S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

An S.E.C. guest requested counsel with regard to an aging couple/prospective client, who had a gaggle of properties in a remote town. He wanted help on valuing so as to take a salable listing - a standard MLS broker’s approach.
He really liked the couple, and was stymied on how to proceed and was newly open [...]

Most exchange brokers exclaim loudly that their colleagues haven’t properly “COUNSELED” their client before bringing their package to the market place. When I used to teach brokers how to exchange, I would explain that commissions are “pooled and shared equally” as a norm. There usually was then an extended conversation about one side doing all [...]

Much effort, many dollars, extensive time, and talent gets spent exposing real estate equities to the marketplace(s), that many times are for naught. When an owner wants to change out of his current real estate into a different set of circumstances, the standard “drill” is to put it on the market shelf and struggle to [...]

Capital Gain Going In - 1031 Going Out Later
I counseled with another broker’s client recently about an interesting opportunity. Here are some facts about the deal to consider:

The broker has the clients’ property listed at $975,000.
The property is a 20 acre ridge top with fabulous views, a 3,000 sq. ft. older home and some farming [...]

The 1031 Exchange and the “delayed exchange” are tools that have been available since the founding of the Society of Exchange Counselors. The delayed exchange was not so rigorously defined with respect to the timing of replacement property selection and “must-close time” as it is today. However, Charles Considine (Richard Reno’s CPA from San Diego) [...]

The hue and cry of most real counselors is, “The broker doesn’t have any idea what it takes to make a deal with his client = no counseling!” “How do we get past the broker to interview the signer of the deed?”
If the questionable broker overhears the comment(s), his usual response is, “Make an offer [...]

Splitting Up the Bundle of Rights
Bill Zeckendorf became famous in the 50s as the Trump of his time in NY. One of his ways to finance his syndicated purchases was to finance each part of the property separately (leased land, building, leasehold, sandwich lease, air rights, etc.). When I was on my first honeymoon in [...]