Even Value of the White House Drops in Value

This post over at CNBC is amusing: http://www.cnbc.com/id/34956652 It just underlines the fact that no one has been been immune to this economy!

The Mortgage Electronic Registration System

A method to speed along mortgages during the peaks of recent years may now be back-firing on lenders now. More here in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/business/27gret.html?nl=your-money&emc=your-moneyema4

FOR SALE: Linton Taco Bell

It seems everything is FOR SALE in Linton these days!

Here's a listing for the Linton Taco Bell:
http://colerealtyadvisors.com/uploadedFiles/Properties_for_Sale/Offering%20Flyer%20-%20Taco%20Bell%20Linton%20IN.pdf

In past posts, you've read where Stoll's was for sale: http://magiccoalcity.blogspot.com/2009/03/update-asking-price-going-down.html

But apparently, they've switched Realtors now:
http://www.bizbuysell.com/work/429949/dastolls,linto.pdf

And even the Linton DQ is for sale:
http://magiccoalcity.blogspot.com/2009/03/for-sale-lintons-dq.html

Tax Sale Dates for Nearby Counties

Upcoming property tax lien sales are tentatively scheduled for these nearby counties:

Owen 09/01/09
Sullivan 10/06/09
Daviess 10/23/09

More dates to follow as they become available.

Property Tax Bills Will Hit Mailboxes Soon

According to the Greene County Treasurer’s Office earlier today, the county's property tax statements will be placed in the mail next week. Friday, June 26th will be the due date, they said.

‘Tis the Season to Start Growing

With a lot of farm ground in the area, it may be helpful for newer landlords to peruse this document by Purdue on farm leases, including tax considerations:
http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/EC/EC-713.pdf

In Search of Black Gold

If you own some acreage in the area, no doubt you’ve probably been approached about leasing your ground for oil exploration. If not, you may be hit up very soon. With energy a current, nationwide concern, the search for new wells is on-going.

Here’s a good piece from Purdue, which discusses many of the aspects related to oil leases: http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/EC/EC-564.pdf It’s aimed at ‘what you need to know’ before you sign the lease… but has good information for even those that may have already signed on the dotted line.

Detroit's New Opportunity

This article in the Chicago Tribune states the median price of a home sold in Detroit in December was $7,500 (no, that’s not a typo):

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-detroit-housingjan29,0,6397784,print.story

I suppose when you think things are bad where you’re at, there’s always something worse out there. In any event, this could spell detroit's single-biggest opportunity to overall itself.

Stay tuned to see how they handle the lemons they've been handed...

Former 'Happy Greek' Property SOLD!

A recent property transfer in the GCDW of property in Yeoman's First Addition to the City of Linton caught my eye the other day, one from Regions to APPLES ANGEL, LLC. This appears to be the former Happy Greek property, a nicely-located parcel on the highway through Linton.

Apples Angel, LLC was recently registered with the Indiana Secretary of State as a domestic, Limited Liability Company on 12/17/08. The registered agent for the company is Donna Apple with a mailing address of Sandborn, Indiana, according to their Articles of Organization.

As you may recall, Apple opened & now co-owns The Watering Can Flower Shop in Linton with Gina White, according to past stories in the GCDW.

Stoll's Country Inn - FOR SALE?

You never know what you’ll find on the ‘net. Today was no exception. To my surprise, I found that there’s a sales sheet for Stoll’s Country Inn in Linton.

With a price tag over a million dollars, I’m not sure how serious of an offer this is. At first blush, the price appears steep for the Linton market; however, I have no idea what type of revenues they do, so it could be a steal too.

Here’s the listing: http://www.commercialiq.com/listing/1876411

Greene County Tax Sale?

I’m really not sure what’s going on at the Greene County Courthouse.

In the Fall last year, they should have held a tax certificate sale on all properties with delinquent taxes to a point allowed by law to put on the list. That didn’t happen. (They did have a tax sale on properties that had been through the regular sale a time or two in hopes of dispensing of those ‘don’t want’ parcels, but that’s a different story.)

I’ve noted, however, that several Indiana counties are having their sales after the first of the year in 2009. On the 28th of January, for example, tax liens on parcels in Ripley County will be on the block. In February, Randolph & Dekalb county liens are up for grabs.

I haven’t seen info on Greene yet though… hmm…

Greene County's 'Big 3' of Real Estate

The ‘Big 3’ of real estate in Greene County (alphabetically):

http://www.harrahrealty.com/
http://www.hunleygmac.com/listings.php
http://www.keyassociatesoflinton.com/listings.php

A search on http://www.realtor.com/ for ‘47441’ yielded only 60 results. This is down from a couple years ago when 80 listings were pretty consistent.

There has to be something wrong with this, however, because there are a lot of homes up for sale. It’s apparent when driving down the roadways and side streets. I suppose several may be FSBO’s (For Sale By Owner).

I need to go out and reassess the situation because there’s something awry with only 60 listings being posted. I would guesstimate closer to 100 – at least – based on historical results and the current economic climate.

Quit Not Quick

I've always been amazed that our school system does not better prepare us to take on life's more costly situations. One such situation is buying a home, and it's arguably our most expensive purchase in life. How I recall, no one ever discussed real estate terms when I was in high school, although it would seem to be an excellent guest speaker opportunity for a Realtor, attorney, or title company employee to share in the classroom.

In any event, while there are many important documents in a real estate transaction, deeds are the most powerful documents in real estate in my opinion because they transfer ownership. When referring to various types of deeds, I've found that it is common to hear someone incorrectly say or write, "quick claim deed." Although it may sound very similar, it is actually called a "quitclaim" deed. It is called a "quitclaim" because it does exactly that: quits a claim to the property it refers to.

Quitclaim deeds transfer the ownership interest or rights in real estate to the recipient without stating what exactly the interest or right actually is in the property. This type of deed also does not provide any warranty of ownership, and that is key.

Commonly, they are used to clear up "clouds" on the title of a property, but can be used to transfer complete ownership -- of course without any warranties. (A "cloud" on the title is any potential lien, encumbrance, or claim that could impair the owner's title to the property, and a "clear title" has no clouds.) It's also common to see them used after a divorce when one of the former couple deeds their share of a property to the former spouse. Sometimes, you'll see them used when people deed property into a trust or a company they own.

By comparison, a warranty deed provides a guarantee that there are no issues in the chain of title (chain of title = way back when the government gave to Owner A, who sold to Owner B, who died and left it to Owner C, who divorced and transferred it to Owner D, who sold to Owner E… and you get the picture.) The seller can provide this guarantee because normally he or she is relying on the previous warranty deed given to them, which contains the same or similar warranties.

Title insurance also allows them to provide this warranty because if something does become an issue in the future, the policy covers the actual loss, subject to the limitations and exclusions listed within it. You'll note that I said "actual" in that last sentence. Just because there is a title issue, it seems most title insurance policies will typically only pay for actual losses.

Title insurance is a whole new topic though!

Mom & Dad, How About Some Land?

It has happened for ages, yet with the ever-increasing number of divorces, bankruptcies, and general use of credit, the scene has dramatically changed. Mom & Dad's little boy or girl is now grown up, married, and has children, and the young family may be looking to build a new home to escape the small confines of their current "starter" home or rental.
So, who do they turn to solve their problems for land?
Yep, Mom and Dad, and they're happy to help!
The parents are thrilled to have their son or daughter living so close, so they can see the grandkids all of the time, but this luxury may come at a future cost. In fact, Mom & Dad may give their child a small plot among their farm or excess acreage, the child and his/her new family may build a new home, and there may be several years of bliss. No one asks the simple yet painful question, "What happens if there is a divorce (assuming the couple is married) or otherwise a break-up, bankruptcy, loss of a job, or costly and unexpected illness occurs?"
Soon the once-new home filled with happy grandkids -- along with what use to be part of Mom & Dad's farm -- goes through foreclosure, sheriff sale, growing weeds, various infestations, and just maybe and eventually new faces move into the home.
Did I mention that these new faces next door to Mom & Dad also happen to have an endless stream of "five-minute friends" stopping by at all hours of the day-and-night but seemingly only when the porch light is on, a vicious pet named "Tiny" is tied up out back, and an interesting yet growing salvage yard art business begins even though they never seem to sell any of it?
Of course, now Mom and Dad are less than happy -- and rightfully so. Aside from losing their immediate family as neighbors, they have now given up part of the family farm that has been in the family for years, and they have the new faces next door to contend with, along with the other issues these new faces brought with them to the neighborhood.
But what could have changed this whole scenario?
A little planning, forethought, and a trip to your friendly, legal adviser would have certainly helped before the land was even given. Although I'm not an attorney, nor play one on TV, I can think of two potential ideas that could have helped in this situation:
One is called a "First Right of Refusal" clause in the deed and another is implementing "Deed Restrictions and Covenants" on the land given to the kids.
The online encyclopedia Wikipedia defines "First Right of Refusal" as "a contractual right granted by the owner of something, that gives the holder of the right an option to enter a business transaction with the owner according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter that transaction with a third party." In other words, Mom & Dad have the right to be first in line to purchase the property back, possibly even at a pre-set price, say, the average of two appraisers' opinions of value, for example. One is chosen by the buyer, and the other one is picked by the seller.
If you look up "restrictive covenant" on the same website, you'll note that it is "a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer to do -- or not to do something." It goes on to say, "such restrictions frequently 'run with the land' and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property. Some examples include: maintaining a property in a reasonable state of repair, preserving a sight-line for a neighboring property, not to run a business from a residence, or not to build on certain parts of the property."
In both of these instances, however, it assumes the parents have the money or financing available to re-purchase the property (possibly with a new home and other improvements now on it) or pay the costs to sue to enforce the covenants if they are broken, respectively.
Although these may or may not work in a particular situation, the point is this: when you seek legal help, don't just solve today's pressing issues, such as preparing the deed. You should spend a little time exploring what could go wrong -- or at least not as planned -- in the future with your legal advisor, so potential situations can be dealt with before they happen. Although it may cost a little more now, it could save thousands later.
As Ben Franklin was credited saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."