Archive for the 'Laws' Category
After fighting with Utah County assessment, I was successful in lowering my property tax appraisal.
As I mentioned before, the state of Utah has decided to take advantage of the recent housing boom in order to kick taxes upward. Those that fail to fight the new appraisals may see their taxes become much higher in ‘08.
Interestingly, the county only allows you one opportunity to dispute your taxes. After that you need to dispute in court, which the county doesn’t want you to do, so they provide next to no info on how to do so.
The short answer, is YES.
You should always keep in mind (and hopefully this site has reinforced this) that Real Estate agents do not always know the law. They are not licensed to practice law, or to give legal advice. Ask yourself who do they really represent in a real estate transaction considering they only get paid if the deal closes.
If you’re buying a home for several hundred thousand dollars or more, or are a novice to real estate transactions, or have never dealt with a contract before…then you should definitely use an attorney.
A surprisingly high percentage of marriages end in divorce, and married couples often find themselves forced to divide a home or some property which the owned as a couple. Such a divide can be difficult, as a couple which is already having difficulty speaking rationally with each other over much smaller matters. In Utah, (a non-community property state), assets are not divided 50/50, but rather they are recognized as being partially owned by each spouse, based on what he or she contributed to the marriage and possible fault for the divorce.
The selling price of the property can be a huge fight, as each person will have different opinions over whether to sell with an agent(and who’s friend will be that agent), or how much to sell for. More often than not, at least one of the parties will want to keep the home, and will do whatever they can to prevent it from being sold, thereby driving down the value even further should it actually be sold.
A quick fix to all the problems involving such a dispute would be for one of the parties to offer or agree to the other party being bought out. If all the complications can be explained (an explanation best done by a third party attorney), then most people can reasonably see the point in such a buy-out. Both parties should realize, that given taxes, real estate agent commissions, lawyer fees (for fighting over the equity), as well as split mortgage payments could easily negate $40,000-$60,000 of equity on a small home. Why waste such money needlessly?
Prior to making any such agreement, you should ensure that your agreement will be recognized by the courts. There is nothing worse than giving your spouse $15k in cash, only to find he or she still maintains a claim in your hard bought equity. This can generally be avoided by waiting until equalization is settled, and the divorce division has been finalized before giving any buy-out sum.
The problem which arises is, one of the spouses needs to be able to come by a large amount of money in order to buy-out the other’s share in the equity. Sadly, most people don’t have any real savings, and if they do, chances are the other spouse already wants half of them.
There are, however, methods of coming by large volumes of cash quickly. If you have managed to protect your credit through the divorce you can draw a second mortgage with a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to cover the sum, refinance your loan, or use several 0% balance transfer credit cards in order to generate the cash you need at a manageable interest rate.
Getting a roommate (or three!) can help cover the payments on the mortgage and possibly offset the payments on a loan if you borrow money to buy-out a spouse. If you’re truly creative, you can offer one of those roommates a partial ownership in the home with the option to buy them out when your credit improves.
Whatever course you take, just be sure and use an attorney! You want to be sure you own the home 100% before paying anyone!
Referencing yesterday’s ‘how-to-avoid’ getting sued guide, I mentioned that everyone should at least know of an attorney to use in case they ever need one, and chances are, you will. Well knowing one can be done by finding one who can assist you in your first For-Sale-By-Owner transaction.
Most attorneys should be happy to answer basic questions over the phone, as well as look at your closing documents for under $300. They’ll give those documents far more scrutiny than any agent will, given that they do not have their fees contingent upon the sale actually closing. This can be invaluable if something is found, as it can potentially save tens of thousands of dollars. Don’t bother putting much trust in the title company, as they plan on blaming your agent if anything comes up, or worse yet, suing you.
While homes can certainly be bought and sold without an attorney, it’s often silly to lose the protection offered by having an attorney on such a huge transaction.
I found some comfort in seeing that the lawsuit filed the other day against Casey Serin appears to have dropped the names of the posters of comments on IamFacingForeclosure.com from the suit. This makes it slightly less frivolous I suppose.
One should realize that lawsuits occur ALL THE TIME here in the United States, with Debt Collectors and their attorneys abusing small claims court to enforce debts and often seize assets. Considering that several commentators were nearly sued for just posting comments anonymously on a Real Estate Blog, chances are high that you or a loved one will find yourselves involved in a lawsuit at some point in your lives. Here are a few steps that you can take to protect yourself BEFORE you get sued, so that if and when it happens, you’ll be better off than most.
1. Maintain your privacy.
Attempt to keep your private life as private as possible. Having your private information listed in a phone book, or even in a domain Whois registry will make it very easy for people to discover your private address, number and likely a whole lot of other information very quickly. You don’t need to hide in a compound out in the Dakotas, but you certainly shouldn’t do as Casey Serin did, and publicly blog about breaking the law.
2. Don’t give anyone your information without a reason.
Recently at a Best Buy I attempted to purchase a VOIP phone in order to have a phone line for my new place. The checkout clerk asked for my private information, starting with a demand for my phone number. As he didn’t state a reason for wanting such information, I politely told him I didn’t want to give him my private info. He angrily stated that I HAD to give him my phone number in order to purchase this. I politely pointed out the irony in his demanding I give him a phone number when I was purchasing a device that was meant to provide me with a primary phone number, and told him I didn’t have a number, and furthermore, didn’t understand why he was demanding this information anyways. He was furious! He called his manager who instead of attempting to mediate, echoed the sales clerk’s position, that I HAD to provide a phone number. After refusing, they both begged me to just ‘make one up’ so that they could clear out the quickly growing line behind me.
3. Get a VOIP number.
Having a fairly anonymous number (such as the ones provided free by GrandCentral) provides you with normal phone service, and the protection of not having a major phone company list you regularly in the phone book, as well as sell your number to unknown volumes of telemarketers. Having a phone number in a different area code will make tracking you down based on your phone number a much harder task.
4. Keep your work address and your home separate.
Get a PO box, or better yet a box with a postal supplies store like the UPS store. While these services generally require genuine identification information…what was true when you signed up, can always change later on 
. Additionally this provides an added blanket of protection from potential threats. This also keeps your mail from being easily stolen or gone through. Keeping your primary residence separate from your name can provide great protection (and in order to do so, you should make sure the DMV, IRS and everyone else only has your PO box address).
5. Don’t bank local.
Thanks to the internet, it has become fairly easy to open a bank account in another state. When someone is building a lawsuit, they will generally scour the local banks to find accounts with your name, so that they can have the courts seize the accounts should they win a judgment. ING Direct provides an excellent and free Online Checking Account (have a friend with an account refer you to get a $25 bonus..or ask me to!). The last thing you want your bank to ever see is a writ of garnishment…which is what Cashcall will likely be sending to every employer and bank that Casey and his wife have dealings with. Don’t let it happen to you. Do NOT keep your savings/checking accounts with the bank you have a credit card with or they may SEIZE YOUR MONEY without even going to court in order to pay your credit card debt.
6. Plan BEFORE anything adverse occurs.
The best time to start preparing and protecting your assets is YESTERDAY. If you wait until you’ve lost a suit, there is very little you can do. If you take action now, and plan wisely to protect your assets you leave yourself well protected, and also diminish your own likelihood of getting sued.
7. Own Nothing. Control Everything.
Property should never be in your name if it can be helped. Having several large assets in your name is like wearing a shirt with a bullseye saying “Sue Me!”. Anything in your name can be found easily, often with a simple internet search, and just as easily sued for! Whenever possible avoid having your car, home, boat, or any other valuables in your own name. Whenever this proves impossible, split assets, with your significant other’s name so as to limit possession.
8. Know an attorney.
Having someone you can call to give legal advice can prove invaluable, and protect you from making serious and costly mistakes. Always talk to an attorney before entering small claims court, or whenever you receive a threat of legal action. Never sign a contract without having one look it over. A bad contract could not only prove expensive, it can be downright embarrassing if ever examined by court.
9. Get an LLC or a Corporation.
This is a more costly suggestion, as it generally takes a few hundred dollars (use the attorney you met in step 8 ) to do, but if you already own, or intend to own property such as a home, it can be an invaluable defense against suits. While a court can certainly separate an LLC from its property and attach it to you, it’s difficult, and therefore going to be more costly for a plaintiff to accomplish in court. Making things difficult is the key to saving your home from being seized should you lose a lawsuit.
10. Use HELOCs to make it appear as if you have no equity in your properties
Home Equity Lines Of Credit, when untapped, can be used creatively to make it appear as though you owe the bank far more on your home than you actually do. You’re less likely to be sued if your home seems like more debt than equity. Owning a home outright is just an invitation for someone to sue and try to take a piece of that sweet equity beyond the portion your state protects.