Tag: real estate tax

What the heck is a 1031 exchange?

The concept is simple enough. Sell one property (the relinquished property) and use proceeds money to buy another property (the replacement property). If you do it right, you can defer the capital gains tax on the property you sold. Of course, in practice, there are quite a few details that go into “doing it right”.

This article addresses a few basic details about 1031 exchanges. However, this article is not intended to provide, nor should it be relied upon for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should always consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.

Why is it called a 1031 exchange?

The 1031 part of the name comes from the relevant section of the tax code.  That section can be found here: United States Code Annotated, Title 26 Internal Revenue Code, Subtitle A Income Taxes, Chapter 1 Normal Taxes and Surtaxes, Subchapter O Gain or Loss on Disposition of Property, Part III Common Nontaxable Exchanges, Section 1031 Exchange of Real Property Held for Productive Use or Investment.

The exchange part of the name describes what is happening: you are swapping (or exchanging) one property for another property.

Who can do a 1031 exchange?

Any taxpayer can do a 1031 exchange. However, the taxpayer selling the relinquished property must be the same exact taxpayer buying the replacement property. So, if your LLC or family trust sells relinquished property, you cannot buy the replacement property as an individual; your LLC or family trust must buy the replacement property.

What type of property qualifies for a 1031 exchange?

Both the relinquished property and the replacement property must be real property held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment. So, for example, you cannot exchange an unaffixed mobile home because it is personal property not real property. Also, you cannot exchange your primary residence because it is held for personal use, not for business or investment purposes. Further, you cannot exchange dealer property, which is real property held primarily for resale.  The IRS does not consider holding property for resale to be the same as holding property for business or investment purposes.

However, you can exchange one type of real property for another type of real property. You can sell a carwash and buy an office building, or sell a restaurant or hotel and buy an apartment complex, or sell farmland and buy a retail shopping center. As long as both the relinquished and replacement properties are real property held for business or investment purposes, the specific type of real property sold or bought is immaterial.

Why would anyone want to do a 1031 exchange?

Reasons include deferring capital gains tax and increasing cashflow.

A 1031 exchange defers capital gains tax on the relinquished property sale, but it does not eliminate the capital gains tax. Whenever you sell the replacement property, you will owe capital gains tax on both the relinquished property and the replacement property sales, unless you do another 1031 exchange when you sell the replacement property. In theory, you could keep doing 1031 exchanges, one after the other, deferring the capital gains tax indefinitely. If you do it right, when you die, your heirs may take the property(ies) at a one-time step-up in basis.  This would allow them to sell the property(ies) without paying the accumulated deferred capital gains taxes. In that sense, you may be able to effectively eliminate the capital gains tax.

A 1031 exchange can increase your cashflow because you are investing money in the replacement property that otherwise would have been sent to the IRS for capital gains tax. So, that money is working for you instead of the IRS.

Should I do a 1031 exchange?

This is a question best asked of an accountant, preferably a Certified Public Accountant with experience doing 1031 exchanges. The accountant will ask several questions about your specific situation, perform some financial calculations, and let you know whether a 1031 exchange would be beneficial to you.

How do I do a 1031 exchange and who will help me?

After you talk to an accountant and decide a 1031 exchange would be beneficial, the next step is to notify both your real estate agent and your title company as soon as possible.

If your title company is Tallgrass Title, LLC, your closing agent will notify an attorney at our sister company, Pugh & Pugh Attorneys at Law, PA, and they will facilitate the exchange by (1) drafting the required closing documents, (2) retaining and coordinating with the Qualified Intermediary (the entity that holds the seller proceeds from the relinquished property sale until you are ready to buy the replacement property) and the Exchange Accommodation Titleholder (if it is a reverse 1031), and (3) tracking critical deadlines (for a forward exchange, you have 45 days after the sale of the relinquished property to identify replacement property and 180 days after the sale of the relinquished property to complete the purchase of the replacement property).

After the exchange is complete, you will take the executed closing documents from both the relinquished property sale and the replacement property purchase to your accountant.  They will assist you in filing the tax return documents required to report the 1031 exchange to the IRS.

We are here to help!

While the basic concepts are relatively easy to understand, exchanges can get complicated very quickly depending on your specific circumstances.  This is especially true if you get into reverse 1031s, construction 1031s, rules for related party exchanges, or multi-property exchanges.

Our goal, as your 1031 exchange facilitator, is to make the process as easy as possible for you. If you have any questions about 1031 exchanges or would like to start an exchange, please contact our office today.  We would love to help you accomplish your investing goals!

Closings with Karissa: Property Taxes

Closings with Karissa is back with a few helpful reminders on property taxes and second half payments.

It’s that time of year again.

Real estate taxes are due to the county treasurer. Do you pay them before closing? Will the Title Company pay them before closing? What if the seller’s lender pays them before closing and the Title Company collects for them too? These are some of many questions that might swirl around homeowners’ heads right before closing.

First & Second Half

Taxes are available for payment in November of the current year with due dates of December 20th of the current year and the following May 10th. Taxes can paid in full in December or paid half and half in December and May. They first half is considered delinquent on December 21st and will start accruing late fees and penalties on that date. The second half is considered late on May 11th and will start accruing late fees and penalties on that date. If your closing is taking place after one of those dates and you do not have taxes set up in escrow, it is advisable for payments to be made prior to closing to avoid extra charges.

Taxes & Your Closing

Taxes are considered a lien on real estate. They are always there (unless the landowner is tax exempt) and will be in first lien position to all other liens – including mortgages. This means that taxes will always be paid out first in the event of a court action and your closing agent will make sure that tax payments are up to date.  If current taxes are not yet paid, they will apply that payment to your settlement statement to be paid at closing, including any applicable fees.

If closing takes place in October or November, it is likely that the seller rather than the buyer will receive the annual tax statement.  This is because the county treasurer’s office may not have new owner information updated prior to mailing out November tax statements.  If this happens the taxes are still the responsibility of the party that agreed to pay the year’s taxes as part of the real estate contract.

Things to remember:

  • Taxes are due December 20th and May 10th
  • The Title Company will pay off taxes based on the terms of the contract
  • The Title Company will never keep funds collected for taxes already paid, they will always refund payments rejected by the treasurer for previous payment.

If you have more questions about taxes, please reach out to your closing agent and they will walk you through taxes and prorations. It is our job and our pleasure at Tallgrass Title!

Real Estate Property Taxes are Due Soon – Don’t Forget!

It’s property tax season! In Kansas, property taxes are due in arrears and paid twice a year. Taxes for the first half of the year are due December 20th of the current year; the second half of the year is due on May 10th of the following year. This means that unpaid taxes for the current year are considered delinquent as early as December 21st.

In order to avoid delinquency, we recommend paying before December 20th, otherwise you could encounter long lines or delays in processing your payment.  With varying restrictions due to Covid-19, be sure to contact your county treasurer in advance to see if an appointment is required to pay your bill or be sure to mail in your payment early enough to ensure it is postmarked prior to the due date.

Selling your real estate?

If your real estate is currently under contract, you may have very specific questions. Like, what if I am selling my real estate and the closing date is near the tax due date? How does our title company handle taxes? Do we pay them ourselves? Do we pay them at closing?

First, take a deep breathe. Then call your closing agent and ask them how they would prefer to handle the taxes.

If the closing date is prior to the due date your closing agent may prefer that you wait and pay the taxes through closing. If they are due after closing, they may encourage payment prior to closing to prevent late fees and penalties. Either way, if a payment is made your closing agent will need proof of payment in order to remove the payment from the settlement statement. Otherwise funds will be held in escrow and paid to the county by December 20th or refunded to the Seller upon proof of payment prior to December 20th.

How do I get proof of payment?

When paying taxes in the county office, the treasurer will provide you with a receipt for your payment. Hand deliver or email a copy to your closing agent and they will take care of the rest. If you mail in your payment, your closing agent can call the county and request the receipt.

If taxes are paid at closing, do I have to take the check to the county treasurer myself?

Nope, the title company will send a courier to the county and take care of getting them paid, you will not need to worry about the taxes getting paid we will take care of everything.

If you are unsure of next steps please feel free to reach out to our office. We can walk you through the process to make your closing as smooth and stress free as possible.

Inheriting Property (and Inheriting Liens?)

When individuals pass away, their assets are left to their heirs (next of kin) or individuals listed in a will, trust, etc.  These assets will oftentimes include real estate.  Sometimes, this real estate has liens against it.  When it does, the recipient of the property might ask: “Am I responsible for these liens or the debts of the person that passed?”  The lawyer answer is “yes and no”.

Typically, surviving individuals are not liable for sole debts of a passing individual (certain exceptions exist for a surviving spouse regarding specific expenses incurred by a passing spouse but we won’t muddy the water with this one today).  So, if your aunt passes and you are her sole surviving heir and she has insufficient assets to pay the bill, you are not responsible for it.  However, if you are her sole surviving heir and she has assets sufficient to pay the bill, then it is typically paid out of the estate and the difference is paid to you.

On the other hand, liens on real estate are different and follow the real estate. So, if an individual has borrowed money to purchase a house and the bank has taken a mortgage (lien) and the property is transferred, that mortgage follows the house.  So, if your passing aunt also left you a house with a mortgage you will own that house subject to the mortgage.  If your aunt did not also leave specific funds to satisfy the mortgage, you will either need to pay the debt associated with the mortgage or the bank will take the house from you, sell it, satisfy the debt and pay you any difference.  This process of a bank taking real estate to satisfy its debts is known as a “foreclosure.”  The process is time consuming and costly and interest will most typically continue to accrue during the interim.  These additional costs will be collected from proceeds from the sale of the house.  Conversely, you may also sell the house yourself and pay the underlying debt and most often save substantial equity in the real estate that would have been wasted in a foreclosure.

Again, an individual is not typically liable for the sole debts of a decedent (mostly, as stated above) but may choose to pay the debts of a decedent in order to protect equity in property received from a passing individual.  One of our roles at Tallgrass Title is to find and potentially clear liens on real estate being inherited.  This process can often be confusing. Our title professionals are available to answer questions during this process.  It’s our job!

Website Security Added at Tallgrass Title

In the digital age that we live, everything is online.  You can shop online, meet people online, even work online.  The internet has made everything from checking the time for a movie to buying groceries faster and more convenient.  However, while it is super convenient, it comes with its own risks.  Cyber crime is at a record high.  We all know how to use the internet, however, not everyone knows how to keep themselves and their information safe online.  At Tallgrass Title, we recognize the need for people to protect themselves and are constantly looking for new ways to protect our clients.  We blog, teach classes, and review online security with our clients.  However, there is always room for improvement, and we are always looking for more ways to be more secure.  We found one.  Our website document sharing portal is now secured with SSL Certificates.  These are Secure Sockets Layer protocol certificates, or SSL Certs.  Secure Sockets Layer is a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client.  Without the SSL, anything you send out of your computer is in plain text, something that is more easily read.  However, with SSL, instead of sending out plain text, an algorithm is used to determine the secret code in which the email will be sent.  So, to put it simply, we have made communication with our office encrypted.  Technology is constantly growing and evolving, as are the risks that come with using it.  We tell our clients and patrons different ways to be safe online, but now we can say: We are extra safe for you!

MHK Office

 

As most of you know, we recently opened an office in MHK. We had the opportunity to talk a little about our new adventure! Check out the video below!

 

 

Thank you Manhattan!

Last week we officially opened a Manhattan, Kansas office.  This move follows requests from real estate professionals to locate an office to better serve their regional needs.  You asked, we listened!  Our Manhattan office (TGT MHK) is located at 210 N. 4th, Suite A in the Hartford Building.  We are fully staffed Monday – Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00pm and are open over the noon hour.  A drop box is located on the front of the building for after hours drop-offs.  Both the Wamego and Manhattan offices are equipped to deal with closings, escrow deliveries, deed packet deliveries and notary services.  Additionally, TGT MHK will continue to offer free courier service in the Manhattan area as well as mobile closings.  We are here to serve your needs!

At Tallgrass Title, we love feedback about how we may better serve your needs.  Feel free to speak with any of our title experts about your needs as a real estate professional.

Internet Safety Tips

In this technological age, it seems like everything is at your fingertips. Have business to conduct?  Pull out your smart phone and get it done.  Have a report that is due while you are out of town and do not have all of the information you need?  Find an internet café or public wifi, pull out your laptop computer and get to work.  With the help of Wikipedia, Google, and any number of search sites, all of the information you need is at your fingertips.  Great, right?  It can be, but while it is easier for people to access information, it is also easier for hackers and scammers to access people’s personal information like social security numbers, bank accounts, and other personal information.  Once they have that information, Tada!  You now have six new credit cards, your debit card has been used to buy a new car half-way across the world, and you managed to get a speeding ticket in some hole-in-the-wall town three states over!  Your identity was stolen!  Scary, right? How can you protect yourself and your clients from this type of threat?  Here are some tips for practicing public (and personal) internet safety:

  1. Never log into your email using public wifi. Get yourself a mifi device. A mifi device is a personal wifi that uses cellular broadband to make a wifi connection. Not super convenient, or free, but using a mifi device is much more secure. You can password protect it and it pulls from a private source. You can also typically use your smartphone as a personal hotspot.
  2. Change your passwords frequently. If a hacker gains access to your password, they may try to access your system or account more than once over a period of time. Changing your password reduces the risk that they will have frequent access. It also keeps things like a keystroke logger, which is surveillance technology used to record keystrokes, from obtaining your password through repeated logins.
  3. Never email any documents that have your client’s personal information. If you do email any documents that have that type of information, make sure it is password protected and encrypted.
  4. Stop and read an email before opening any attachments or following any links. If you do not have your email set up to preview a message before opening, modify your settings to allow it. A lot of attachments and links in fake emails from scammers and hackers have viruses and other little nasty surprises that can corrupt your system or open a backdoor for someone to get to the rest of your information.
  5. Do not use a free email service for your business email. Yes, they are convenient, and better yet, free. However, they have the barest minimum of security when it comes to allowing junk through.

Computers can be a convenient tool that can make our lives easier in many ways.  By following these 5 rules, they can continue to be the tools that they are intended to be. Here at Tallgrass Title we are committed to protecting all of our associates and clients. Let us know how we can help you protect yourself and your clients from scammers and hackers.

Deed Packet Pro Tips

So, what comes next after the signed contract has been delivered to the title company and the title commitment is complete? The Deed Packet!

The number one thing to remember is: EARLY SIGNATURES MEAN SMOOTHER CLOSINGS!

The sooner the completed deed packet is sent back to the title company, the easier it is to complete the pre-closing tasks. For example, the information release allows us to obtain the mortgage payoff quote. The deed and other documents to be recorded must be reviewed to ensure they will meet the county recording requirements.

The second thing to remember is: Let the title company know asap if the seller doesn’t live close by.

If the seller lives some distance away, they may need extra time to ship the completed documents back to us in time for closing.

Here is a breakdown of the most common documents in the Deed Packet:

The Deed. (No kidding, right?)

However, this is the most important document of the bunch. Please ensure that each party signs it in the presence of a notary. As we mentioned in a previous blog, it is also paramount to keep the same original formatting to ensure it is accepted for recording. And, it really makes our job easier if all of the documents are printed single-sided, not double-sided!

The Affidavit as to Debts, Liens and Indemnity.

This is a complicated title for a document that actually has a rather simple purpose. The purpose is for the seller to confirm that there are no other liens that can attach to the real estate. Each party will have to sign in the presence of a notary. However, the important thing to keep in mind are the checkboxes that usually appear on pages 2 and 3. Each of the statements that accompany the checkboxes should be read carefully before being marked off.

The Authorization for Release of Information.

All mortgage holders require that 3rd parties receive authorization from the mortgagors to receive any information from them. Without this document, we can’t prove how much money will be needed to get the mortgage released. It is also important for the seller to fill out the name of the lender, and the account number if they have it. This is because there are certain types of mortgages that don’t have to report to the county when they are sold. It could potentially delay closing if the title company doesn’t know who is actually holding the mortgage.

The 1099 Tax Information Sheet.

Yes, the title company must report most sales to the IRS. Besides the signature lines that are clearly visible at the bottom of the page, there is other information that is needed. Near the top of the page, please guide the seller to fill in their social security or tax ID number(s), their new/forwarding address, and their phone number. We have to mail out a copy of the actual 1099 form to each seller for the next tax year, so a valid mailing address is really, very helpful.

Here at Tallgrass Title, we also include Fraud Warnings to put people on their guard. This is very important to us, since fraud is becoming more common.

These are the documents that are included in most Deed Packets. There may be other documents specific to the transaction, but they usually don’t appear as often. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about any of the documents you see in the Deed Packet. We are always happy to help and will even send out a notary to meet with your sellers who are in the area!

New Year, No More Mortgage Registration Tax!

In Kansas in years past, mortgage registration tax was charged by the State of Kansas for the filing of a mortgage at the county register of deed’s office. This tax was based upon the size of the mortgage and had to be paid at the time of filing the mortgage.  In the last year of its existence, a residential mortgage in the amount of $100,000 would result in a tax in the amount of $50.00.  As you can see, this amount can quickly multiply on larger mortgages.  Additionally, a filing fee based upon the number of pages to be filed was charged along with the mortgage registration tax.  A standard, thirty-year mortgage typically results in a filing fee of anywhere from $100.00 to $350.00.  These fees will typically show up as financing charges or “closing costs” on a settlement statement.  In my experience, most individuals were not aware of the fees until they reviewed their closing statements.  It was usually a shock for buyers to learn that they had to pay a couple hundred dollars simply to file a document at the register of deeds.

A few years ago, several homeowner, realtor and homebuilding groups lobbied State Legislators for the repeal of the mortgage registration tax. Their efforts were successful, and the tax was phased out over a few years until now.  Beginning on January 1, 2019, mortgage registration tax is no longer charged in Kansas.  This means immediate savings for homebuyers and homeowners that are refinancing their existing loans.  Additionally, the filing fees charged at the register of deeds will not increase in 2019.  Again, this is helpful to the Kansas home buyer and homeowner.  Should you have any questions regarding the repeal of the mortgage registration tax or the current filing fees, feel free to contact Tallgrass Title.