Category Archives: Proposition 13 & 58 Tax Relief Still Popular with Californians

PART TWO: California Proposition 58 and Loans to Trusts ~ Featuring Noted Trust Loan Expert Tanis Alonso from Commercial Loan Corp.

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Loans to Irrevocable Trusts for Proposition 58

California Loans to Irrevocable Trusts for Proposition 58 Property Tax Transfers

Our Interview with noted Commercial Loan Corp. Trust Loan and Proposition 58 specialist Tanis Alonso continues…

Property Tax Transfer:  Tanis, let me ask you…  Beneficiaries that call your company, desperate to keep parents property taxes;  for any solution to their property transfer / Proposition 58 issue – is it a safe bet to assume that 99% of the time there are elements that come up again and again?

Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation): Well, that’s true, to a point. With beneficiaries that call us, with a trust or estate situation, there is always real property being inherited, going to one or several beneficiaries… and little, if any, cash – and each family always has different dynamics. There are always differences, as regards the people and details involved. But, the one constant you can be sure of is that there is always someone who wants to sell… and always someone who wants to keep the property they are inheriting… dead set against selling.

Property Tax Transfer: And at the end of the tunnel, is it safe to assume that with your company it’s generally a win-win equation, for everyone involved. Everyone involved, more or less, get what they want, right?

Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation): That’s right.  99% of the time. The beneficiary, or beneficiaries, that want cash from the sale of the property that they’re inheriting, get the cash they were looking for, from the trust loan…

Property Tax Transfer: And the beneficiary or beneficiaries that want to keep the house, get to keep that house, and keep parents property taxes…

Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation): Yes! And let me say that, typically, this is a really, really big win for them – as the siblings that wanted to sell are usually very vocal, and very aggressive about their desire to do so! That beneficiary that wants to keep that property, that is also able to get the other siblings a large amount of cash for their shares in the inherited real estate – while still being able to keep the home they’re so attached to, and keep parents property taxes; keeping parents property tax rate.  This would be practically impossible, were it not for our trust loan. And there’s your win-win equation!

Property Tax Transfer: And what about the cost factor? Costs involved in the equation… How does everyone benefit on that level, getting cash to the beneficiaries that wanted cash from a house sale? Versus coming up with property buyout cash themselves…
       
Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation): OK, so cost involved, selling versus keeping inherited property. I’ll try to keep the equation simple. Costs associated with this property funding process through a trust loan, paying for everything, including beneficiary property shares buyout, taxes, etc. is, on average, 3.5% – So by someone keeping the family property everyone will receive more money than if they were to sell the property at approximately 6.5% in costs. The average trust receives $45,716 more to distribute than if they were to sell the property to some random buyer.  Each beneficiary on average is receiving $16,652 more by someone keeping the property, instead of selling it. And our average annual tax savings is $6,043. We have already saved a combined amount just shy of 1 million dollars for our clients on property taxes. That is a significant benefit for all beneficiaries when someone keeps the property instead of selling it! 

PropertyTax Transfer: So you’re saying those savings would have been completely lost, per beneficiary, if they had sold out to a regular buyer…

Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation): That’s right. For example, say it’s you and your sister.  A major conflict. You want to keep the house you’re all inheriting from your parents, plus keep parents property taxes. Why should I let my sister sell? The solution there is because you are going to get more cash in your hands than if you were to sell the property! That’s the bottom line. A trust loan transaction takes 7-10 business days whereas selling will take a few months. Everyone receives more money, more rapidly, then if they were to sell the property on the open market. Everyone benefits from this… it’s win-win all the way around.

PropertyTaxTransfer: So you let your sister sell, so everyone wins – is what you’re saying.

Tanis Alonso: Of course! Let her sell, let her get her way – and you end up getting your way… you get what you wanted, to keep your house with everyone paid off and happy. No more conflict. On a $500,000 property – do you want to spend 6.5% to sell that property, with a realtor, or 3.5% through our trust loan, in keeping with the Proposition 58 tax system? Which number would you want to give away, 6.5% or 3.5%? 

Property Tax Transfer: Naturally. So the long range picture looks like increases in taxes as well, so that’s not as affordable either.

Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation): Absolutely right. In certain cases a property tax reassessment can add an extra $700 to $1000 per month to your property taxes. That’s an extra $1,000 per month – not per year! Month after month. That is affordability vs not affordability to many. 

Property Tax Transfer: Going through the Proposition 58 tax system, with the trust loan paying everyone off…  What would property taxes look like going down that road?

Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation): OK so the question is, “why do I need a trust loan to buy out beneficiaries who want to sell our inherited house?”  The answer is you can still keep the house you’re inheriting, and not spend any of your own money in the process.  The importance of the trust loan is that you can buy out your siblings and still keep parents property taxes. You keep 100% of the low Proposition 13 property tax base that was originally paid by your parents.  If you were to use your own money to buy out your siblings, the State Board of Equalization would see that as a sibling buying out a sibling – and that would definitely trigger a property tax reassessment. Naturally, the result of that would be higher taxes.  So you need the trust loan to buy out your siblings in order to take advantage of Proposition 58, and keep the low property tax base. 

Property Tax Transfer: Most people don’t have that kind of cash on hand nor do they want to use all of their cash for this just to buy out beneficiaries in an estate setting. Especially if the numbers go higher…

Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation):  Beneficiaries who want to keep their inherited property still put a lot more money in their pocket, still save a lot more,  by not using their own funds…  by buying out beneficiaries that want to sell by going the trust loan route.  Staying within the discounted Proposition 13 tax base, being able to keep parents property taxes … taking advantage of the  Proposition 58 property tax system, or tax shelter.  Using this tax shelter  that we looked at before, if you recall – would be around $1,200 per year on a million dollar property.  Saving thousands of dollars annually on property taxes by taking advantage of Proposition 58; keeping their parents low property tax base. 

Property Tax Transfer: Yes, the difference in the numbers are stunning.

Tanis Alonso (Commercial Loan Corporation):  Yes it is.  So if you use your own money to buy out your siblings you will trigger a reassessment… if that was reassessed normally, without doing the property transfer and beneficiary payoff with our trust loan – you’d be looking at an $11,000 tax hit per year on the same million dollar property!  If reassessed at the current, present day, base rate – that tax hit goes up 10 times. A significant difference in cash back in your pocket after it’s all done and said. Trust loans are a huge benefit for all of these families and that’s how we’re able to really help people in a significant way.  

Property Tax Transfer: The amount of money saved really is remarkable.  And I can see that you genuinely enjoy helping your clients save a great deal of money with these trust loans. Making great use of the low Proposition 13 base rate, and the Proposition 58 property transfer tax shelter… The formula works!

Tanis Alonso: Absolutely. And helping people in this way is what it’s all about! That entire viewpoint is the basis for this whole company, from the top down – starting with the CEO, who is a truly terrific guy, who genuinely loves helping people, with money, memories, and time. And you can’t replace memories and time!

Property Tax Transfer:  You can’t replace memories and time… Very well put!  That is a concept to remember.

Tanis Alonso: It is so important to remember, when you truly care about what happens to the people you’re helping.

Property Tax Transfer: Very true.  Your clients are lucky to have you folks working for them.  Thanks so much for speaking with us today.

Tanis Alonso: Thank you.  It was a great pleasure chatting with you.

Proposition 13 & 58 Tax Relief Still Popular with Californians, Despite Critics

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Is Proposition 13 & 58 in demand despite critics… Without hesitation, the answer is yes. On June 6, 1978, 42 years ago, California voters passed Proposition 13 with 65% of the total vote. And to this day, interestingly enough, 65% of “likely voters” in California still support this tax relief initiative.

This popular and unique property tax break immediately froze California home owners’ real estate tax rate at 1% of the assessed value of their property – i.e., the assessed value on the day they bought the property.

So if you were a California resident at that time, you clearly saw that taxes on your home and land were no longer reassessed at current market value – and no longer went up more than 2% in total. And home owners in California are fortunate enough to be benefiting from the same formula 42 years later.

Moreover, the ability local governments had to raise money for city and town running budgets, including school funding – by arbitrarily raising real estate taxes whenever they felt it was needed – was all of a sudden severely restricted. And restrictions remain popular with consumers to this day.

The only parties perhaps not so thrilled with these restrictions and everything else associated with Prop 13 are political parties motivated to destroy Proposition 13 regardless how many critical protections for commercial and industrial properties are  guaranteed by Proposition 13, not to mention raising their commercial property taxes by billions… Plus certain individuals involved within the political arm of the educational system in California… as well as conventional executives, realtors, brokers, and other functionaries involved in the real estate market.

Click Here: For More Discussion on Critics of Proposition 13, at the Taxpayers Association… and on the stability home owners, renters & businesses have from Proposition 13, being able to avoid property tax reassessment; plus the positive affect Prop 13 has on local CA government – bearing in mind robust tax revenues pouring into local government coffers since Proposition 13 was passed.

Unfortunately, these folks in the California real estate business will simply have to continue riding the merry-go-round affecting the real estate market, with up-and-down sales cycles.  Let’s face it, they have had their mega profitable bull years, and now they’ll just have to learn how to cope with a bear market for a few years.

And pinning the blame on Proposition 13 and Prop 58, as well as blaming  “elderly home owners who don’t wish to put their house on the market”, simply isn’t going to fly. The shrinking numbers of homes becoming available to buy and sell is a natural business cycle.  And that’s just the way it goes.

Proposition 13 & 58 in demand despite critics?  It certainly is…

Click here for more on polling data and the vast popularity of Prop  13 in California, among middle class and upper middle class home owners of all ages…

With so many property owners inheriting property taxes – yet urgently needing to transfer parents’ property taxes so they can keep parents property taxes the way they are, and not fall prey to egregious tax increases. Hence, that 65% to 70% approval for Proposition 13 in California will only go up, and up, as the  reality of the real job market and the real job-based economy in general becomes clearer and hits home, in stark direct contrast to the sunny unrealistic TV news stories people are subjected to every night on CNN and MSNBC and network news,  citing the “strongest economy is 50 years!” while ignoring the millions of under-employed people with PHD’s waiting on tables and bar-tending…

Or, we’re forced to listen to uninformed politicians  breathlessly decrying the “lowest unemployment numbers in decades”, based solely on how many people are signing up for unemployment checks, while completely ignoring the millions of workers no longer receiving unemployment checks, who have fallen into the cracks and disappeared off the grid.

Perceiving all this realistically, and personally experiencing the ups and downs of real estate in one of the key property states in the union, middle class Californians realize the importance of saving every dollar they can – and this is where Proposition 13 and Prop 58 and 193 step in and provide such critical, often life-saving, support in this regard.

Please feel free to provide your thoughts below.  We are always interested in your comments and ideas, and will continue to publish your interesting feedback: