Why Consulting With an Attorney, a Property Tax Specialist or Trust Lender is Crucial Now, When Inheriting a Home in California

Inheriting a Home in California

Inheriting a Home in California

When inheriting a home from parents, one should always have a reliable estate attorney, if we’re looking to transfer a parent’s property taxes or we’re inheriting assets in trust or in a standard estate or probate; with an experienced eye on all  proceedings, especially the process of “equalizing trust loan distribution among beneficiaries” if a trust loan is a part of the process – a phrase often used by property tax specialists, and frequently misunderstood by heirs and beneficiaries.

“Equalizing trust loan distribution” simply means that each heir or beneficiary / sibling intent on selling their shares of inherited property  left to them by a parent, will receive an equal amount of money… settling expenses when there is little or no cash in the trust. 

Paying off a debt that a parent or grandparent has on a home can impact beneficiaries looking to borrow, as well as lenders. Having a competent attorney who knows how to structure a trust so that beneficiaries looking to keep inherited property at their parent’s low property tax base can retain that family property… while making sure that co-beneficiaries intent on selling their inherited property get an equal share of cash from a loan to an irrevocable trust.

This is where an experienced trust lender comes into play, preferably a lender that provides trust funding with their own capital, which ensures that interest charged will be as low as possible. Not using expensive money from investors, lenders with their own capital are free to charge as little as they wish, in terms of fees. In fact, a trust lender like this is free to exercise extreme flexibility with underwriting, maintaining particularly reasonable terms and conditions; as well as being able to implement trust loan transactions quickly, in seven to ten days.


A private money lender that loans to irrevocable trusts, applies for and works in tandem with California Proposition 19… So all the beneficiaries [in the family] who are looking to sell their real property shares – for the purpose of facilitating “non pro-rata distribution”, in other words getting an equal share of the entire overall estate – however not necessarily of every asset.

If there is a family that goes to a conventional, pricey lender like Wells Fargo for instance – they will always require adult children, beneficiaries that want to sell an inherited property, to ‘go off-title’, and that always triggers present-day tax reassessment. And that spells an expensive 66.66% tax hike!

If the family in question uses the Commercial Loan Corp, a company we have been using for years… the loan they provide is to a trust, and not to beneficiaries; so there is no title, and no crippling 66.66% property tax reassessment. Their terms can be a lot more flexible than an institutional lender like Wells Fargo or Bank of America. Also, Commercial Loan Corp is self funded, and that’s basically why they can extend easier terms to clients.

Compliance for both commercial and residential property owners is far less strict. Commercial Loan Corp doesn’t charge any fees up-front, that’s another great benefit. Plus, they don’t require paying interest on their trust loan in advance. Not only that, there is never a “due-on-sale” clause… that requires the mortgage to be repaid in full when sold; or that all or some of the interest owed must be paid up-front to secure the mortgage. No “alienation clause”… in the event of a property transfer, stating that the borrower has to pay back the mortgage in full before the borrower can transfer the property to another person. There is none of that.

Having access to private capital, along with seasoned advice, and expertise from a property tax consultant and a trust lender on how to transfer a parent’s property taxes,  becomes even more crucial in an inheritance scenario when a family is looking to keep a family home for a long period of time. 

California Proposition 19, which was (voted into law in 1986) formerly California Proposition 58, can enable a parent-to-child home transfer of a “principal residence” to be excluded from property tax reassessment even if associated with a “change in ownership”.  Which could trigger reassessment of property taxes, often by accident, resulting in  property tax reassessment – if not for experienced guidance from a trust lender and, frequently, from a property tax consultant or tax attorney as well, guiding the trust loan process and  property tax transfer; working in concert with Proposition 19 and parent-to-child exclusion (from high current  market rates).

Advice from property tax transfer specialists like this generally includes guidance for beneficiaries and new home owners within the process of being able to transfer a parent’s property taxes, plus showing inheritors what they need to do to keep parents property taxes when inheriting property and subsequently inheriting property taxes from a parent.

Contact Commercial Loan Corporation for all of your Trust Loan needs at https://cloanc.com/ or by phone at 877-464-1066.

 

Beneficiary Property Disputes Resolved by Loans to Irrevocable Trusts

Loans to Irrevocable Trusts

Loans to Irrevocable Trusts

Over the past several years, since 2016, we have seen a fair amount of estates, or inheritances in trust, that are embroiled in a dispute or infra-family trust battle over who should be receiving the larger share of cash assets or the largest percentage of an old home left a Mom or a Dad. And we see this pattern repeated over and over again; the same words, the same playbook, similar arguments and similar claims.

Several US firms that provide inheritance loans and cash advance assignments for estate heirs and trust beneficiaries receiving inheritance assets and property have all confirmed, when asked, that up to 75% of the families they have provided advance funds to were mired in infra-family squabbles and disputes over inheritance funds or inherited real estate. 

In California a simple trust loan solution involving Proposition 58, as well as specific tax breaks within Proposition 13, resolve certain beneficiary property disputes.  Only in California is it possible for family members to buyout a co-beneficiary, usually a sibling or several siblings, with the help of established property tax breaks…

Therefore, family disputes caused by sibling disagreements over whether or not they should sell or retain shared inherited property; or what that inherited property value should be, if the assigned tax assessor value is mistrusted, can easily be minimized… Generally, these conflicts are resolved rapidly and satisfactorily if a large loan to an irrevocable trust (working in tandem with CA Proposition 58) is implemented effectively through an experienced trust lender.

If this trust loan process is not implemented properly, the wheels trend to come off the estate wagon, so to speak, and these particular estates typically do not end well.  Whereas, if this trust loan & Prop 58 process is executed correctly beneficiaries end up owning their  inherited property securely, while siblings who insist on selling their inherited property shares end up receiving more money through the trust loan process than if they had received a direct non-trust cash payment from an outside buyer.

Residential and commercial property owners in every single state in America need to research benefits provided by trust lenders furnishing loans to trusts, specifically loans to irrevocable trusts and CA Proposition 13 transfer of property establishing a fixed low base rate in conjunction with a Proposition 58 transfer of parents’ property and transfer of parents property taxes. 

All property owners, for their own good, will eventually have to understand what inheriting parents property, inheriting property taxes, property tax transfer and what the ability to  transfer parents property taxes is really all about.  Plus how to keep parents property taxes at the lowest base rate possible.  Moreover, they must understand why a parent to child transfer, or parent to child exclusion, is so profoundly important and creates the core of property tax relief in California… And we can only hope in other states as well.  If homeowners in other states begin calling and sending emails to their often invisible representatives in Washington DC, this might actually become a reality in the near future – and should, given the economic challenges middle class families are facing, and will continue to face for some time to come.

Goods and services as well as real estate can be incredibly pricey in states like Connecticut, Texas, California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts… these are all expensive states, in terms of day to day living… However, decreasing property taxes down to a more manageable level can change people’s entire outlook on their life, helping middle class families to function more effectively with financial struggles, at least to some degree.

Moreover, the concept of paying yearly taxes on something you purchase and then keep for many years, might be flawed to begin with. What other large purchase you may make continues to charge you fees for ownership, for the rest of the time that you own that item?  Other than insurance, do you continue to pay taxes on a boat you own? An airplane? A car? A motorcycle? None. Only real property.  Perhaps the whole concept of taxing real estate after the initial purchase could use some fresh, new examination.

At any rate, California is still the only state in America where you can avoid property tax reassessment at current market rates; capped at 2% taxation,  as long as you own property inherited from parents… thanks to 1978 CA Proposition 13 enabling the ability to  transfer parents property taxes.  These issues are covered in detail on the California State Board of Equalization, that covers Proposition 58 at great length.  Or you can look at business oriented sites that focus on property tax relief,  such as trust loans and Proposition 58 at sites like Commercial Loan Corp;  or go take a look at resource info blogs such as Loan to a Trust, or even a blog like this one,  Property Tax News for information on Proposition 19, Proposition 13, and support or opposition to property tax relief in California, in the present as well as in years past for an accurate historical perspective.