Top Real Estate Articles

The Truth About Eliminating Termites

Jun 3, 2009 Real Estate Properties

Are you online looking for an actionable way to get rid of termites once and for all? Immediate action is what you need especially if you believe you have a current termite infestation. This decision should be made as soon as possible to mitigate any damages.

One of the first decisions you have to make concerns exterminators? Are you going to use them or perhaps choose a more natural choice to deal with the termites? The main intent is to get started with a plan of action as soon as possible and then modify it as needed. To make this measurable you need to set a time line and stick to it.

Understand The Problem

You need to understand the habits of termites if you intend to get rid of them permanently. The basic idea is that wood is a source of nutrition for them. That means you need to keep wood stored outside away from your house. If you need to you can always make a solution of boric acid and water and cover the outside of your house. This can be used as a temporary deterrent.

This information also applies if you happen to have a garden. Make sure you keep a sufficient distance from the garden to your house. if you don’t you just make it easier for the termites to get closer to your house. If you have a garden nearby and suspect there may be termite activity then you can soak some wooden stakes with the boric acid solution mentioned above and drive these into the ground in the suspected locations. This will cause the termites to literally eat themselves to death.

Stop It Before It Happens

When you have successfully implemented the given ideas for getting rid of termites then you should be thinking about how to prevent future issues. After getting rid of them you want to keep it that way. of course this means keeping their food source (i.e. wood) as far as possible from your house. You can also coat any previously infested areas with a citric acid based cleaning solution.

The focus of this article was two fold. First, get rid of any existing termite issues and then make sure you prevent future ones from occurring. If you use the information that was given here then you should have little issue with accomplishing both of these goals.

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Understanding Prop 13 Assessment

May 31, 2009 Real Estate Properties

California only allows two things that initiate a re-assessment: transfer in ownership (also called a transfer) and new construction. A transfer in ownership is when any part of the ownership interest in the home has changed whether money changed hands or not. The Assessorss Office will review the transfer to see if its re-assessable. If it’s an assessable change in ownership, the data is sent to the appraisal staff to give or review the value and modify the base value appropriately. A change in ownership that isn’t assessable must have fallen within the parameters of an approved exemption. A transfer into a revocable trust or an inter-spousal transfer that are both examples of exemptions allowed in California articulated in our Inherited Property and Exemptions Guide detailed in the California Little Black Book.

When a transfer is exempt, the ONLY way the Assessorss Office knows this is through forms and/or applications which are recorded along with the deed or later requested by the Office of the Assessor to confirm an exempt transfer. So when there is no exemption, the transfer in ownership is considered assessable per Prop 13. Which means if you do not apply for the exemption, submit a form or offer accepted documentation for an exemption, the transfer is considered assessable automatically. The Office of the Assessor is a mass assessment organization and unless you tell them what you need preferably through forms and documents they wont know what may or may not apply to your change in ownership.

The other trigger for re-assessment based on Prop 13 is new construction. The Assessors’s Office is told by the city or county building and safety offices. The city or building and safety give the information about issued permits to the Office of the Assessor for property tax purposes. Keep in mind, your city receives some of your property tax dollars so though its primarily a state tax your local municipality benefits from it. The permits are given to the real property appraisers to update the building record and change the base value if warranted based on Prop 13. Normally, it takes the Assessors’s Office a fair amount of time to get to since field work is necessary to find out what was done to your house and then a valuation process. If there is a demo, your property taxes will likely be reduced, if there is an addition there is likely going to be an go up. So, if you demolish a pool your property taxes will decrease and if you add a pool, your property taxes will increase. Construction varies from home to home and it will be reviewed based on the value that was added or taken away. This is clearly explained in the California Little Black Book with examples and scenarios. When was employed by the Assessor I assessed countless homes where various types of construction was done and would be happy to answer any questions you may have pertaining to this!

Like new construction there will be a re-assessment of a property if the use of it changes. For example if a complex of co-ops is converted into condominiums the Assessor will reassess the value of each unit because the change affects the market value of each unit. However, generally in California there are two events that trigger re-assessment based on Prop 13: change in ownership or new construction.

About the Author: Valerie Faltas, Property Tax Expert has been involved in all facets of real estate for over ten years including assessments, appraisals, estates and trusts, investing and much more. She is a Certified Property Tax Appraiser, Licensed Residential Appraiser and a member of the International Association of Assessment Officers. As a real estate investor and advisor she is well versed in all aspects of real estate. To contact Valerie Faltas go to her website: www.propertytaxlittleblackbook.com.

Tags: assessment, c, California Property Tax, change in ownership, contruction, e, f, finance, h, Home Construction, home;improvement, l, lower property tax, o, p, prop 13, Property Assessment, Property Tax, r, Real Estate, Real Estate Properties, real;estate, reduce property tax

Great Valued Tips for Controlling Home Building Costs

Mar 28, 2009 Real Estate Properties

In the modern world, financial problems are faced by almost everyone. It is near to impossible that someone would say that he does not need to control the costs for doing something. Building a home is no exception to the phenomenon. In fact it is perhaps one of the most expensive task and financial resources are always a problem.

Sometimes expenses can ascend so high that many people need the aid of fiscal institutions for loans and other monetary assistances. Sometimes it may even happen that the owner might have to mortgage the property under production to get loans to finish the construction. To avoid such circumstances one should try to decrease the expenses as much as possible. Following are some tips which may help to trim down the expenses.

It is always advisable to visit the markets and get a basic idea of how much things cost before starting the construction. One should carefully plan a budget to sort out more important things first as it will help delay expenses which are not of any significant importance and can be dealt with later. For example if fixtures and fittings are under consideration then one should try to avoid luxurious items and account for more important and necessary items.

Surveying the market and evaluating the prices is also very vital while building a home. One should check out each and every likely place for building materials, furniture and fittings and judge prices to get the best possible deal. Sometimes importing something in volume from some other region may cost less than acquiring it from the local market. For example in some regions wood is much economical than other regions and importing it in bulk from that area might cost much less even after including the shipment charges.

It is always prudent to assess the amount of material needed and buy it in bulk quantities as it would considerably trim down the repeated transport costs and also one might be able to get some discount if material is purchased in bulk. Thus purchasing in bulk will extensively reduce costs.

Some things are subject to variant prices, thus one should watch these fluctuations and procure the materials when they are at their lowest. If it is expected that prices would ascend in the future one should make purchases as soon as possible even though that material might not be needed at the tick. Similarly if it is expected that prices will drop noticeably then it would be clever to wait if it is expected for the prices to drop off.

Labour costs are also hard to control. If swelling the labour would step up the building process then one should make a viability plan to analyze if using a smaller amount labour for a longer period of time would be more pragmatic than more labour for a shorter segment of time. Whichever; plan is superior that should be adopted.

When it comes to furniture and fittings, some things cost more than others although they provide the same utility and do the same work. The reason is that sometimes some things are brand marked and companies cash their name. Other similar products might be equally reliable and might cost lesser than the branded products. In such cases one should go for utility rather than brand name.

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