All posts by blogger

Jury Awards Large Commission in Commercial Property Dispute

By blogger on

One of the largest jury verdicts awarding a brokerage commission in Arizona history was recently awarded from a commercial property dispute. A Scottsdale real estate agent was awarded a commission of $420,000 against a brokerage firm who had listed a large office building in north Scottsdale in this.

The facts are as follows:ws:

A brokerage firm named Cavan Commercial LLC (“Cavan Commercial”) had a 6% listing agreement on a large office building in north Scottsdale. Cavan Commercial and a real estate agent named Chris Wyatt entered into a 3% co-brokerage agreement if Chris Wyatt’s client Buyer A purchased the office building. Four days later Buyer A signed a purchase contract to purchase the office building for $14,000,000. The $100,000 earnest money was paid 1/3 ($33,000) each by Buyer A and his two investor partners who Chris Wyatt had introduced to the designated broker of Cavan Commercial at a meeting three months earlier in Cavan Commercial’s offices.

A few days after the Purchase Contract had been signed by Buyer A, Buyer A and his two investor partners formed a limited liability company (“LLC”), and assigned the purchase contract from Buyer A to this LLC. Buyer A and his two partners subsequently got in a dispute, and Buyer A agreed to transfer his membership interest in the LLC to his two investor partners.

For Section 1031 tax purposes, at the time of closing the LLC assigned the purchase contract to the two investor partners as individuals. The transaction closed. Immediately after the transaction closed, the two investor partners transferred the title to the office building back to the LLC.

Although the escrow commission instructions at closing prepared by the title company provided for a 3% commission to Chris Wyatt, this provision for Chris Wyatt’s 3% commission was crossed out by Cavan Commercial, who revised the escrow commission instructions to provide for the entire 6% commission ($840,000) to be paid to Cavan Commercial.

When Chris Wyatt complained and requested his 3% commission, the designated broker for Cavan Commercial said -Sue me.- Chris Wyatt did. Almost four years to the day after Chris Wyatt had introduced Buyer A and his two investor partners to the designated broker of Cavan Commercial, the commission dispute was tried before a jury in Maricopa County Superior Court. After a three-day jury trial, the jury deliberated less than one hour and awarded the entire 3% commission of $420,000 to Chris Wyatt. (Wyatt v. Cavan Commercial, LLC; CV2006-01270; Jury verdict November 14, 2008.)

Chris Wyatt was represented at the jury trial by John Skiba, with assistance from Chris Combs and litigation paralegal Lisa O’Brien. Don Martin, a former president of the Arizona Association of REALTORS, testified as an expert witness on behalf of Chris Wyatt. Cavan Commercial (renamed Logan Commercial LLC prior to the setting of the trial date) was represented by two lawyers from a national law firm.

Note: During the questioning of prospective jurors before the trial began, one of the prospective jurors was a real estate agent, and in response to questioning from Cavan Commercial’s lawyer, the real estate agent said that she did not know if she could be fair because she was tired of seeing real estate agents being “cheated” out of their commissions. Although she was honest, she was immediately excused as a juror!

Combs Law Group was organized as and continues to be a highly specialized, boutique real estate law firm. Christopher A. Combs is a State Bar of Arizona board certified real estate specialist and the founder of CLG. For more information please contact us at info(at)combslawgroup.com or by calling 602-957-9810. Article Source: Arizona Association of Realtors

Understanding Order Of Liens On A Property

By blogger on

In order to buy a tax lien property you must first decide which states or counties are conducive to producing conditions that will allow you to end up in ownership. In addition you may want to consider purchasing tax deeds instead, as the process is set up in a way that gives you a better chance at property ownership.

Before you buy a tax lien property you have to purchase the tax lien certificate first. In order to get a certificate you will have to bid on the sale in many cases. This process can differ from state to state, and county to county. The bidding process starts at 18% in Orange county Florida and they in fact begin to bid down from there. In other words, whoever is ready for the lowest amount of interest will end up winning the certificate.

In general, assuming that you win the bid for the tax lien property certificate that you are interested is to foreclose on the assets that you have. This process varies from state to state but usually you will have to wait until the redemption period is over, in order to start the foreclosure procedure. The redemption period can differ anywhere from six months to a few years.

Here are the different types of liens:

1. IRS liens: IRS liens take precedence over any other lien on a piece of property. Once you find out the amount of the IRS lien, you may be able to speak with the IRS and negotiate how much they will accept to forgive the arrearage.

Tip: Make sure you get that in writing! Another little known fact is that after 10 years, unless the IRS renews the lien, the lien drops off their list.

2. Real estate liens: Those are the next on the priority list. Those must be satisfied. If you go to an auction and if enough money is paid for the property to pay off only the first mortgage, then everything beneath that on the priority list is wiped away. If you buy a second mortgage and then you have purchased everything above that on the priority list. You need to have completed your due diligence and know the lien priority.

3. Other liens: Other liens may include
Second Mortgage
Homeowners Association Fees
Mechanics Lien
Lawsuit
Judgment

All these other items go on the priority list by the date on which they were filed at the County Recorders Office.

Is There A Slump In Gurgaon Property Market Now

By blogger on

Reportedly, there is a little slump in the Grugaon properties market now, though its magnitude is not alarming. Going by the industry assessments and reports, the nascent recession in the economy and its all-pervading sway is still keeping a thin pall of gloom in the residential as well as commercial segments of Gurgaon real estate market. In fact, the world economic meltdown started from the largest economy of the world, the US, and it has spread as shock wave across the global spectrum cutting across national and continental economic regions. As an inevitable corollary and consequence of this malady, the Indian economy has not been able to remain immune and has been affected to some extent. This has crystallized in to the economic matrix of the Gurgaon property market and market has been in jittery for long. However, now along with the recuperating national economy, Gurgaon property sector is back in the saddle, a little hang over notwithstanding.

It is an estimated fact that there is a little slump prevailing in the Gurgaon property market now. Let mathematics speak. Before the onset of the recession, property for sale in Gurgaon fetched an annual average appreciation of 15% to 20% in the prime residential locations of DLF Phase1, DLF Phase 2, DLF Phase 3, Sector 15, Sector 16 and sector 18. However, right now properties of the same description in the same locality do not show any considerable appreciation over what they could fetch before the incidence of the recession. In order to appreciate the real appreciation value, the analysis should be in the light of the escalating inflation. In fact, the prices went down during the recession. If the current rates are compared with the immediately preceding trend during the recession, there is an increase in prices from10% to 20% per cent now. But when we compare it with the prices before the recession, the current prices are a little less and that is indicative of a slight slump.

The little slump in the Properties in Gurgaon market is estimated to be of a transient phenomenon and the market will enter a growth trajectory in the immediate future. International investment analysts concur that the coming years the Indian property sector as a whole will show an appreciable growth. This speculation is in resonance with the finding of the World Bank that in a scene where the major world economies show a retrograde trend, in the coming years India along with China will show considerable growth in national income and gross national product. This growth in the national income will directly push up the real estate sector. Hopefully, Gurgaon property market will register considerable appreciation in the coming years.

Agricultural Land Property Purchasing In Bangalore Law Information

By blogger on

Before purchasing any sites especially agriculture land for non agriculture purpose approval under relevant laws viz. Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 along rules and other provisions of law is must. And Bangalore Metropolitan Regional development Authority (BMRDA) is regulating authority to approve layouts on outskirts of Bangalore.
Clear title and documentation are hard to come by with agricultural land of Bangalore (Karnataka). The following is a useful checklist of documents for review by a Bangalore law firm / lawyer before purchasing Agricultural land:
Mother deed and sale deed: It is very important document to trace the ownership of agriculture land. And it is basic document that shows how the property at the commencement was acquired there after there will be series of transactions such as sale gift law in Bangalore etc.

Akarbandi: Land topography sketch issued by State Revenue Authority viz. survey department. It establishes the survey number and to whom the particular survey number was originally allotted and the land / property revenue assessment details.

Encumbrance Certificate: Certificate from State Revenue Authority stating that there is no lien on the land / property (Has to be obtained for the last 30 years)

Family Tree of the vendor: State Revenue Authority document required to ascertain whether other family members have a stake in the property

Saguvali Chit: It is also called Grant Certificate. This is issued on Form No..VII in case of grant of Govt. land to the eligible persons for cultivation. This establishes title of the persons in the Saguvali Chit to the land granted.
Conversion Order: Conversion certificate has to be obtained for non agriculture purpose & that has to be checked to determine whether it is DC converted or not.
Khata and up to date Tax-paid receipts: Khata in Form MAR 19 (issued prior to 19. 05.2003) along up to date Tax-paid receipts.
Land Acquisition Status: Endorsements from State Revenue Authority certifying the Govt. acquisition status for the property for instance Notification by B.D.A. or KIADB for acquisition.

Mutation Extracts: History of changes in ownership (for 30 years) as documented in the Khatha Certificates issued by the State Revenue Authority. This is an extract from the mutation register maintained by the village property accountant.

NIL Tenancy Certificate/Form No.7 Endorsement: State Revenue Authority certification stating whether the land has any tenants. This issued by the Tasildar. This endorsement certifies that there no tenancy cases pending in respect of property in question as per the KLR act 1961.

Podi Extracts: Property partition document among siblings if any.

Property Tax Paid Receipt: Latest tax receipt validating that the property tax status is current.

RTC (Record of Rights) / Phani: This is primary record issued by the villager Accountant. It contains details of Survey number, total extent of land property, names of the owner including details as to conversion of land from agriculture to non- agriculture property. (has to be obtained for the last 30 years as per Bangalore law)
Section 79A & B endorsement U/KLR Act, 1961: These are issued by Tahsildar. These endorsement certifies that there no cases pending against the person owning the agriculture land / property.
Village Survey Map: Land location sketch
Patta Book: This book contains information regarding the payment of land revenue and other Govt. dues & information of cultivation. And also contains a copy of the record of rights to the land / property situated in Bangalore.
Tippani: This issued by the Survey Dept. It shows a sketch of the land as the records of the survey Dept.
Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), Zonal Regulation Map and Survey Map. Apart from the above property should not come within the Green Belt Area.

Start Your Own Property Portal Website With Aj Classifieds V3 Listing Software

By blogger on

The AJ Square pleased to announce the new release of AJ Classifieds V3. AJ Classifieds ME Versions the result of a combined effort by hundreds of individuals and organization. This diverse team has been working successfully together to make AJ Classifieds software most successful one with lot of features that are not only new to Classifieds, but also completely new to the world.

AJ Classifieds Micro Editions comes with six different products such as: The scripts will be known as AJ Classifieds Micro Editions (ME).

* AJ Classifieds ME : V3
* AJ Classifieds ME : Real Estate
* AJ Classifieds ME : Automobile
* AJ Classifieds ME : Jobs
* AJ Classifieds ME : For Sale
* AJ Classifieds ME : Services
* AJ Classifieds ME : Personals

The highlight of these software are

1. Micro edition, specifically to application domain, ie., specialized classified script for Real estate.
2. Completely Object Oriented. Developed using AJ DF framework
3. Scalable
4. Secure
5. Highly intuitive user interface, ensure the good user experience
6. Complete Admin Control

Creating the Own Classifieds Site Software on AJ Classifieds V3:

AJ Classifieds V3 is a professionally developed PHP Classifieds Script that was build with you – the site owner – in mind and to assist you in generating income from your website. Whether users wish to run classifieds for real estate, automobiles, for sales, jobs, personals and services, our product is the right package for you.

AJ Classifieds V3 is the product for a complete Classifieds V3 Listing Software Script. It is customized and ready to go for your Classifieds V3 Classifieds software, rentals web site, independent agent site, or the Classifieds V3 Listing of your brokerage or agency web site. Create Classifieds V3 Web Sites – The Classifieds V3 PHP Script Software of AJ Classifieds is specially designed to handle the unique requirements of a site devoted to Classifieds V3. Highly user friendly and rich in excellent features once required for Classifieds V3 property selling business.

Our goal is to help Classifieds V3 Brokers and Agents, use the internet to strengthen their professional image, as well as helping users to achieve an advantage over competition. No other medium has proven a more effective resource to the Classifieds V3 or mortgage industry when utilized correctly than the Internet.

Classifieds V3 management software is the most advanced, flexible and complete TurnKey software for creating a Classifieds V3 Listing Site. Our php Classifieds V3 classified script allows Classifieds V3 agents to create their own sales platform. Home buyers can browse available properties for free.
AJ Classifieds V3 gives you a running start, with a website that is very simple to set up. Your site will provide you with some of the most advanced web marketing tools available. Agents can quickly create a web presence with the elegant look, flexibility, and control of a more expensive and painstakingly built web site.
Start your very own HIGHLY profitable Classifieds property portal today!

Sources: