Short Sales… and how about Tax Liens?

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Mirjam

When a person/business does not pay taxes the IRS can put a lien on a house. A contractor can do the same by the way, it’s called a mechanic lien. When a homeowner wants to avoid a foreclosure and do a short sale, there is no money to pay for these put of the proceeds of the sale. The IRS understands this predicament and has a form one can request a release of a lien, this is form 14135. The form is not hard to fill out, it asks for an appraisal report and there needs to be anfvsshortsalesquare.gif offer on the property. There is also a news article on the CA Franchise Tax Board about the same subject: Partial Release of Lien for Short Sales.

So don’t let a tax lien against your property stop you from doing a short sale to avoid foreclosure. Apparently also banks are not unwilling to accommodate the release of the liens. If you need

On a general note: in unincorporated Sonoma County, the sales tax is 9%, this seems high but that’s all perspective, in Netherlands the sales tax is in general 19% and 6% for food, medication and plants/seeds. This is the sanederland-1-euro-170.gifme for all of Netherlands, there is no difference between cities/provinces AND it is part of the price displayed in the store. When we were traveling from Canada to USA years ago, I thought I was cheated on my change when I bought something…

You will smile when you read this but pretty much in all of Europe and also Canada, sales tax is part of the displayed price. Travel tip to keep in mind by the way ;)

When I have visitors coming from Europe who have never been here before, this is something I explain to them so they don’t have to feel ‘cheated’ on their change. And that the exception is gas, the price of gas includes the sales tax.

Have a most wonderful day.

Mirjam

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House For Sale – Your Privacy and Safety

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Mirjam

Some time ago I posted a blog about Google and your Privacy.

Selling a home means that a property becomes a showcase, strangers walk through and see how a person lives. Where I come from (northern part of 449_klein.jpgNetherlands), privacy is important. People don’t open up their homes that easy, homes used to have a room to visit with visitors (voorkamer or parlour). A front door opens into a hallway with a door towards the family room: someone at the front door cannot see inside the house. Funda.nl is a great website to check real estate in Netherlands by the way.

When selling a property, safety and privacy become more and more important. Reason for this blog posting:

Last week my dear friend Diana had a nightmare: the house she is currently renting is being sold. She was worried that some ‘weird’ Realtor would use the lockbox to come in at night. This is a valid concern. If you do not know about the  Lockbox system we use in Sonibox.jpgoma County, a reason to worry. What Diane did not know: the Supra Lockboxes that are used to give Realtors access can be programmed to have timed access. This means that Realtors showing a property only have access to the key in the Lockbox when they are within the times that are programmed in the Lockbox: usually between 9 am and 7 pm.I am not the listing agent for that property and when Diane told me about her nightmare, I realized that the Realtor hired by the owner (she rents the place) had not shared with her this valuable information. Now Diane can sleep again at night: the lockbox on her front door has a timed access, no ‘weird’ real estate agent can come in a odd hours.  Other interesting tidbit: the moment an agent shows one of my listings, within a few minutes I receive an email showing the time and the name of the agent showing the property.

Lesson learned: the next time I do share my extensive marketing plan with a person who wants to sell his/her house, I will put even more emphasis on this small but oh so important feature of the lockbox system we use here in Sonoma County.

Your safety and your privacy is important, especially when selling a property.

Mirjam

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It’s the Law!!!

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Mirjam

When moving to a new country the first thing to deal with is the difference in the laws. Traffic law is usually the first one: when you rent a car and drive of the airport parking lot. Yours truly has come to find out that usually police officers don’t respond when you tell them you were not aware of the law that you didn’t adhere to. The response: it’s the law… its-the-law.jpg

Funny story: my  husband was pardoned the first time he visited CA: when he drove from SF Airport to Cupertino and a police officer stopped him and found out he came straight from Netherlands he was warned that speed limits in CA are lower than in  Netherlands and he could not drive that fast ;) )) he got of with a warning, promising he would drive slower ;) )… When we finally moved to CA we both had to get used to the speed limits here…

With that said: There is a new law that affects everyone who lives in a home in California. Per July 2011 every home in California needs to be equipped with a Carbon Monoxide detector. This is next to the smoke detector every house needs to have. carbon-monoxide-detector.jpg

Reason: The Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010 signed into law last year. Locally in Sonoma County, not having one could result in a $200,00 fine. Here is a link to the article in our local new paper the PressDemocrat this week.

There are more and more laws to comply with when you buy and sell Real Estate. They are part of the many disclosures your receive. Both sellers and buyers are always advised to read all the paperwork carefully.

The local hardware store is a great source for these new Carbon Monoxide filters. Home Depot has instructions on their website on how to choose and instal one that is right for your home.

Have a great week,

Mirjam

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Real Estate On Sale!

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Mirjam

Always love a good sale, especially when the value is there. Buying just because it’s cheap doesn’t make sense. However, when something I like is on sale… Buying season! Sonoma County is a great place to live and right now Real Estate is on sale. Owning a home or even investing in this beautiful part of California is not just a dream right now, it is doable. In fact, it is cheaper to buy than to rent right now.

Darren Seliga from Seliga Financial Funding and Investment  gave a presentation at our weekly networking group recently and did the math for us using an example of a medium priced home.

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Buying a home right now is a smart thing to do, with a 30 year fixed mortgage you will know for the coming time how much you will spend on your home. Rents go up every year, a 30 year fixed mortgage is fixed… for 30 years…and paid of in 30 years.

Mirjam


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Green Living, what does that mean for you?

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Mirjam

220px-flesinname.jpgOne of the funny stories when we moved to CA had to do with recycling. In Netherlands you pay deposit money for a lot of the glass and plastic bottles. The gorcery store has a recycling station: you bring your bottles and crates back and receive the refund. For some of the bottles this might be a high as an Euro. Great reason to recycle… Also in most towns, the glass bottles you don’t pay deposit money for, have to be brought to recycling containers, separated according to color… In the first month after we moved to CA, I walked through twice through the local grocery store to find the recycle station… and then I finally asked…

In Sonoma County we have Curbside recycling for glass, paper etc, there is a recycling guide for all the items that need recycling. We might not realize it but we have more ‘toxic waste’ products in our homes than we think.

Recycling is just one part of Green Living. A lot of the buyers I work with like to live in a spot where they can bike to work, walk to the farmers market, walk to the store. The numbers show a trend that is becoming more important. Popular neighborhoods in Santa Rosa for this reason: JC area, Burbank Gardens, Proctor Terrace, Sherwood Forest, Montgomery Village, the West End district. It will be interesting to see how this is going to impact for instance the homes in Fountain Grove, right now the same SqFt home in Fountain Grove is less expensive than in the areas mentioned before.

santa-rosa-charlie-brown.jpg Think about this: if you pay $600 a month to fill up your car to get to work while you could save this money by biking to work or walking to the stores… with current mortgage interest rates, that is about $100,000 in mortgage payment…

Just some thoughts I wanted to share, not only when buying a property to live in but also when investing in real estate. Properties in areas closer to good schools, shopping, parks, public transportation are just easier to rent.

Green living saves money!

Mirjam

Posted in Buyers, Economy, Investing in Real Estate, Sellers, Sonoma County info | 1 Comment

Get Rich Quick Scheme

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Mirjam

“Ora et Labora”, historically the mantra of the Northern provinces of the Netherlands. Totally opposite of this are the “Get Rich Quick Schemes” -> if it is too goo to be true… What does this have to do with Real Estate? Well, Real Estate is a great way to built wealth, to built a nest egg HOWEVER, it is not a quick rich scheme. It is consistent and stable, despite the ‘hick-up’ we had. The quick rich schemes in Real Estate in the roaring 2003/2006 didn’t work, initially the majority of all the foreclosures were non owner occupied, victims of these schemes. Not built on cash flow but solely on appreciation, hence the problem. Did you know we still has an increase of 30.14% since 2000 despite the negative economic factors?

What does this have to do with you? Real Estate is still a good way to built money for retirement, just as part of a good financial strategy. AND there is a need for rental housing: on average about 33% of all adult Americans need housing and are not in a position to buy. In the USA this is not provided by the government (as it is in Netherlands ->the local department of housing provides rentals) but provided by private investors. The reason for all the tax benefits for owning investment property.

Myth:you need to be rich to invest in real estate. Fact: median income for an investor in 2010 was $87,600. Myth: you need cash to buy properties for investment. Fact: there are great mortgage products available. And Self Directed IRA’s that allow you to invest in Real Estate.

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This overview of historic values in Real Estate speaks for yourself. We all know what happened in the 3 years we had negative appreciation. But do you also see it’s a tad bit above the 0% again. Just a but and that is GOOD, that is what we like to see. Do you know what this also means? That now is a great time to invest in real estate, the numbers haven’t been this good in a long time, in Sonoma County the last time we had this was about 27 years ago.

And although Real Estate is fun, don’t forget to enjoy the good things in life, next week Windsor Oaks Winery has a ‘Chillin’ by the Pinot Pond party. Julie and Doug are passionate about wine and are happy to share their passion and knowledge about wines with you.

Enjoy,

Mirjam

Posted in Buyers, Economy, Investing in Real Estate, Retirement, Sonoma County info, Wine Tasting, Winery with picnic place | Leave a comment

Real Estate and Inflation

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Mirjam

When you buy a home you stop inflation on your housing expenses. What does that mean for you? leerdam.jpg

Ask your grandparent, your parents, maybe a neighbor who has lived in his/her house for 30 years: what did they pay for their house, OR for how much did they pay in rent… Get it? The first home we bought when we lived in the Netherlands was on the Tiendweg in Leerdam . It was built in the 1930-s and these homes initially sold for a whopping 3,000 to 5,000 Guilders each… Right now this around 445,000 Euro (Euro is 2 guilders) Back to Sonoma County, the homes in Montgomery village in Santa Rosa, when these homes were built in the 1950-s they sold for the unthinkable price of 5,000 Dollars, considered expensive in these days.

But then again, ask the same grandparents, how much they paid for a loaf of bread…

My CPA George Hougthon uses as rule of thumb: every 30 years add a zero, to both buying a house and renting a house… Looking back in history: the time when people rented a house for $200 a month is not that long ago… Right now expect to pay $2,000 a month to rent a house…

Buying real estate is smart, inflation is just one reason… And think about investing in real estate in the context of inflation. Investing in real estate is a smart way to built a nest egg.

What are your thoughts?

Mirjam

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Sonoma County from a Dutch perspective…

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Mirjam

This week I had the honor to meet with Anthony Ebright, a lender who works for Wells Fargo. Anthony is not only specialized in FHA/VA loan products but is also a fervent blogger and integrator of social media. After brainstorming he mentioned that he would love to see my stories from my Dutch perspective.

This has gotten a lot of thought and I will take up the challenge. The theme of this blog will be changing a little: Real Estate and Real Living in Sonoma County from a Dutch perspective.

I know you all think all Dutch people wear wooden shoes -they are practical for yard work- and live in windmills. Well, there is more to Netherlands than that. More in the coming time.dutch-wooden-shoes.jpg

Did you know that Sonoma County has a lot in common with Netherlands? For one thing, both are dealing with levees to protect parts of the land.  However in Netherlands you pay for this through your property taxes as a special assessment.

Right now, real estate in Sonoma County is on sale, or affordability rate is around 67 %, a historic high, for many it is just as expensive to buy as to rent, upon request, I will supply you with examples, just send me an email.

As for today, enjoy this beautiful Dutch weather in Sonoma County with a cup of hot Van Houten Chocolate or a nice Seghesio Sonoma Zin , the best of both worlds.

Mirjam

Posted in Buyers, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine | 1 Comment

Keep the Gutters Clean

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Mirjam

Earlier this week we did a pest inspection on a cute older house, built in the early 1920′s. The family had lived there for a very long time. A couple raised 4 daughters in that house, he passed away when he was in his early 70′s and she passed away when she was in her 90′s. But she lived in the house until she died. Now after she died, the daughters are selling the house. There is clearly some deferred maintenance which was clear in the pest inspection performed by Bugbusters in Santa Rosa.

One huge problem was that water had leaked inside one of the walls, the damage on the inside showed clearly that it came from the roof and had intruded the wall all the way from the second story. Guess what the main cause was??? Yes you guessed right: by not cleaning the gutters for over 10 years, the debris that accumulated in the gutters had caused the rain to to flow over into the wall.

When the inspector mentioned the problem they realized that dad had always cleaned the gutters but after he had died, no one had ever thought about doing this.

So next when my dear hubby says that we have to clean our gutters I will help out with more fervor.

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60% of all Foreclosed Homeowners….

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Mirjam

On March 29th, Alex Charfen from the CDPE Institute did a webinar with Rick Sharga from RealtyTrac – the leading online market place for foreclosed properties.

Besides the fact that foreclosure activity has increased on a year-over-year basis for 52 consecutive months from January 2006 through April 2010 and 2010 set a new record with 2.9 million home receiving foreclosure notices there was a number that was more disturbing to yours truly…

February 2011 Foreclosure Rate Heat Map:

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About 60% of all home owners who were foreclosed on never contacted the bank as to foreclosure alternatives. You might react, well a lot of people never got through to the bank when they called. After thinking about this, I am not so sure about that. Every time you call the loan servicer, the person you talk to asks your loan number, your SS number etc to make sure you are the home owner or person who is either authorized on the loan and they put the call into their system… This means that the 60% should be fairly accurate, give or take some.

About 2.5 years ago this percentage was 62%… So with all the government programs, the advertising etc we only gained 2%… That is disturbing… But then again, everyone responds different to financial distress and a lot of distressed home owners do NOT open the mail sent by the banks to inform them about the help available.

This means that friends and family members need to help… If you have a feeling your friend or family member is in trouble financially, have the courage and share them info about help available and tell them to open the mail from the bank.

As a CDPE trained agent, I am offering help to all the people who are referred to me ad I know of many other great Realtors doing the same.

“It is trouble that “never comes” that causes the loss of sleep.” -Chas. Austin Bates

Mirjam

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