Looking back, 2014 in Review

Wow, I have hardly posted anything to my blog this year. But every New Year’s Eve, I feel compelled to write, even if short but sweet, because this is the day I started this blog.

It’s been a terrific year and I am grateful for so many things. I sold the most real estate I’ve ever sold in my career – and almost all of it right here in HB. We are healthy, we have handsome, smart, loving boys, my husband and I still get along great and love each other dearly. I am grateful for my large family, my awesome friends, and for living just 1 mile away from the bright blue Pacific ocean, in the greatest city in the world.

I have 2 personal New Year’s Resolutions this year: 1. to keep in better touch with friends and family, and 2. to sort through and organize my house and garden. As for work, my goals are to: make my 10 contacts each day, double the size of my database, have 2 active listings at all times, close 24 or more transactions, and be very successful in real estate. As they say in my real estate training courses, ‘change your thinking, change your world’.

Anyway, it’s all so exciting, looking forward to the new year with great expectations and goals. I wish anyone who reads this a very happy new year and a safe and prosperous 2015!

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Just Sold – Hightide Circle, Huntington Beach

 

This awesome family relocated here from Atlanta Georgia for a job transfer. They described to me what they were looking for, and via some Facetime home tours, a few home-made videos I filmed for them on houses I previewed, and some networking, I managed to find them a pocket listing very close to the beach – a ‘must-have’ if they were going to live in CA just once in their lifetimes.

The kids finished school and they just moved in, and they love the weather! Congratulations to the Alexanders, I hope you make wonderful new memories in your new home.

Just Sold – 4 Bdrm, 2 Ba, Boothbay Circle Huntington Beach $686,500

I have to say that this was probably the smoothest transaction I’ve ever had in my career. The first time I met this awesome family was at the very house that they bought! Their mother contacted me over the internet when she saw that I farm in the Moffett & Summerfield neighborhoods, and told me that their daughter had been watching every home that came on the market for over a year. We spoke on the phone and I promised I would keep an eye out for a good home.

Very shortly after that, I got word of a home coming on the market that sounded like what they were looking for, so I got them in before it hit the market and they loved it. We literally all met in person that day and they told me they wanted to make an offer. The family worked hard getting all of their paperwork over to their lender that weekend, and we opened escrow the following Monday morning.

I can’t say enough about this family. They met every deadline and were such a pleasure to work with. Their entire family, from their adorable daughters, to both sets of parents are the most genuine, caring people.  We closed escrow just 30 short days after we met. Now they are my neighbors and I consider them friends.

Congratulations to the new addition to the Summerfield tract! View their testimonial, plus many more on my web page here: movewithmika.com

8 Great Propositions and/or Reasons You May Want to Sell NOW

If you’ve weathered the storm through the great recession and managed to hang on to your home, here are 8 great propositions and/or reasons why you might want to consider selling now:

1)   Home values have appreciated to close to pre-recession rates.

2)   Your kids have moved out and your house is too big, or the stairs are too much, and you are considering downsizing but don’t want to give up your low property tax base. Do you know about PROP 60 & PROP 90 that allows homeowners 55 and older to transfer their property tax base to a purchase of equal or lesser value in participating counties?

3)   Your house is too big, so you want to sell it to your kids. Do you know about PROP 58 that allows you to transfer your property tax base to your children?

4)   You own an investment property but want to begin a new depreciation schedule by selling it and purchasing a new property, but don’t want to pay capital gains taxes.  Do you know about 1031 Exchanges? An exchange allows you to sell your investment and purchase a new ‘like’ property of equal or greater value and defer your capital gains taxes.

5)   You are married and ready to retire and want to move out of state. Do you know that married couples can exclude $500,000 from taxation on the sale of real estate? ($250,000 per individual).

6)   Statistics show that there is currently less than 6 months of housing inventory available in Orange County, technically making it a ‘seller’s’ market, and homes are taking between 30 and 60 days to sell if they are priced right in the beach areas.

7)   The selling season in Orange County begins the weekend after Superbowl Sunday and typically stays strong until the kids go back to school in September.

8)   Interest Rates remain low, so there is a good pool of buyers out there.

If you’ve been a ‘dormant’ seller – one who wants to sell, but has been waiting for the right time, really consider the 8 reasons above.

CAPITAL GAINS CONSEQUENCES UPON DEATH DEPENDING ON HOW YOU HOLD TITLE TO YOUR HOME

There are many ways to hold title to a property; Community Property, Community Property with Right of Survivorship, Joint Tenancy, Tenancy in Common, Partnership, Trust, but the two most common ways title is being held for married couples on their single family residence in California is: Joint Tenancy and Community Property with Right of Survivorship. The difference poses the potential for very important  LONG TERM CAPITAL GAIN EXPOSURE if/when one of the spouses pass away.

Here is an example of what can happen in both scenarios for holding title currently in California:

COMMUNITY PROPERTY WITH RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP

Married couple purchase a home for $100,000 and own it for 10 years. The home appreciates to $1,000,000, and the husband passes away. The wife gets to step up her cost basis to the $1,000,000 value that the home is worth upon the spouses death, and will only incur Capital Gains taxes if she sells her home for more than $1,250,000 ($1,000,000 value upon spouses death, plus her $250,000 Capital Gains Tax exemption).

JOINT TENANCY

Same scenario, married couple purchase a home for $100,000 and own it for 10 years.  The home appreciates to $1,000,000, and the husband passes away. $500,000 will be attributed to the deceased spouse’s estate (one half of the property value), and the wife would have to pay approximately 15-20 percent in estate taxes on the $200,000 Capital Gain – (her $450,000 half of the gain, minus her $250,000 exemption) which would cost her between $30,000 and $40,000!

Do you know how you are holding title?! Since I am forbidden from giving tax or legal advice, you should consult with your attorney or tax advisor to learn more about the ins and outs of each option.

HAVE A SAY IN THE H.B. GENERAL PLAN!

 

This is a fantastic opportunity to have a say in the planning and envisioning of Huntington Beach’s future.

WHEN:
Beach Bonfire Kickoff – Wed March 19th 5:00-8:00pm, City Beach at Huntington St.
Community Visioning Workshops – Thurs March 27th 6:30-8:30pm & Sat March 29th 10:00am – 12:00pm @ The Talbert Room, HB Public Library, 7111 Talbert Ave.
BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY – CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES PROVIDED AT ALL EVENTS

 

WHAT IS A CLUE REPORT & WHO NEEDS ONE?

WHAT IS A CLUE REPORT & WHO NEEDS ONE?

CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. In the insurance world, this is an important document that reports history on a home and any dates of insurance claims, insurance company(ies) involved, the type of policy, whether loss was related to a named catastrophe (hurricane, etc.), location of the loss (on or off property), the amount paid and cause of the loss.The CLUE Report is reviewed by insurers when a buyer goes to set up their Homeowner’s Insurance, which is a requirement by the lender, plus highly recommended for any cash buyers as well.

WHO CAN ORDER THE REPORT?

Only the homeowner or an insurer can order the report. The report costs about $20.00, and if you are a SELLER, I recommend you order one, even if there have been no claims on your property in the past 5 years, as it is something that will give buyers the confidence to proceed with a transaction, when they see a clean bill of insurance health on your home.

If you are a BUYER, I recommend that you request this report from your own insurance carrier, or ask the listing agent for the seller to provide you one, BEFORE your contingency period is up. If, for example, a claim was filed for water damage or mold, you would seriously want to consider this, AND discuss with your insurance provider to make sure the claim would not make obtaining insurance difficult or more expensive on the home you are purchasing.