Archive for February, 2012
Feb
27
The Business of Loaning Money
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Most lending institutions are in the business of loaning money for home buyers or businesses, and have no desire to go through the repossession process for someone who has defaulted on their mortgage. The process of booting someone out of their home or commercial process can be long and costly procedure and working through financial problems with the current owner is often cheaper and easier than taking ownership of a property.
However, in many situations lenders find that repossession may be the only option they have in securing repayment on the defaulted loan and begin the steps to claim the property as their own. Once the process has begun, there are avenues for the debtor to follow in the courts to attempt to retain ownership, but the stipulations are spelled out ion law, and without meeting those requirements, the borrowers will have trouble maintaining rights to the property.
Typically, once a foreclosure order has been sought by a lender, the borrower will have a set amount of time to bring the mortgage up to date, before the entire unpaid balance comes due and payable. Once that time has passed and the mortgage remains in arrears, the entire balance must be paid to stop the repossession proceedings. Since this is unlikely to happen, the courts sometimes give the owner time to sell the property, if it can show that selling the property will provide sufficient funding to satisfy the mortgage agreement.
If the deadline to sell is not met, the borrower can appeal the foreclosure proceedings, but if that fails, repossession of the property is usually granted to the lender and the borrower is evicted from the property. Once vacated, the lender is considered the legal owner of the property and has all legal recourse to collect the balance due on the loan as well as any costs incurred during the process. This can all be avoided however, if the borrower keeps in close contact with the bank.
In most cases, the property is put on the market for sale, or put up for auction and once sold the previous owner is liable for any portion of the balance not covered by the sale of the property. If the sale nets more than what is owed, the lender is obligated to forward the balance to the previous owner. Although this is a rare occurrence, if the property appraisal is high enough, and has built up untapped equity, it is entirely possible.
Most people view repossession as an end to their financial life and accept the probability that they will never be able to own property again. However, once their financial obligations are dissolved and they have rebuilt a positive credit history, there are alternative lending sources that may be willing to take the risk of offering another mortgage in the future. There are many ways to go about rebuilding credit and a wise financial advisor can help with the challenging task. Credit scores are quite important and it is worth the time and effort to repair them for the future.
Rent Back Fast
Feb
20
What is “T I Money” in terms of a Retail Lease agreement ?
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I have heard that I should ask for $15 in “T I Money” but I am not sure exactly what this is, so I am afraid to ask the developer for it, not knowing what I am asking for.
The “TI Money” is the money that would be paid to me ?
Sell House Quick
Feb
13
What kind of property would you lease to open an indoor play area?
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I’m looking into leasing a property to start up an indoor playground business. I’m thinking around 2000 square feet. Do I want an industrial property or a special purpose property or retail? Thanks so much
Real Estate Proffessionals
Feb
06
The Advantages of Ground Leases - Las Vegas
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While many people do not consider the possible use of a ground lease or land lease, ground leases offer a great way to retain a long-term ownership interest in real property that can significantly benefit heirs, while providing a current income stream. Vacant land that an owner may not be able to develop on his own can also reach its full development potential sooner using a ground lease. Most ground leases are negotiated with a provision that calls for the short-term development of the land, and once developed land owners / landlords have a relatively small risk of loss.
In Las Vegas, ground leases are used periodically but they have not been a mainstay in the real estate market. Given the cash crunch caused by the “Recession of 2008,” however, more land owners are considering them. Waiting for an end user to purchase a property, when most cannot get bank financing, can be costly. A ground lease provides and alternative to waiting that appears to be promising in the current economic climate.
Establishing a base return rate for a ground lease is not as difficult as one might imagine. Discovering the current market value of a property to be leased is the first step, and it is usually accomplished via an appraisal. With regard to the rate of return, if you were to sell a property for cash and invest the proceeds with as little risk as possible, you have established a base or minimal return figure. The near risk free rate paid on government treasury bonds is usually the base rate. Since more risk is associated with a ground lease than with holding government bonds a risk premium is usually added to the base rate.
One of the biggest issues associated with a ground lease in Las Vegas, as elsewhere, is position or subordination. If a developer is going to borrow money to improve a site, the lender generally wants to be in first position. Since the underlying land owner sees this request for subordination as a way to separate him from the land asset, and the bank feels its investment is larger and should be superior to the underlying land owner, some ground leases fail to materialized due to this security issue. Ground leases are most attractive to land owners when no financing is required for the development of improvements.
Another difficulty establishing a ground lease is the provision regarding rental adjustments. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustments is often built into building leases, and at times CPI adjustments are adopted in ground leases. CPI adjustments provide the tenant with some assurance that they will not be caught up in a revaluation due to an explosive land market. The downside of using a CPI adjustment for the land owner is that the land may dramatically increase in value over time and the land owner will be stuck with the contract terms negotiated based on a much lower value.
Once established, the sum of the net present value of the income stream from a ground lease plus the discounted value of the remainder are the basis for value. So poorly structured ground leases can destroy the value of a parcel of real property.
Thus, ground leases can be detrimental to an owner or tenant if not well crafted. I have personally evaluated a real property encumbered by a 99 year lease with a 60 year term remaining that provided the leased fee owners with a return so low that their heirs could not afford to pay the tax bill. I can’t think of anything worse than being conveyed an asset worth several million dollars that just costs you money every month and that will likely not provide you with a benefit during your lifetime.
The opposite side of the coin is a lease that favors the owner so much that the tenant cannot afford to pay the monthly rent. Driving your leasehold tenant into bankruptcy is also not the best scenario for a long-term lease relationship.
Under certain circumstances a ground lease can be beneficial to both a landlord / owner and a tenant. Recent market changes in Las Vegas have opened land owners to the possibility that a ground lease may be a valuable tool to get a deal transacted. Great care must be taken to develop terms and legal provisions (with the aid of your attorney) that will remain reasonable over the life of the lease. Thus, the use of a ground lease in Las Vegas is being considered by owners and developers as a serious alternative to traditional land sales.
Passive Income
