Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The resale market for Tenant in Common Properties

I constantly get asked "What is the market for reselling a Tenant in Common interest?"

As with most things, it depends.

If you exchange into a tenant in common property, say a large office building, you will own a deeded fraction of that building. You can sell it at any time, assuming of course you can find a buyer.

Since this type of exchange was only sanctioned by the IRS in 2002, the resale market has not been tested to any great degree to date. It is a 5 billion dollar industry, so a lot of people have chosen to go this route to defer capital gains tax and receive an income on their equity.

Common sense rules of real estate still apply. If you have made a good selection of your TIC and the management company is doing a good job, your investment remains an attractive option for another exchange. There are often more exchangers than good properties these days. Wouldn't you want someone else's TIC share if it was performing well?

On the flip side, if you don't do your due diligence, go with a reputable company, choose a management company with a great track record, or buy into a property where the assumptions made by the sellers don't stand up over the long run, you may have a hard time convincing someone else to buy your share.

It's just like any real estate transaction. If the property is bought at a reasonable price, is in a good location, has good management and good long term tenants, it remains an attractive investment. Over the long term, like most good real estate, it will appreciate in value. If the property was overpriced, is poorly run, not in a great location, and has tenants that wreck the place and don't pay their rent, it becomes unattractive to someone looking to buy.

The moral of the story is, do your homework. Hire someone to help you make a good decision and point out the pros and cons. Work with reputable companies who know their business. These concepts apply across the board to all investments.

There are always buyers for good real estate. It's the not so great properties in not so great locations that will have a hard time reselling.

Paula Straub


askpaula@savegainstax.com

Thursday, February 16, 2006

When a Private Annuity Trust makes sense for your Primary Residence

You bought a home 10 years ago for 200K. With the recent appreciation of real estate in many states your home is now worth 1 million dollars. Sounds too good to be true? Welcome to California.

Now you have a million dollar residence, but if you sell, even if you're married and qualify for a 500K personal exclusion, you will still owe capital gains tax on 300K dollars. It's not unlikely that in Califoria that would amount to about 70K.

Let's say you are retired. How long would it take you to replace 70K in savings? Or, what if your spouse passed away a couple of years ago? Now you only have a 250K exclusion. So, you owe capital gains tax on 550K. That may be 126K out the door. That hurts.

A private annuity trust may help take the sting out of that tax bill. If a trust is created and the trust sells your home, you can spread out that 70K or 126K tax obligation out over the rest of your life. That means that money is working for you to make more money instead of passing directly to Uncle Sam in one huge lump sum.

In return, you begin receiving monthly payments. You have the option to use those payments to pay for a new mortgage on another residence, or on rent on someone else's investment. No more property taxes, repairs, insurance, etc. You have the proceeds to supplement your pension, social security, or other retirement plan.

It may or may not be the best solution in your particular situation, but wouldn't it be worth looking into before writing that 70K or 126K check? You decide.

Paula Straub

askpaula@savegainstax.com

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Why knowing your Capital Gains Saving Options is Important

Did you ever go into a store looking for a new computer, get drawn in by a salesman and come out with a combination of equipment that you have no idea how to work or even if you needed the bells and whistles you paid for?

You probably listened to the guy spout off terms you'd never heard of, and didn't even know what questions were appropriate to ask- because, let's face it, you want the thing to work when you plug it in, not conk out when you really need it, and not require umpteen calls to technical support where you're on hold longer than you talk to a live person. Then the person is probably from an overseas country where labor is cheaper and they don't always have a great command of the English language or the ability to solve your problem.

You wonder if you paid too much, got what you were promised, made the right choice, and might have gotten a better price if you'd only waited another week or month for the prices to drop. I've been right there with you.

I know it's the same iffy feeling for some of my clients when they first approach me to see if they have an option to hold onto their capital gains. They have to start somewhere, but how do they know they've come to the right place?

This is an honest query, because when you are not familiar with new, often complex concepts, it's difficult to know if you're being given the straight story.

This is the perfect case where building a good, solid rapport and first offering education without requiring any commitment is the only way to go.

My weekly teleclasses give callers the chance to listen to capital gains saving concepts presented as an overview. Although examples are given for illustrative purposes, no specific advice is given. First, you must be made aware of what strategies exist.

The "Interview with the Pros" package provides a comprehensive introduction to the different types of specialists you may need to guide you to the best decision. With this knowledge you can choose a competent professional to assist you in making the correct choice for your unique situation. If you feel comfortable with the individuals in the series, you can employ them to work for you as well.

The whole thing keeps coming back to the same principles.

1. Educate yourself on the options available to you.
2. Give yourself time to plan and get comfortable with your decision.
3. Choose competent professionals with your best interest at heart
4. Take appropriate action when it can make a huge difference in your financial future. Don't wait until your choices are taken away from you. It is up to you to safeguard your financial future, as well as that of those you care for.

Paula Straub


askpaula@savegainstax.com

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Private Annuity Trusts for Stock Sales

It's curious when certain types of potential clients have similar situations at similar times. This must be the time for stock buy-backs.

Sometimes when someone works for a startup company, they receive stock options or even shares of company stock at very low or no cost. This is an incentive to hang in there with the new company until it becomes successful and goes public. It often takes the place of a large salary or benefit package.

Some companies fail and others explode. Who wouldn't have wanted to be there at the beginning of Google, Microsoft or Walmart?

There may come a time when the company is bought out, or a time when the company has an option to buy back your shares at a certain price. Whatever the reason, this leaves you with a "good" problem. You get a windfall in a lump sum.

You have no or little basis and now the purchase price may be significant. Let's just say your purchase price was 1K and the company is buying them back for 250K. You have a capital gains tax obligation on 249K. This may be between 15%-30%. That's a lot of dollars to part with. At 23%, that's $57,270.00. If this is part of your retirement package, you might want to look into a tax saving strategy.

A private annuity trust may be a good option. The trust is created, the shares are transferred to the trust and the trust will receive the cash. That 250K is now working for you and the 57+K can be deferred or spread out over the rest of your life and paid in small chunks. You receive a lifetime income that you can depend on- similar to a pension plan or social security.

If you're lucky enough to have this "problem", make sure you check out all of your options. Keep as much of those gains as possible working for you.

Paula Straub

askpaula@savegainstax.com

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Interview with the Pros Series now Available

Today, Tuesday Jan 24th, is the launch day of my new series "Interview with the Pros". So what exactly is it and why do you need it?

If you are selling or thinking of selling a highly appreciated capital asset (one that you will owe large amounts of capital gains tax on)you need to know what, if any, options you have to keep as much of your money as possible.

It is not easy to gather this information on your own. You don't know where to start, who to ask, what to ask, or how to choose someone to help.

Interview with the Pros will provide you with this information. You will hear it from five different professionals in different, but related fields. You can check out credential, listen to the ins and outs of each tax saving strategy, and get a feel for which option might fit your goals.

Then, you have the option to let us help you, or you will have the knowledge you need to choose professionals that you will need. I'm betting that once you hear how versed and open my team is, you will feel comfortable and elated to let us do all the hard work for you.

Our goal is to help you keep your money, and do it legally!

Here is the link to the product. It has a temporary $100 discount for initial launch and my for list and readers.

http://savegainstax.com/interviewwiththepros



Paula Straub
www.savegainstax.com
askpaula@savegainstax.com

Monday, January 23, 2006

Release of "Interview with the Pros" due tomorrow!

It's so close now I can feel it. Just a few more kinks and the series will be available!

Stay tuned for the next announcement.

Interview with the Pros will be available for immediate download. Let your education on saving your capital gains begin.


Paula Straub
askpaula@savegaintax.com
http://www.savegainstax.com

Friday, January 20, 2006

Preview - Part V Interview with the Pros

Well, the launch is just a short time away. Wanted to give the last sneak peek, because the next post will be the real thing.

Part V is me being interviewed by real estate investor David Neese. This is from a Fincial point of view. I'll be talking about:

• Exactly what my role is in saving capital gains tax and why you could lose out big time without my help
• What criteria do you need to meet in order to hang onto your gains
• What type of huge difference it makes to you and your family financially to pay your gains in a lump sum rather than deferring them indefinitely or spreading them out
How not knowing that you have more than one option can affect the rest of your life financially
• When are you paying too much and when can choosing the “cheapest” services make you want to kick yourself
• How long would it take you to do all the research on your own, and why you can still lose big by not knowing what you didn’t know to look up
When do you have to pay capital gains tax and there is no other option
• How certain tiny mistakes and lack of planning can cost you more in taxes than you originally would have had to pay by just selling outright
• How you can combine several tax saving strategies to have your cake and eat it too
• How your business will likely go to the “front of the line” when I help you through whichever course of action you choose
• My single best piece of advice that will keep you from making a huge financial mistake

Stay tuned. The launch is near!

Paula Straub
www.savegainstax.com
askpaula@savegainstax.com