Check our latest TRUST sale! I just sold this to wonderful buyers of ours and we are in escrow now!
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Babyboomers are staying in their homes longer
Have you looked at your retirement plan lately?
What about updating your trust and will?
Feel free, always, to contact us for trusted referrals!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Meeting Reminder - We'll Be There Tomorrow, Will You?
Copy of Meeting Announcment from--
Estate Planning & Trust Council of Long Beach:
"How to Avoid Unpaid Consulting"
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Location: The Grand
Speaker: J. Scott Bailey, Bailey Marketing Concepts
Most trusted advisors understand the importance and the value of bringing in new clients. They call it “Rain-Making” or “Business Development” or sometimes “Marketing Activities.” They rarely call it “Selling” because they never anticipated having to sell anyone on anything when they were in professional school.
Go ask a little seven-year old kid what they want to be when they grow up. How many of those little kids do you think will say, “I want to grow up to become a salesperson”!
All too often, we end up relying on our knowledge and expertise, attempting to impress our potential clients with the answers to their questions. We are really good at answering questions and sometimes forget that more power would come from asking questions. Sometimes we cross the line and commit the professional mistake of “Unpaid Consulting”.
J. Scott Bailey has been a veteran of the global network of Sandler Trainers since 1994. He works with companies with business to business sales teams in manufacturing, distribution and services. He helps them close more sales, shorten the selling cycle, eliminate stalls and objections and increase market share in a competitive business environment.
Over two decades, Scott has coached and trained many trusted advisors (financial planners, accountants, bankers, attorneys, and consultants of all types) who enlist in his sessions to transform their selling process.
Go ask a little seven-year old kid what they want to be when they grow up. How many of those little kids do you think will say, “I want to grow up to become a salesperson”!
All too often, we end up relying on our knowledge and expertise, attempting to impress our potential clients with the answers to their questions. We are really good at answering questions and sometimes forget that more power would come from asking questions. Sometimes we cross the line and commit the professional mistake of “Unpaid Consulting”.
J. Scott Bailey has been a veteran of the global network of Sandler Trainers since 1994. He works with companies with business to business sales teams in manufacturing, distribution and services. He helps them close more sales, shorten the selling cycle, eliminate stalls and objections and increase market share in a competitive business environment.
Over two decades, Scott has coached and trained many trusted advisors (financial planners, accountants, bankers, attorneys, and consultants of all types) who enlist in his sessions to transform their selling process.
***
We'll be there tomorrow & hope to see all our friends & colleagues in attendance! Please stop by and say hello!
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Big News! Review of our 2015 Legal Updates
Last Thursday I had the privilege of listening to all the C.A.R. Legal updates from the very informative -- and very entertaining -- Gov Hutchinson, the Assistant General Counsel for C.A.R., the California Association of Realtors. There are a number of changes, most notably for Realtors, the RPA (Residential Purchase Agreement) has been significantly modified. Along with it, so has the PPA (Probate Purchase Agreement). But more importantly, there are a few changes, in 2015, that you need to be aware of, particularly if you are a fiduciary or an attorney handling probate, trust, & conservatorship real estate sales.
Note: Absolutely nothing stated here is intended as legal or tax advice in any way and is solely my OPINION. Please consult your valued & trust legal & tax advisors before taking action.
So, with the disclaimer out of the way, I must say -- there is good news, and there is bad news. Let's lead with the good news! The good news is that the WPA form (wood destroying pest addendum) otherwise known as "termite" is GONE! The form has been deleted and you will never see it because agents can't even access it anymore in our system that generates contracts. This is fantastic but comes with a caveat. We must note in your contract that the sale is "as-is" and no request for REPAIRS will be considered -- because termite is now being treated in the contract as PART OF "Repairs." But so long as no one puts the word "termite" into your nice and clean contract, no lender should ever throw any fit about getting that work done or obtaining a certificate of completion. Wonderful!
Now, the not-so-good news. The contract now DEFAULTS to require the seller -- that's probably you or your client -- to provide PROOF of your seller entity within 3 days of Acceptance. I asked for clarification about what "proof" would be acceptable but of course that hasn't been truly determined yet. Mr. Hutchinson seemed to believe that a trust certification might be acceptable, or the 1st few pages of the trust. I wasn't able to ask him more about if a blacked-out copy of the Letters of Administration or Conservatorship would suffice or if we have to provide the entire document. My plan to handle this is to WRITE IN a change to this default at LEAST giving the seller more TIME to comply with this requirement. (I also plan to add language that would allow the seller to change that entity should it become necessary through escrow.) The obstacle I see here is - just in the same vein that we don't like it when buyers change their name or their entity in which they plan to take title - sellers may NEED to change their name or entity in which they are selling and it is our job to protect you to be able to do just that. We've had instances where sales have been delayed because one of our sellers needed to sell not from the trust but in the estate or vice versa for various tax implications (which is not my specialty). What IS my specialty is being able to structure our contracts in such a way that if you, as the fiduciary seller or attorney working with one of our trusted fiduciaries, needs to make such a change, and it takes time to do so, that we've covered you to not lose a buyer in this instance.
I am not sure, yet, how having to provide seller entity proof to the buyer now could affect these, usually rare, instances. What I am sure of is that if you don't have a Realtor handling your transactions who understands the nuances of not only their own job, but truly, the nuances of YOUR job, and that he or she is able to translate that understanding into a real estate contract that fully protects all of your interests, you will encounter - expensive - problems.
Lastly, there is a new addendum! The trust signature addendum and probate signature addendum are both gone and there is a new form called Representative Capacity Addendum. This will be required on every single one of your transactions in which you are signing in a representative capacity. Make sure it's attached and that your Realtor knows about it. It protects you from signing any document in a real estate transaction personally.
The above are the main items I wanted to bring to your attention. There are a few other changes worth mentioning too:
-- HOAs can no longer go after a resident for not watering their lawn, so long as we remain in a drought...
-- As of 7/1/15, all employees in CA will be entitled to PAID sick leave
-- Our "RPA" contract is not assignable without seller permission (previously allowed)
-- For canceling an escrow, a buyer may now submit a DEMAND to escrow for their deposit back, and the seller MUST RESPOND within 10 days or escrow will then need to release the deposit to the Buyer -- this one is being evaluated by escrow co's with their DOC regulations to see if this one will really fly
-- For 2013 TAX year - regarding short sales - they are now retroactively exempt from their short sale being treated as income or a gain and may be entitled to a refund
I hope you have found this 2015 legal review & update to be helpful & informative. As always, please don't hesitate to contact us at Beach Equities for all of your probate & trust real estate needs at ANY time!
Note: Absolutely nothing stated here is intended as legal or tax advice in any way and is solely my OPINION. Please consult your valued & trust legal & tax advisors before taking action.
So, with the disclaimer out of the way, I must say -- there is good news, and there is bad news. Let's lead with the good news! The good news is that the WPA form (wood destroying pest addendum) otherwise known as "termite" is GONE! The form has been deleted and you will never see it because agents can't even access it anymore in our system that generates contracts. This is fantastic but comes with a caveat. We must note in your contract that the sale is "as-is" and no request for REPAIRS will be considered -- because termite is now being treated in the contract as PART OF "Repairs." But so long as no one puts the word "termite" into your nice and clean contract, no lender should ever throw any fit about getting that work done or obtaining a certificate of completion. Wonderful!
Now, the not-so-good news. The contract now DEFAULTS to require the seller -- that's probably you or your client -- to provide PROOF of your seller entity within 3 days of Acceptance. I asked for clarification about what "proof" would be acceptable but of course that hasn't been truly determined yet. Mr. Hutchinson seemed to believe that a trust certification might be acceptable, or the 1st few pages of the trust. I wasn't able to ask him more about if a blacked-out copy of the Letters of Administration or Conservatorship would suffice or if we have to provide the entire document. My plan to handle this is to WRITE IN a change to this default at LEAST giving the seller more TIME to comply with this requirement. (I also plan to add language that would allow the seller to change that entity should it become necessary through escrow.) The obstacle I see here is - just in the same vein that we don't like it when buyers change their name or their entity in which they plan to take title - sellers may NEED to change their name or entity in which they are selling and it is our job to protect you to be able to do just that. We've had instances where sales have been delayed because one of our sellers needed to sell not from the trust but in the estate or vice versa for various tax implications (which is not my specialty). What IS my specialty is being able to structure our contracts in such a way that if you, as the fiduciary seller or attorney working with one of our trusted fiduciaries, needs to make such a change, and it takes time to do so, that we've covered you to not lose a buyer in this instance.
I am not sure, yet, how having to provide seller entity proof to the buyer now could affect these, usually rare, instances. What I am sure of is that if you don't have a Realtor handling your transactions who understands the nuances of not only their own job, but truly, the nuances of YOUR job, and that he or she is able to translate that understanding into a real estate contract that fully protects all of your interests, you will encounter - expensive - problems.
Lastly, there is a new addendum! The trust signature addendum and probate signature addendum are both gone and there is a new form called Representative Capacity Addendum. This will be required on every single one of your transactions in which you are signing in a representative capacity. Make sure it's attached and that your Realtor knows about it. It protects you from signing any document in a real estate transaction personally.
The above are the main items I wanted to bring to your attention. There are a few other changes worth mentioning too:
-- HOAs can no longer go after a resident for not watering their lawn, so long as we remain in a drought...
-- As of 7/1/15, all employees in CA will be entitled to PAID sick leave
-- Our "RPA" contract is not assignable without seller permission (previously allowed)
-- For canceling an escrow, a buyer may now submit a DEMAND to escrow for their deposit back, and the seller MUST RESPOND within 10 days or escrow will then need to release the deposit to the Buyer -- this one is being evaluated by escrow co's with their DOC regulations to see if this one will really fly
-- For 2013 TAX year - regarding short sales - they are now retroactively exempt from their short sale being treated as income or a gain and may be entitled to a refund
I hope you have found this 2015 legal review & update to be helpful & informative. As always, please don't hesitate to contact us at Beach Equities for all of your probate & trust real estate needs at ANY time!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Life Is Like a Song
Even the (arguably) rich, and famous, fall into probate court.
As you may have heard by now, Etta James, 73, passed away at a hospital in Southern California. Upon news alert from the LA Times, immediately the Facebook posts began, and didn't stop for days ... at least in my circles. I would imagine in yours too. Etta's music is timeless and so no matter your age, gender, or other identity qualifier, you can probably find at least one song in her repertoire that you relate to. Ultimately, many would say James is best known for "At Last" - a 1961 love-song catapulting her into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It's certainly my personal favorite.
"Court records in the singer's probate case show she also suffered from dementia and kidney failure. Her two sons had been in a court battle with their stepfather over conservatorship of her $1-million estate."
This is not an uncommon probate case note or reference. After a loved one passes, family members, well, battle. Some disputes are greater than others, but unfortunately, this is a common happenstance in this piece of this life event. I wish I could say I don't see it often, but I do.
Summarized from: "Singer Etta James Is Dead at 73" by Alan Zarembo & Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times. January 20, 2012.
As you may have heard by now, Etta James, 73, passed away at a hospital in Southern California. Upon news alert from the LA Times, immediately the Facebook posts began, and didn't stop for days ... at least in my circles. I would imagine in yours too. Etta's music is timeless and so no matter your age, gender, or other identity qualifier, you can probably find at least one song in her repertoire that you relate to. Ultimately, many would say James is best known for "At Last" - a 1961 love-song catapulting her into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It's certainly my personal favorite.
"Court records in the singer's probate case show she also suffered from dementia and kidney failure. Her two sons had been in a court battle with their stepfather over conservatorship of her $1-million estate."
This is not an uncommon probate case note or reference. After a loved one passes, family members, well, battle. Some disputes are greater than others, but unfortunately, this is a common happenstance in this piece of this life event. I wish I could say I don't see it often, but I do.
Summarized from: "Singer Etta James Is Dead at 73" by Alan Zarembo & Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times. January 20, 2012.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Welcome to ProbateForSale.com 's Blog!
Welcome to our blog. Beach Equities, owned and operated by the Fingerhut Team, maintains probate, trust, conservator & fiduciary expertise in the field of real estate. We are just getting this blog going but plan to add our properties, as well as relevant probate-related tips, articles & summaries of important issues in the field.
We hope it will be a resource for many people -- most importantly, our clients! As well as buyers, investors, heirs & beneficiaries who may need some guidance or of course, a referral to one of the many wonderful attorneys and fiduciaries we work with!
Sincerely,
Steve Fingerhut, Broker
&
Paige Fingerhut, Realtor
We hope it will be a resource for many people -- most importantly, our clients! As well as buyers, investors, heirs & beneficiaries who may need some guidance or of course, a referral to one of the many wonderful attorneys and fiduciaries we work with!
Sincerely,
Steve Fingerhut, Broker
&
Paige Fingerhut, Realtor
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