAR, said in a statement earlier this week. February home sales, despite a slight dip from January to February, remain well above 2011 numbers. The Pending Home Sales Index, which reflects signed contracts that have yet to close, from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was 9.2% higher than February of 2011 and existing-homes sales, or closed contracts, were 8.8% higher than last year.

That increased demand from buyers has pushed inventory levels 19% lower than they were this time last year, with an estimated 2.43 million homes available for sale. In fact, housing inventory is at a five-year low nationally right now. It means owners tinkering with the thought of selling have less competition to contend with, compared to the past five years. It also means housing may be inching toward a long-awaited recovery.

Click here for full article

Limited Liability Companies: A Limited Yet Informative Overview

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A limited Liability company (LLC) is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures.  An LLC is similar to a corporation in that it provides limited liability to its owners for the debts and actions of the LLC.  Other features of an LLC are more like a partnership, providing management flexibility and the benefit of pass-through taxation.

BIG Misnomer:

An LLC is often incorrectly called a “limited liability corporation” (instead of company), when in fact it is a hybrid business entity having certain characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership or sole partnership.

LLCs and Real Estate:

With regard to real estate, LLCs are usually formed by owners of investment/income –producing property to protect them from certain financial risks and provide them with pass-through taxation (see IRS LINK below).

Special Note:

It is important to understand that limited liability does not imply that owners are always fully protected from personal liabilities.  Courts can and sometimes will pierce the corporate veil of an LLC when some type of fraud or misrepresentation is involved.  Similarly, LLC rules and laws may vary from state to state.

Link to IRS Page on LLCs

MOST IMPORTANT NOTE:
Client questions regarding LLCs, how to form them, their benefits and/or disadvantages, should always be directed to and answered by a real estate or tax Attorney.

 

Southland Home Sales Jump in February, Prices Still Down Yr/Yr

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Another great article from DQnews.com

La Jolla, CA—The Southland housing market posted the highest number of February home sales in five years as record levels of investor and cash buyers helped spur robust activity under $300,000. The median price paid for homes across the six-county region inched up from January but dropped below the year-earlier level for the 12th consecutive month, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 15,573 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 7.2 percent from 14,523 in January, and up 8.4 percent from 14,369 in February 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The increase in sales between January and February was larger than usual. On average, sales have risen 1.1 percent between those two months since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. Southland sales have increased year-over-year for two consecutive months and for six out of the last seven months. However, last month’s sales tally was 12.3 percent below the average for all the months of February since 1988.

Sales did not rise across the price spectrum last month. Transactions below $300,000 rose 9.5 percent from a year earlier, while the number of $300,000-$800,000 deals dipped 0.8 percent year-over-year and sales above $800,000 fell 12.6 percent.

“February sales got a big boost from investors and others paying cash for relatively affordable homes, as well as from an extra day’s worth of sales thanks to the leap year. Without the latter, sales might have been up a bit, but not to a five-year high. It’s just one more reason for us to remind everyone that January and February usually aren’t good months to use for forecasting purposes. The big picture remains one where the bottom of the housing market continues to see much of the action, while move-up activity remains sluggish. Financing is still difficult for many and lots of potential move-up buyers and sellers are stuck because they owe more than their homes are worth,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

For the full article, click here.