IRS TO EXPEDITE TAX LIEN RELIEF FOR HOMEOWNERS
Jan. 16, 2009
www.Koziel.com
IRS TO EXPEDITE TAX LIEN RELIEF FOR HOMEOWNERS
The California Association of REALTORS ® just released this great information. I wanted to make it available to all of you that might need this tax release.
"The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced it will expedite its process of providing relief from federal tax liens for distressed homeowners. With over one million current federal tax liens against real and personal property, the IRS announcement should help REALTORS® and their clients resolve federal tax lien issues in their sale and loan transactions.
As background, a homeowner seeking to sell or refinance a property must generally pay off an existing federal tax lien. However, during the current economic downturn, many homeowners don't have the cash or equity to do so. Hence, for a refinance, the homeowner may request that the IRS makes its tax lien subordinate or secondary to the lien of the refinancing lender. For a sale, the homeowner may, under certain circumstances, request that the IRS discharge its claim. The IRS's processing time for subordination or discharge requests has been about 30 days. The IRS is currently working to expedite that time frame to help distressed homeowners. For IRS instructions on requesting relief from federal tax liens, go to the IRS Publication 783 for discharges and Publication 784 for subordinations at www.irs.gov."
C.A.R. provides REALTORS® with many legal articles covering a wide range of topics.
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Let the professionals handle real estate deals
Jan. 3, 2009
www.Koziel.com
Let the Professionals handle real estate deals
Can you remember your mother telling you that sometimes you should just remain silent? In many phases of a real estate transaction, it is wise to follow your mother's advice. Many times, customers and clients of mine have tried to be helpful, only to find out too late that they should have left the discussion in the hands of their REALTOR.
There are many good reasons why it is wise to keep buyers and sellers of a transaction at a cordial "arm's length." Let's examine a few:
Since your REALTOR is a professional, his/her experience, education and training provide a lot of expertise in the art of negotiation. Sometimes, a seemingly insignificant statement may be a deal killer. I once had a couple tell a buyers that the area had "lots of kids" -- just the thing the buyers didn't want. The seller thought it was an appealing feature, but the buyers wanted peace and quiet. A simple statement of "Oh, I'll leave that for you" can cause many problems when the object is not found in the house at close of escrow or worst just before closing when the whole transaction is on the line.
It's also important to remember that human beings have a bad habit of misinterpreting the spoken word. This happens everyday, but the likelihood of a misunderstanding occurring when buyers and sellers are emotionally involved is greater.
Buyers and sellers are coming to a real estate transaction with different agendas. The seller deeply identifies with his home and wishes to receive top dollar from the sale. The buyer is, naturally, looking for the best deal possible, and is often worried that the REALTOR and the seller may take advantage of him.
It is the real estate agency's responsibility to facilitate the communication process. This involves anticipating problems and resolving them quickly.
I had a builder who decided to speak to the buyers about all his changes, without involving me or putting the changes in writing. When things went wrong, you can imagine who got the irate phone calls. Both parties thought they understood what the other party said, but they learned the hard way that what we say and what another party hears can turn out to be very different.
Be a smart consumer and let the professional ask and answer the questions. He or she will keep everyone focused on the main objective instead of on peripheral issues.
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