.Village Voice

Question: We purchased our house in 1961. The basement floor is entirely covered with tile. A family friend who manages commercial real estate told us that those nine-inch tiles are asbestos. We were advised to either remove these tiles or cover them with concrete. We plan to sell the home shortly. What are our legal obligations and what should we do?

Answer: You really have two choices: remove (or cover) the asbestos tiles or disclose their existence to potential purchasers.

In many parts of the country, sellers are required to disclose certain conditions relating to the property — and asbestos is one area which obviously must be disclosed. However, the experts in this area agree unanimously that if the asbestos is encapsulated (covered up) it is not a hazardous substance. However, when you start to make repairs, and start chipping away at those tiles, you are going to spread the asbestos molecules around your house.

First, I would find out what it will cost to remove the tiles. You should understand that when you deal with such hazardous materials, any contractor that will remove them must be certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an approved asbestos abater. As such, there will be an additional cost to you over and above the mere removal of your basement tiles. The abater must secure the area to make sure that asbestos particles will not get into the air, nor land on other items in your basement, thus defeating the removal purpose.

Then, determine the cost of adding concrete over the tiles. This may be less expensive than removing all of the tiles, but it may also cause your basement to look unsightly or even shoddy.

Once you have determined these costs, you will be in a better position to determine whether or not you want to incur the expense.

Clearly, it is better to remove the asbestos. Some potential purchasers — especially those with young children — may get turned off when they learn of this environmental problem.

On the other hand, you are not legally obligated to clean out the asbestos. You certainly can sell your house with all its infirmities — including asbestos — but you must carefully disclose to a potential purchaser that there is a problem.

Some purchasers will walk away. Others may use this as a bargaining chip and try to get you to reduce your asking price in light of the asbestos. Here, again, you have a choice: if, for example, it will cost you $7,500 to totally remove all asbestos from your house, clearly you do not want to give a potential purchaser a cash credit at settlement for more than this amount.

Many potential purchasers plan to do major renovations in their new home once they go to settlement. While it might cost you $7,500 to hire the asbestos abater, your purchaser may be able to get a better price, since their contractor will already be doing work in the house. And thus, the purchaser may be willing just to receive a credit at settlement, rather than forcing you to do the work before the house is conveyed.

Thus, there is flexibility and negotiability here. The potential purchaser will make you an offer, and may lowball the price based on the existence of the asbestos. Since you are now armed with information as to the real cost of the abatement, you are in the position to bargain with the purchaser. You can offer a smaller credit, or you can agree to have the asbestos removed prior to closing. My experience, however, is that most buyers would prefer to get the credit, rather than be forced to rely on a contractor selected by the seller.

In any event, disclosure is the name of the game. You can be sued if you do not disclose. But you avoid litigation (and aggravation and legal fees) by fully and completely disclosing — in writing — the existence of your asbestos tiles. Most insurance companies specifically decline to get involved when there is a hazardous material claim.

Written by Benny L. Kass

Buying or selling a home is an important event in your life. We all know that having a real estate agent makes these processes easier. For Baby Boomers and seniors, it is even more important to have an agent on your side, since this event can seriously impact your future.

There are many real estate agents to choose from in just about every town. With all of the advertising on billboards, television and even in your mailbox, it is up to you to sort through the messages to make the right selection. Who will be able to anticipate your needs? Who is best suited represent your interests during the process? Who will work with you to navigate through real estate, financial and legal decisions when purchasing or refinancing your home?

A Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES ®) is a REALTOR ® who has undergone special training to give him the knowledge to counsel 50+ clients through the buying or selling process. These agents can offer the options and information needed to make good decisions about your home; both for now and as you age in place. They will be ready to discuss refinancing, purchasing a new home or selling a home. An SRES will recognize your concerns and interests, as you develop your plans to age in place.

Selecting to work with a Seniors Real Estate Specialist ensures that you are working with someone you can trust.

• Listening. An SRES will actively listen to your needs, desires and plans.
• Communication. An SRES will communicate with his clients to ensure they understand industry terms, housing, legal and financial options.
• Information. An SRES is someone who has invested the time in building a network of ˜go to™ professionals who can help them meet your needs and answer the questions they can™t, including attorneys, insurance agents, accountants, estate planners, moving companies and builders.
• Experience. An SRES is experienced in anticipating the needs and crafting solutions for people who are 50 and older. They are well versed in market values, financing, universal design elements and more.
• Results. An SRES will keep your requirements and dreams in the forefront as they work along side you to craft the best possible outcome towards your goals.

These things and more are what make SRES professionals uniquely qualified to assist you with your real estate planning, purchases and sales. By choosing an SRES agent to work with, you can rest assured you have a knowledgeable and experienced professional available to help.

Note: What an SRES Cannot Provide You
An SRES is not certified to provide legal or tax advice. If you are in need of these services, you should contact a separate real estate attorney or accountant to obtain advice. If you do not have access to one, an SRES will most likely have on in their professional network.

There are several mistakes that seniors commonly make when they sell their home. Take a few minutes to learn from experts what they are so you will have an easier sales experience.

• NOT using a Seniors Real Estate Specialist.
  Having an SRES to discuss the complex issues facing seniors selling their home can help you avoid costly mistakes.
• NOT getting a competitive market analysis to weigh your options and solidify selling your home. This analysis will also allow you to estimate your net from the real estate closing so you can make your post-sale arrangements.
• Making the assumption you have to sell. After speaking with an Seniors Real Estate Specialist, you may realize all the options available that would allow you to stay in your home and make accommodating modifications.
• Keeping the clutter.   Not clearing out the home before you market it can reduce the number of potential buyers; many cannot see past the clutter.
• Committing to a moving date before finding a home to move into.

The best chance for selling your property is within the first seven weeks. Studies show that the longer a property stays on the market, the less the seller will net. Listed below are the five main factors to accomplishing this goal. Pricing Factor It is very important to price your property at a competitive market value right when you list it. The market is so competitive that even over-pricing by a few thousand dollars could mean that your house will not sell. It’s interesting, but your first offer is usually your best offer. Here are reasons for pricing your property at the market value right from the start in order to net you the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time.

An overpriced home:

Minimizes offers
Lowers showings
Lowers agent response
Limits financing
Limits qualified buyers
Nets less for the seller
80% of the marketing is done when we decide on what price to list your home. If you were unwilling to list at current market value, you would be better off not putting it on the market at this time.

Clean Factor

Most people are turned off by even the smallest amount of uncleanness or odor when buying a home. Sellers lose thousands of dollars because they do not adequately clean. If your house is squeaky clean, you will be able to sell your home faster and net hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more. If you are planning on moving, why not get rid of that old junk now so that your house will appear larger? Make more space. Odors must be eliminated especially if you have dogs, cats, or young children in diapers or if you are a smoker. You may not notice the smell, but the buyers do! Most agents have a difficult time communicating to their sellers about odor. If you employ an agent to get the most amount of money for you, please don’t take offense if he must confront you about odor problems.

Access Factor

Top selling agents will not show your home if both the key and access are not readily available. They do not have time to run around town all day picking up and dropping off keys. They want to sell homes! The greatest way to show a house is to have a key! When your home is being shown, please do the following:

Keep all lights on
Keep all drapes and shutters open
Keep all doors unlocked
Leave soft music playing
Take a short walk with your children and pets
Let the buyer be at ease and let the agents do their job
Paint & Carpet Factor

Paint is your best improvement investment for getting a greater return on your money. Paint makes the whole house smell clean and neat. If your house has chipped paint, exposed wood, or the paint looks faded, it is time to paint. If your carpet is worn, dirty, outdated, or an unusual color, you may need to seriously consider replacing it. Many houses do not sell because of this problem. Don’t think that buyers have more money than you have to replace carpet. They don’t. They simply buy elsewhere. Front Yard Factor Your front yard immediately reflects the inside condition of your house to the buyer. People enjoy their yards. Make certain that the trees are trimmed so the house can be seen from the street. Have the grass mo wed, trimmed and edged. Walkways should be swept. Clean away debris. Remove parked cars. This all adds to curb appeal. If a buyer doesn’t like the outside, they may not stop to see the inside.

OUTSIDE: Trim all shrubs. Pull all weeds. Flowers planted. Leaves raked. Water lawn to keep green. Pick up and discard or store all implements, materials and debris that are not part of the lawn decor. All windows washed. Garage should be swept, neat and tidy. During the winter, all walks and drives should be shoveled and salted.

LIGHTING: Open all shades and draperies during the daylight hours. Replace all burned out light bulbs with the maximum light producing bulbs. Turn on all lights throughout the house and basement prior to showing the house.

STORAGE: All clothing, shoes, hats, accessories, tools, papers, magazines, books and personal items not contributing to the decor of the room should be stored in closets or dressers. All closets should be tidy, neat and clean. Basement storage areas should be neatly arranged. Kitchen counters should be clean and free of any articles not contributing to the decor of the room. All magazines, books, ashtrays, food, bottles, containers, boxes, cans, toys, hobby accessories, tools, dishes, cookware, etc. should be stored in the proper cupboards or closets or storage areas.

CLOSETS: The interiors of all closets should present an organized, tidy and uncluttered appearance. All unneeded or unused items should be discarded. Display your storage and utility space by removing all unnecessary accumulations in attic, stairways, basement, closets and garage.

WINDOWS: All windows should be spotlessly clean inside and out. All window sills, as well as any space between the window and storm window should be spotlessly clean and free of any flaking or loose paint. All windows should be in good repair with no cracks. Screens should be clean and in good condition, free of rust and holes. Any paint on glass should be removed with a razor blade prior to cleaning.

FIXTURES: All bathroom and kitchen fixtures and counters should be sparkling clean. Polish chrome faucets and handles in the tub and sinks. All sinks, tubs, toilets and counters should be clean.

FLOORS: All flooring should be clean and waxed if necessary. All carpeting should be very clean regardless of its age. If the carpeting has not been steam cleaned for more than two years, now is the time to do it. Basement floors should be swept and mopped.

DOORS: All doors should be free of scotch tape, posters, decals, or stickers. All door handles should be clean and in good repair.

CERAMIC TILE: All joints between tiles should be clean and white. Use DAP bathroom tile sealer to reseal the joint between bathtub and wall and floor.

WALLS: All walls should be clean and free of gouges, scratches, smudges, scotch tape, posters, thumbtacks, etc. Walls should only have decorative items. Posters and paper pictures taped to walls should be removed and all evidence of the tape markings removed.

ODOR: Nothing smells better than fresh air. On warm days, have your windows open and shades up. Make your home feel and smell bright, fresh and clean and you will have a faster sale. KEY POINT: Make very sure that there are absolutely no pet odors.

You’ve probably seen lots of financial arguments about why you should own your own home rather than rent. This includes budgeting (no rent increases) and the tax savings you’ll most likely have. Now I’m going to give you some reasons you probably haven’t heard.

#1: Freedom to pursue other goals in life once the major goal of home ownership is achieved.

Strange as it sounds, many of our first-time buyers have told us that once they bought the house, other things in their life started to fall into place. It’s as if not owning took so much of their mental energy that other goals were not worked on until that big goal was reached. So buy a home and get on with your life!

#2: A greater sense of belonging to the community.

Once you own a home, you feel more attached to the city in which you live. You’re more interested in what happens in town, to the roads, schools, and shopping areas. Some people even become involved in local politics.

#3: A commitment to something, a sense of stability.

Home ownership is an anchor, something that cannot be pulled out from under you. You’ll never get a notice that you have to move. Your kids will never have to change schools. It gives you freedom to plan years ahead.

#4: You can change things, a feeling of being in control.

It’s your home. You can add to it, remodel it, and redo the landscaping.do whatever projects you want. You have a feeling of being in control of something in your life. At work we don’t always have control of what happens, but your home is your castle and you have dominion over it. You can see what you’re building take shape before your eyes.

#5: More control over the children than in an apartment complex.

In a neighborhood, kids usually play in the yards or go to friend’s houses a few doors away. Our clients have told us that in an apartment complex they never knew where the kids were. They could be in any of hundreds of apartments, doing who knows what. In a home you get to know the neighbors and watch out for each other’s kids.

#6: Children do better in school and feel more secure.

This one surprised us, but buyers have reported to us that their kids calmed down in school after they bought a house. We don’t know why, but it seems to work that way. We remember a single mom watching her son play in the yard, making steps in the slope and building things. She didn’t have to tell him to leave everything alone, like she did at the apartment complex. I guess kids feel the same need for control we adults do.

#7: Time and money saved by not going to the Laundromat.

A small point, but if you have kids, you know the value of this one. You gain a whole evening a week when you buy a house! The wash gets done in between other things, or while you’re at work. What would you do with the extra evening you’ll have? How about going out for dessert with your spouse with all those quarters?

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln lost his house twice because of cloudy title? It’s true. First American Corporation, which is one of the country’s largest title insurance underwriters, reports about the losses on its website and in a promotional brochure about the dangers of not having a clear title to land.

When it comes time to finish the paperwork for your first piece of real estate (investment or otherwise) you’re going to find out that many trees have lost their lives because of the paper shuffled back and forth to buy, sell, rent, insure, list, survey and record real estate.

There’s a lot of paperwork required in real estate. You eventually need to understand what all these papers mean that you’re signing. The most important piece of paper, however, is the deed. The deed, as defined by the Land Title Institute is “an instrument, of various forms, by which title to real estate is conveyed from one party to another.” Since Abraham Lincoln didn’t have “clear title” to the land, it was pulled out from underneath him and his family.

There are several ways you can hold title to a property. Just like the title on a car, you must also have a title to the land and home that you have purchased. To take title, you must declare the form of ownership in one of several ways. Each state governs how property can be held within its boundaries, so there may be other ways to hold title than just the three discussed here.

• Joint tenancy,
• Tenancy in common, or
• Tenancy by the entirety

Which is best? Well, they each offer various advantages and disadvantages, depending on your particular circumstances and how you want the property to pass if you die, sell it or get a divorce (for married owners). After the transaction is completed, the settlement attorney records this transfer of the deed at the courthouse to prove to all around that you are the rightful owner of the property. There are several ways to hold title to a property. The American Land Title Association defines these titles as thus:

“JOINT TENANTS – Two or more persons who hold title to real estate jointly, with equal rights to share in its enjoyment during their respective lives with the provision that upon the death of a joint tenant, his share in the property passes to the surviving tenants, and so on, until the full title is vested in the last survivor. A joint tenant cannot legally sell or encumber his interest without the consent or joinder of all of the other joint tenants.”

If you partner with two other people to purchase a house, this may be one method of title. If one dies, title remains in the surviving joint tenant without required further action. This means if you die, you cannot leave your share to your heirs. Joint tenants are not married, thus not treated as one legal entity. If an owner wants out of the title, he or she may petition the court to divide the property or order its sale. The property can also be divided if a judgment creditor petitions the court to collect the judgment from one of the owner’s shares.

“TENANTS IN COMMON – Two or more persons in whom title to a single piece of real estate is vested in such a manner that they have a common or equal right to possession and enjoyment of the property, but each holds a separate individual interest or estate in the property. Each owner may sell or encumber his respective interest or dispose of it by will, and if he dies without leaving a will, his heirs inherit his undivided.”

Some state laws presume tenants in common unless the deed specifies otherwise. In this case, if one owner dies that share does pass to his or her heirs, not necessarily the surviving owner. Unmarried property owners usually use tenants in common. A tenant in common may sell his interest without approval of the other owner and, unless specified otherwise, the law assumes you meant to have equal ownership.

“ESTATE BY ENTIRETIES – An estate or interest in real estate predicated upon the legal fiction that a husband and wife are one person. A conveyance or devise to them (unless contrary intent is expressed) vests title in them as one person. Upon the death of either husband or wife, full title passes to the survivor.”

Tenancy by the entirety may only be possible when the joint owners are husband and wife. This type of title provides for a common law right of survivorship, which means property goes automatically to the surviving spouse. No will, probate or other legal action is necessary, thus one spouse can not use a will to leave an interest to someone else.

This form of title follows the ancient legal theory that a married couple is one entity. Conveyance of the property must be done together and the property cannot be divided without the other. If a divorce occurs, tenancy by the entirety automatically converts to tenants in common.

Written by M. Anthony Carr

All Articles are Courtesy of Realty Times Inc.

Check out this new property that I just posted on my Web site. It is in Camarillo.

Check out this new property that I just posted on my Web site. It is in Camarillo.

Check out this new property that I just posted on my Web site. It is in Camarillo.