Monthly Archives: February 2014

Own a Home?—Some things to Consider

Home Ownership, Mortgages, real estate law, title

Home-ownership is often complicated, and never exactly what you expect. Nothing you have done previously in your life can prepare you totally for owning a home. Don’t get me wrong: there is not a greater believer in home ownership than I. All I am saying is that there are some definite steps you should be taking, and moves you should be making, and the sooner you get things organized properly, the easier you will find the home ownership experience. Here is my list of “do’s” and “don’ts”, in no particular order of importance:

  1. DO file for a Homestead. I do deal with Homesteads each and every day. There is no downside to recording the Homestead Declaration, unless you think a $100 dollar investment to protect $500,000 is not a good deal. How you will employ your Homestead when it is necessary is not something you can predict. Just understand that you only need to file a Homestead once, and it will endure through countless refinancing transactions. A Declaration of Homestead is truly “the gift that keeps on giving”.
  2. DON’T be a careless record keeper. The current tax laws are extremely favorable to middle-class America. If you have lived in your home for at least 2 of the last 5 years, you can sell your home and not pay any capital gains tax to a maximum exclusion of $250,000 for a single person and $500,000 for a married couple. Especially these days, that exclusion covers most of us, and we can make one, two or more transactions without any concern for paying the tax man. Well, there is no guarantee that our law makers will continue this tax benefit forever. What if fiscal needs require the termination of this program? Are you ready to recreate your tax basis in your home? Do you have records of improvements and additions which can be added to your tax basis? The time to determine whether you do is NOW, not when you are staring down the barrel of a tax audit.
  3. DO be a believer in preventive maintenance. Letting needed repairs slide is not a good idea, even in a recession. If your roof is not sound, or you need new windows, get the work done before greater woes befall you. You may find that the payback with new windows on energy costs justifies the expense. Ditto with needed insulation. Attend to these items as they are needed. You will receive the benefit.
  4. DON’T wait too long to consider Elder Care transactions with regarding your home. If you are fortunate, and have children you can trust, you may want to consider getting your home out of your name and into a Grantor Trust. These Trusts can be helpful later on, but there are waiting periods in place to prevent abuses and every time they change, they seem to get longer. Don’t let this go so that when you decide you want to make a move, you too close to need attendant care to insulate your assets. Again, each circumstance is different, but certainly 60 years of age is not too early to start planning.

Assessments Reassessed!!!

Condominium, real estate law, title

Earlier this month, I represented a Seller in a Boston condominium. Every transaction has its issues, and the issue in this matter was the fact that the Condominium, which had more than sixty (60) units, was undergoing renovation, and there were going to be Special Assessments to pay for same. The Seller and Buyer spent a substantial amount of time and effort trying to figure out an equitable way to split the responsibility for same. I normally take the position that if the subject of the Special Assessment is looking backward [repairing a rotted roof, foundation cracks or brick pointing], it is clearly the Seller’s responsibility. If the subject is a new feature for the Condominium [recreation room, pool] the Buyer should pay. There is never a clear path, but, generally, if both the Seller and Buyer are motivated, we can reach agreement.

Once I put this matter to bed, it occurred to me that Assessments, which are often viewed with horror by both Buyers and Sellers, are really a positive sign of good Condominium governance, and not something to avoid. As I started to think about Condominiums which I have owned, or assisted people in buying or selling, I realized that not having Assessments, and addressing either deferred maintenance or improving the Condominium complex, is, in fact, a negative factor, because when problems do arise, they are that much more significant since they have been ignored no long. For example, the Condominium where I live has not changed its monthly fee, or had a Special Assessment, for the more than the twelve (12) years I have lived there. I do not view this as a good thing: I view it as sloth and indolence on the part of the people who run the Condominium.

The bottom line is that there is a lot of deferred maintenance in all homes, but especially in Condominiums. If you live in a Condominium, where management is up-front and pro-active in keeping the systems and components in good shape, chances are that there will never be a major problem, because the smaller problems are being addressed on a continuing basis. I now also believe that “self-management” is really a code word for “cheap”, and that a self-managed condominium is not as valuable as one which has professional management and experienced operatives dealing with normal, and extraordinary, issues which arise. The more I see of self-management, the more I see megalomania. That results because like our political system, competent people are not willing to serve as Trustees and condominium officers, so people without experience or framework assume power, often leading to poor decisions and a Condominium with no prospects of having the value thereof increase. The only thing these individuals possess is plenty of spare time, and the old adage “if you want to get something done, ask a busy person” very often applies.