Category Archives: Real Estate

What happens to your real property when you get a divorce?

First things first. I am not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice. I am only sharing information from my experience as a realtor. I always suggest that you seek legal advice from a licensed attorney on legal issues.

I am a licensed realtor in California only, and therefore this discussion is only applicable to California. California is a community property state and, generally speaking, real property purchased during a marriage is considered to be community property and owned equally by both spouses, regardless of who is paying the mortgage or whose name is on the deed. Speaking from personal experience, I have owned a home and gone through a divorce, and I have worked with clients who were experiencing divorce and selling their family home, and it is important to work together during the process and keep each other informed.

Keep in mind that you have options for handling your Divorce. Most of us have seen the movie, “The War of the Roses,” where everything about their divorce was an ugly court-litigated battle. No offense to attorneys meant by the following statement, but unfortunately, in that type of situation, the only winners are the attorneys. The more a couple fights, the more it costs them in attorney’s fees. So be smart. Working together to settle the issues between each other will go a long way to getting through the process with the least amount of pain.

My personal suggestion to anyone reading this blog post that may be contemplating a divorce is to consider looking for an attorney who practices Mediation and/or Collaborative Divorce. Both are out of court methods to handle your Divorce with less financial and emotional damage to your family.

If you are facing separation or divorce, the family home may need to be sold so that each party can receive their share of the equity in the home and hopefully be in a position to purchase a replacement property. Depending on the income of each party, this replacement home may need to be a smaller property, a condo or a townhouse.

Sometimes, it is possible for one spouse to “buy out” the other spouse by refinancing the home and paying one-half of the equity to the other spouse. However, with interest rates today, we may find that it takes the income of both spouses to qualify for the mortgage on the home and the spouse who wishes to remain in the home cannot qualify to refinance the mortgage on their own. Some lenders offer the option for one spouse to “assume” the mortgage after demonstrating that they have paid all of the payments on the loan for a period of time. This is rare, and can be an expensive and a lengthy process and you would have to check with your lender to see if this is an option for you.

Assuming that one spouse can afford to buy the other spouse’s interest in the property, the spouse coming off of the loan will need to sign an Interspousal Transfer Deed at the time of the refinance to remove them from title.

If the house was purchased using a VA loan, it may be in the best interest of the veteran to sell the home during the divorce so that the veteran can qualify for a VA loan on a future purchase. I suggest that the veteran read the VA Loans Booklet as well as to check with the Veterans Affairs office for more info.

If a divorcing spouse is over 62 years of age, he/she may qualify for a reverse mortgage on the property. If you are considering using this type of mortgage, always talk with an experienced reverse mortgage specialist about this option to see if you qualify and how this mortgage differs from a regular FHA or Conventional mortgage.

As a reminder, it is important to seek legal advice from an attorney and/or mediator if you are contemplating a divorce and want to sell your property, refinance your home to buy-out your spouse, assume the mortgage, or purchase another property before your Divorce is final.

There are important legal steps to ensure that the house will be considered your separate property and not community property after a refinance or buy-out. Many people erroneously believe that just because they have separated and filed a Petition for Dissolution with the Court, anything they purchase afterwards will automatically become their separate property. This is not always the case, so please do consult with an attorney.

Fire Hazard Mapping Zones

When you are in the process of purchasing a house or vacant property, we suggest that you make contact with your insurance company early on to determine if they will provide fire insurance as well as the cost for said insurance. Oftentimes, clients chose to purchase in a lower fire hazard risk zone because of the cost of insurance. So, don’t wait until you are ready to close escrow to find out that your insurance may be $10,000 or more per year because the house or property is located in a high fire hazard zone.

Additionally, during the process of buying a home, buyers should make sure that they get and read a natural hazard disclosure report because it will provide information on the fire hazard risk. To create the report, the natural hazard disclosure companies rely on fire hazard zone maps provide by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Noted below is the information that shows the appropriate Public Resources Code that directs the creation of these maps.

Public Resources Code 4201-4204 directs the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to map fire hazard within State Responsibility Areas (SRA) based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and other relevant factors present, including areas where winds have been identified by the department as a major cause of wildfire spread. These zones, referred to as Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ), classify a wildland zone as Moderate, High, or Very High fire hazard based on the average hazard across the area included in the zone.

Below is a link for the maps: Link To Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps for 2022

Another aspect of this situation is Defensible Space which is defined as the space between hour home and the surrounding area. If a home is in a very high fire hazard zone, the seller must provide a specific disclosure to the buyer. Here is some additional information on this disclosure.

Here is more info from Cal-Fire about Defensible Space.

Best Options for Selling Real Estate In a Divorce

I’ve made it my personal mission to help home sellers who may be going through a difficult time and need help to guarantee a quick and stress-free home sale. Do you know anyone going through a divorce who might benefit from free real estate advice? Get A Copy Of My Free Book Here: https://jackedwards.book.live/divorce-book

Real Sure – The Sure Fire Way to Sell or Buy a Home

One of the things I always like to share with my clients are new opportunities that make it easier to decide to sell or buy homes. One of the things offered by our brokerage here at Coldwell Banker is called Real Sure. It is a partnership with an outside company called Home Partners of America.

This program allows the sellers to have a cash offer in hand while we can still market the home to try to get more money for the sellers.

This program also offers a contingency free option for our buyers since they already have a cash offer in hand, they are buyers with cash, not buyers who need to sell before they can buy.

Check out the three links below to learn more about it. The first is a short video explaining the basics about the programs followed by a document that gives you more info. After you have looked at these documents, call or text me at 916-240-9302 or drop me an email.

Check out this video.

RealSure_Sell_Homeowner_Guide

RealSure_Buy_Homeowner_Guide

DIY Home Projects Open the Door to A Better Sale

Image Courtesy of Pixabay.com

DIY Home Projects Open the Door to A Better Sale

Guest Post by: Suzi Wilson

No one wants to wait weeks or months to sell their home when it goes on the market. But knowing what to do, and how to take an active role, can be tricky. Here are some easy tips on how to sell your home on your timetable.

Listing

One of the best things you can do is get some professional help to sell your property. While you can list the home yourself, agents offer numerous benefits. Agents can work with you to determine a competitive price for your location and size due to their experience in your locality. They can also help you decide when is the best time to sell, based on when other homes in the area sell best. A good listing agent will set up an online presence for your home and let you know what you can do to further promote your house. Don’t stop the professional help there, however. A photographer who specializes in listing photos may help your home sell faster. In fact, homes with professional listing photos sold for $3,000 to $11,000 more. However, it’s always important to ask whether you should hire a professional photographer yourself or if the agent will take photos of the property themselves.

Staging

Staging is one of the most important things you can do to sell quickly, and not just for the photographs on your listing. It’s important for both the outside and the inside of your home need to appear immaculate, spacious and bright. It may seem difficult, but depersonalize your home as much as you can. Remove family pictures, knickknacks and anything that could be considered opinion-based, such as political or sports paraphernalia. Bring in as much light to your rooms as possible, so keep curtains open, and make sure your light fixtures provide ample illumination. If practical, put half of your things into storage. A home that seems empty is spacious, and suggests ample storage room.

The entire home should be sparklingly clean. If the grout in your bathroom is not white, or whatever color it was originally, scrub it. Clean the shelves in your fridge. Overlook no detail, as you can guarantee that prospective buyers will see, and judge, everything.

Fix It Up

If your walls are an extraordinary color, or if it is dingy or chipping, it’s time to repaint. Sometimes, simply painting the walls with a fresh coat can transform a living space to make it look new. Your house paint, roof, and front door should look perfect. If the carpet is frayed, or the curtain rod does not sit quite straight, whatever it is, fix it. In fact, if you have carpet, you may want to discuss replacing it with your listing agent. Hardwood invariably sells better than any other flooring.

Is your wiring or plumbing faulty? You need to fix them before you list. All your switches should work, as should each faucet. Even if a leaky faucet or broken light switch manages to sneak past a buyer, often Home Inspectors will find them, and will then need to be taken care of to complete the sale.Last but not least, ask your agent if they know about or offer any programs that can assist with the cost of fixing a house to sell. Not every seller has the money to make the required repairs, so reaching out for financial assistance may help them get their house sold for the best price.

Remodeling

Depending on the state and modernity of your home, you may not need major remodeling. However, updating your kitchen may be beneficial. Ask your listing agent what homes in your area focus on, and make sure you are competitive. It may be something simple, such as replacing the faucets in your sinks, or putting a fresh coat of lacquer or stain on your cabinets. Updating the linoleum to tile doesn’t need to take a good deal of time, or money, and may make all the difference in the world to giving your kitchen a new feel. What remodels you choose should be influenced by how much of an increase in profit you can expect to make from said remodeling. Therefore, be smart and research before you dive into a project, and definitely consult your agent beforehand.

While it might seem like a lot of work, these projects may really pay off in the long run. Find the right listing agent, hire a photographer and use a little elbow grease to give yourself the best shot at selling your home. You may be surprised by how quickly your house sells.

When you’re ready to put your home on the market, Jack A. Edwards of Coldwell Banker Realty can help. Check out his Marketing Plan and give him a call at 916-240-9302 or fill out the contact sheet on his website.