Fremont Real Estate and Beyond

“Like-kind” means I must exchange the same type of property, such as an apartment building, for another apartment building.   FALSE A 1031 Exchange means that the sale and the purchase have to happen at the same time. In other words, the seller has to find someone willing to swap properties. FALSE My attorney or CPA can handle the exchange for me as my Qualified Intermediary. FALSE To do a 1031 Exchange I just need to file a form with the IRS with my tax return and “roll over” the proceeds into a new investment.  FALSE I can only defer my capital gains tax via a 1031 Exchange.  FALSE All of the funds from the sale of the relinquished property must be reinvested.   NOT NECESSARILY You must replace the debt that you had on the relinquished property with at least the same amount of debt on the replacement property.  FALSE Opportunity Zone Funds are another alternative to defer my taxes.  POSSIBLY When I sell my personal residence I need to set it up...

Happy New Year! My amazing Escrow Officer, Jennifer Thayer, put together this graph to summarize who pays for what in 2019 as there have been a ton of changes that went into effect.  Feel free to DM me if you have any questions!

FEMA announced late Friday that it will once again renew flood insurance policies, which were halted during the partial federal government shutdown.  This has affected ~40,000 home sale transactions nationwide.  More info here-- https://rismedia.com/2018/12/31/nar-helps-secure-fema-reversal-shutdown/

Marketplace's, "Make Me Smart" podcast did a great report on the affordability crisis of housing in the US. 

Per the Freddie Mac news release.  This opens the door for obtaining loans with realistic interest rates to those who may not be able to afford a traditional home.  The next step is getting through the prohibitive park approvals... Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today announced CHOICEHomeSM conventional financing for manufactured housing to help increase the availability of the quality affordable homes that borrowers want, while providing lenders with the innovative financing options they need. Today’s manufactured homes can deliver outstanding quality at prices that are up to 50 percent less per square foot than conventional site-built homes. These savings can enable more Americans to own their own home, even in the face of an ever-widening housing affordability gap. “Finding a home is more difficult than ever because of the ongoing housing supply shortage in many parts of the country, especially when looking for a home at a lower price point,” said Mike Dawson, vice president ...

I got this email from a lender.  If you're interested, please email or leave a response to this blog and I'll connect you.   -- For the third year in a row, the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) has increased the amount of money that can be borrowed through a standard home loan. Not planning to buy soon? Please keep reading to see why this news can still be important to you. The details:  • The  standard loan limit (also known as conforming loan limit) rose by 6.9%  to a maximum amount of $484,350. In certain high cost areas, it’s even more.  • The percentage increase is equal to the national appreciation average over the last year. • Loan limits were kept high for 10 years, even as values declined. Now that the market has surpassed prior peaks, loan limits are on the rise again. This means you may be able to: • Purchase a higher priced home with  more financing options, possibly including lower rates . • Refina...

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You may have been getting a lot of mail about this referendum, here's a 1 minute explainer:

As a Realtor, it's difficult to watch this.  I have a fiduciary duty to my clients to help them buy and sell homes, not give legal advice on how to interpret a loophole in a law.

On April 5, 2018, the jury in a second trial ruled in favor of the listing salesperson and Coldwell Banker on all claims in a square footage case. This is the second jury to exonerate the listing salesperson and broker in the same matter. Billionaire Horiike bought a large Malibu house for $12.25 million in 2007. Although he admitted not reading any of the documents containing varying square footage such as permits, disclosures, public records, architectural drawings, he claimed the “approximate square footage” of 15,000 square feet on a flyer was a misrepresentation and a breach of the listing salesperson’s fiduciary duty. The first jury held in favor of the broker and the listing salesperson on intentional and negligent misrepresentation claims. The judge had dismissed the breach of fiduciary duty claim against the broker that was based solely on the listing salesperson’s actions as the buyer’s salesperson, also licensed with Coldwell Banker, was not named. In 2016, the Ca...