Assessor Parcels vs buildable lots
The Assessor creates Assessor Parcels for assessment and taxation purposes. These may not be legal, buildable lots. You should always check with the county or city planning departments to verify whether or not a particular Assessor Parcel constitutes a buildable lot.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Dirty Deeds
I'm now on the lookout for USA land but the deeds are confusing. Here's what I've found out:
Warranty Deed - this is really the only type of deed I'm interested in, as a buyer. A warranty deed ensures that the person who's selling the property is the actual owner, that the title is fee of encumbrances and that the seller will defend the title, if someone comes along years later, after the sale, claiming that they had rights on the property.
Special Warranty Deed - this is similar, but only has a limited guarantee - the seller guarantees the time-frame that he/she owned the property. Be careful here - remember, some places are being 'flipped' in a very short time frame. A special warranty deed could prove to be fairly worthless if the seller bought the property as a Quit Claim Deed two weeks ago.
Quit Claim Deed - this is the dirtiest deed of all. No warranties - not even one that the seller has any rights to sell the property. TREAD VERY CAREFULLY!!!!
Warranty Deed - this is really the only type of deed I'm interested in, as a buyer. A warranty deed ensures that the person who's selling the property is the actual owner, that the title is fee of encumbrances and that the seller will defend the title, if someone comes along years later, after the sale, claiming that they had rights on the property.
Special Warranty Deed - this is similar, but only has a limited guarantee - the seller guarantees the time-frame that he/she owned the property. Be careful here - remember, some places are being 'flipped' in a very short time frame. A special warranty deed could prove to be fairly worthless if the seller bought the property as a Quit Claim Deed two weeks ago.
Quit Claim Deed - this is the dirtiest deed of all. No warranties - not even one that the seller has any rights to sell the property. TREAD VERY CAREFULLY!!!!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Real Estate - USA Tax
Today, I've been on the hunt for a CPA in Florida. I came across this website for the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants - www.ficpa.org - which lists its members.
I've knocked up a spreadsheet of the expenses we incurred in 2010 and have shot it though to a couple of accountants to give me a quote on how much it will cost to prepare and lodge our tax in the States.
For your information, the total closing costs, including attorney, title agent, inspections, government fees, postage, bank fees etc came to a total of just over $5000, so we got through the whole process, walk in, walk out, for under $71,000.
I've knocked up a spreadsheet of the expenses we incurred in 2010 and have shot it though to a couple of accountants to give me a quote on how much it will cost to prepare and lodge our tax in the States.
For your information, the total closing costs, including attorney, title agent, inspections, government fees, postage, bank fees etc came to a total of just over $5000, so we got through the whole process, walk in, walk out, for under $71,000.
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