REI WEALTH MONTHLY

Your Digital Guide to Real Estate Wealth

Stephanie Mojica

Biden’s Plan May Incentivize the Construction of New Housing

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By Stephanie Mojica

U.S. President Joe Biden has amped up his efforts to increase affordable housing in the country in response to the housing shortage, multiple media outlets reported. Biden’s plan, which was unveiled on Monday, May 16, 2022, may incentivize real estate investors to build more multi-family housing and steer them away from purchasing single-family homes, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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Home prices and inflation, as well as several years of hampered home construction, have contributed to Biden’s plan, per Scotsman Guide. However, it could take up to five years for the plan to become reality.

Since the 1970s, it has been increasingly difficult to build affordable housing due to costs and zoning regulations, The Wall Street Journal reported. “Tiny homes” are a rapidly growing trend, but many cities have next-to-impossible requirements for permits, parking, and the like.

Under Biden’s plan, a number of reforms and new initiatives could take place, including:

  • Rewarding jurisdictions that relax their zoning and land use requirements.
  • Improving the benefits of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, which is geared toward affordable rental housing.
  • Encouraging state, local, and tribal governments to use some of their COVID-19 funds to create more affordable housing units.
  • Developing new types of mortgages and improving existing programs to allow more flexibility.
  • Increasing the number of owner-occupants in single family homes.
  • Discouraging investors from purchasing single-family homes, which critics say is driving up housing prices to the point where everyday people cannot afford to buy a home of their own.
  • Increasing financing for investors who pursue developing and rehabbing multi-family properties.

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Also, members of the Biden administration say they are meeting with stakeholders in the building industry to find out what it will take to complete more homes by the end of 2022. The increased price of building materials as well as labor shortages have been blamed for the dramatic decrease of new construction in 2022.

Married couple allegedly tried to steal Boulder properties with forged deeds

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Image from Pixabay

By Stephanie Mojica

A married couple allegedly tried to steal seven properties from a now-deceased real estate investor, according to MSN and Yahoo! Finance. On Friday, May 13, one of the suspects pleaded guilty to two criminal charges in connection with the scheme.

Savuth Yin, 27, and Yulisa Yin, 24, of the Boulder, Colo. area were charged with multiple crimes in connection with their alleged scheme, which falsified 14 quit claim deeds, court records show.

Savuth Yin pleaded guilty to possessing a defaced firearm and attempted theft, MSN reported. He could serve up to 13 ½ years behind bars, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Charges against Yulisa Yin are still pending.

The legal property owner, 77-year-old Fred Oelke, was found dead in his Boulder area home in September 2021, authorities say. The cause of his death was “undetermined” and none of the Yins’ criminal charges are in connection with it, according to court records.

However, a spokeswoman with the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office told MSN in an email interview that Oelke’s death was “suspicious” and is still being investigated. She further added that while the charges against the Yins are not related to Oelke’s death, no one has been eliminated or identified as a suspect in it.

Image from Pixabay

Someone called a funeral home claiming to be a relative of Oelke’s and asking for his body to be cremated as soon as possible, Yahoo! Finance reported. Keys, property-related documents, and vehicle titles disappeared from Oelke’s home after his death, court records show. Oelke’s tenants say they received calls, purportedly from his relatives, demanding they move out of their homes.

The properties the Yins allegedly tried to steal were worth nearly $3 million, per MSN. Oelke was the couple’s landlord.

The Yins allegedly forged signatures and faked the names of notaries to claim the properties for themselves under the name Nathaniel Turner in the months before Oelke’s death, Yahoo! Finance reported.

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South Florida investments soar in popularity in Q3 of 2021

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Image from Pixabay

By Stephanie Mojica

South Florida is rapidly becoming one of the most-desired places in the United States for real estate investors, according to Redfin. In the last quarter of 2021, investors bought nearly $2.2 billion of real estate in Miami alone.

Four of the top 10 cities in the United States for real estate investments are in Florida and three are in the southern part of the country. The complete list, in numerical order, is:

1. Atlanta

2. Charlotte

3. Jacksonville

4. Las Vegas

5. Phoenix

6. Miami

7. Orlando

8. Tampa

9. Nashville

10. Fort Lauderdale

At the national level, about 18% more real estate properties were purchased as investments in 2021 compared to 2020.

Image from Pixabay

One of the advantages of investing in South Florida is “lucrative tax breaks,” Carolina Gerdts, executive vice president at RelatedISG Realty in Florida, said during an interview with Go Banking Rates.

“…cities such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale are being transformed into house-flipping hotspots where everyone is trying to grab their own piece of paradise through the existing inventory,” Gerdts added. “Given the current prices of existing inventory, those who are willing to put in the extra effort to remodel properties are more likely to snag deals and prime locations within South Florida’s hot real estate sphere.”

Image from Pixabay

While the Sun Belt in general has become more popular due to lower prices than the West Coast and Northeast, cities such as Los Angeles, Anaheim, and New York are still popular, according to the report.

While practices such as buying low and selling high at a later date and flipping houses are still popular, some investors are purchasing higher end properties to rent, according to Redfin economist Sheharyar Bokhari. Part of this shift is the lack of new construction in recent years, a lack of low-priced housing in an increasingly competitive market, and rental housing shortages.

Image from Pixabay

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Breaking News: Proposed CA Bill Would Impose 25% Gain Tax, Plus Time Restrictions on House Flippers

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By Stephanie Mojica

Alleging that house flipping is preventing average people from buying a home, a California Assembly member has proposed a law that would require short-term real estate investors to pay a 25% gain tax, according to CBS 8.

If passed, the California Housing Speculation Act would start on January 1, 2023. The Assembly member behind the bill is Democrat Chris Ward from San Diego County’s 78th District.

There is an “influx of short-term investors trying to get into the market, outbid San Diegans and Californians with all-cash offers, and drive the prices up for everyone,” Ward told CBS 8.

The Assembly member also cited concerns with California housing shortages making it difficult for people to find affordable housing.

Norm Miller, a real estate professor at the University of California, San Diego, said even if the law passes the odds are still favorable for real estate investors.

Investors will still get “unlimited tax write offs from the mortgage interest and the property taxes,” Miller said. “[They’ll] also get depreciation, which is something an owner does not get on their own personal residence.”

To voice your opinion on Chris Ward’s bill, call his office at 619-645-3090. Visit https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov to find the contact information for your representative and call their office as well.

LLC for Real Estate Investing

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By Stephanie Mojica

A critical step for new and existing real estate investors is to form an LLC or Limited Liability Company. In the simplest of terms, an LLC protects an investor’s personal assets — whether those are cash, bank accounts, or personal property.

Whether the investor is into flipping houses or being a landlord, an LLC ensures that the person himself or herself does not actually owe any debt. The company is responsible for any contracts, debts, lawsuits, leases, and liabilities.

If business goes bad, the people and companies that believe they are owed money can only pursue the LLC — not the individual(s) behind the company unless fraud or another crime was involved, according to Yahoo! Finance.

However, there are some critical steps to take even after a real estate investor forms an LLC. Any properties must be purchased in the company’s name, not an individual’s name. This ensures the ultimate protection.

If someone buys a home to flip or rent out and ends up owing more on the mortgage than the property is worth, the bank cannot come after the individual if the home is officially owned by the LLC.

Image from Pixabay

A caveat is that many banks do not want to issue mortgage notes to a new LLC, because it’s risky for them. That’s why a business plan is so important. (See our past article “House Flippers Need a Business Plan” for a more in-depth discussion on this topic.)

Other potential drawbacks to an LLC come at tax time and when an individual transfers assets to it, so an attorney is probably a necessary resource, according to LegalZoom.com. Also, each state has different laws regarding an LLC.

However, done properly, an LLC seems to have more benefits than downsides. Other good news is that the costs are usually minimal. As always, before making any major decisions in such areas speak to a qualified real estate attorney.

Sources for this article:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/form-llc-real-estate-investing-194323289.html

https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/forming-an-llc-for-real-estate-investments-pros-cons

http://reiwealthmag.com/house-flippers-need-a-business-plan/

Retirement Savings Gone After Investment in Fraudulent Company Resembling SDIRA Custodian

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By Stephanie Mojica

A Wisconsin woman lost her entire retirement savings by investing with a now-deceased friend’s business, My IRA, LLC, according to the Milwaukee NBC television affiliate TMJ4. It seems the company attempted to resemble an SDIRA – a Self-Directed Individual Retirement Account custodian.

My IRA, LLC was started by a tax preparer and purported investor, Michael Cuccia, who suddenly died in November 2020, according to TMJ4. When people who had invested in his company sought the return of their assets, they were stunned to learn that most of them were nowhere to be found, according to TMJ4.

Attorney Anne Cohen stated that her client Diane Conklin had a 401(K) account, but needed to figure out her best options when she broke her back in 2012.

Image from Pixabay

“She had learned that she could no longer work and wanted to make sure that the funds she had in her 401(K) were in a secure account,” Cohen told TMJ4.“Because she quickly was learning that was all of the wealth she was going to amass in her lifetime due to her disability.”

According to Cohen, Conklin knew Cuccia professionally and also considered him a friend. Cuccia told Conklin to take her money out of her 401(K) account and invest in his My IRA, LLC company, according to a lawsuit Conklin filed against Cuccia’s estate.

Cuccia claimed Conklin had no risk of losing her assets and she was guaranteed a 5% return on investment each year, according to Cohen.

“…after years and years of friendship and going to him for tax advice, she trusted his advice,” Cohen told TMJ4.

After Cuccia’s sudden death, Conklin and others could not reclaim their assets, according to Cohen.

People had invested anywhere from $5,000 to $200,000 with Cuccia’s company, according to Cohen. The total was $1 million, but Cuccia only had about $200,000 in assets, according to Cohen.

Image from Pixabay

Anyone considering making an investment should be automatically suspicious if they are told there is no risk involved, according to Robin Jacobs from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions Enforcement Bureau.

“When you invest your money in something, it means you’re going to take a risk in exchange for getting a return,” Jacobs explained during her interview with TMJ4.“Of course there’s no guarantee.”

Investors should also steer clear if one or more of the following warning signs are present:

  • A vague or confusing business model.
  • Time limits on when you can invest.
  • High-pressure sales tactics.
  • A lack of disclosure documents.
  • No audited financial records.

Would-be investors should also research whether the person they’re talking to has the proper training and licensure.

Image from Pixabay

In Wisconsin, that can be cleared up with a phone call to the Department of Financial Institutions Enforcement Bureau.

“…we can tell (you) whether that person is registered either as an investment advisor or a broker-dealer and if they’re not registered…I would be very suspicious of that person,” Jacobs said during her interview with TMJ4.

Some broker-dealers and investment advisors must register with FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) or the SEC (the Securities and Exchange Commission), while others do not. It depends on whether the professional does business in one or multiple states.

The regulation bodies for other states include:

  • California Department of Business Oversight
  • Texas State Securities Board
  • Idaho Department of Finance
  • New York State Attorney General
  • Arizona Corporation Commission
  • Nevada Secretary of State
  • Florida Office of Financial Regulation

Any inquiry to your local business licensing or permits office or a quick Google search should point you in the right direction.

Back to Cuccia’s purported victims, the future is unknown.

Conklin and other people who claim they were swindled by Cuccia are waiting to see if the courts will award them any of what’s left from his estate, according to TMJ4.

Attorneys representing Cuccia’s estate declined to be interviewed by TMJ4.

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