Market Gains In Palm Springs Area

Sunny Palm Springs

Year over year Stats show impressive Gains in the Palm Springs - Coachella Valley Market area.

	November 2008	Novemebr 2009	Change +/-
For sale	8,983	6,925	-2,058
Under Contract	531	934	+403
Sold	523	657	+134

With  a decrease of 22.9% in available inventory and and an increase of 75.9% in listings
going under contract  the Market is moving in the
right direction.

For specific neigborhood breakdowns please feel free tocontact me at michael@psagent.com

Indio Hosts Worlds' Largest Tamale Festival

The first weekend in December, in 2009 this means December 5-6, always brings a Unique event to the valley. Since 1992 the City of Indio has hosted the Indio International Tamale Festival. If you have never tried Tamales this woud be the perfect time to try one. Did you know that they even make sweet tamales? I did not learn that until I moved to the Palm Springs area in the 90's. Trust me they are delicious.[caption id="attachment_109" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Mexican Flag"][/caption]

Part food festival, part carnival, part state fair this great event has something for everyone. rides, games, live entertainment, a Parade and of course the food! The Guinness Record holder for largest Tamale and biggest tamale festival the event is covered by national media and is great fun for all.

For more information go here Indio International Tamale Festival

Lease Land And Fee Land Explained

When looking at property in the Palm Springs CA area you will often encounter the terms Fee Land or Lease Land. The term Fee always sends up peoples red flags but the reality is that you need to watch for Lease land. Fee Land comes from the term Fee Simple Ownership. Although that sounds like reverse logic it is just real estate lingo for paying for land and owning it outright. You pay your "simple fee" and assume full ownership rights to the land. Your obligation after that is property tax only.

Not so in Lease Land which actually comes from the term Leasehold. In Lease Land scenarios you

never own the land. People are sometimes further confused because vacant lease land parcels will sometimes be offered for sale - at what may seem like a fair price for the land. Buyer beware because in a leasehold situation you are only purchasing the right to pay the lease. You become the lessee, bound to the payment structure and terms of the lease. All leases are different. Some are owned by huge groups of people with very small fractional ownership rights and others are owned by a few people sometimes just one person. Leases can also be held by private companies.

People frequently ask about the physical structure on the property. Yes, it can be and is sold to you. No, you cannot remove it. Technically anything done to the land is considered a “leasehold” improvement and the beneficiary of that improvement is the leaseholder. I have seen leases with clauses that state the leaseholder is allowed to inspect the property and require you to maintain it to certain standards. Even though I have never heard of anyone having a leaseholder inspection that language is in the lease.

Another issue is taxation. People often say that they think that they should not be taxed for the value of the lease land that their home sits on. The government sees it differently. The IRS has ruled that in the case of lease land with a structure on it they can tax the person who is enjoying the “benefit” of the leased property. This effectively gets them around the fact that they cannot tax the Indian Tribes who control a large percentage of the lease land in the Coachella Valley.

In the case of Short sales or Foreclosures on a home located on lease land the leaseholder is going to be like any other creditor. They will be in line and must sign off on any agreement for debt forgiveness or transfer of the property. In fact the leasehold has right superior to the lender in many cases. This of course adds another step to these complex procedures.

So what is the benefit of buying on Lease Land? Primarily you are getting more structure for less

People Want to Know!

money. Since you are not paying for the land upfront - basically a lease is pay as you go - the amount of money you are paying is for the structure alone. This affords you a larger home for less money than one on Fee Land where the seller is trying to recoup some of the cost of the land. Then there are also cases where a particular property is very desirable from a location and/or view standpoint and people simply want it. The compromise for living there is that you have to pay the lease.

Coming soon… What is a short lease? If you have any questions about lease land properties in the Coachella Valley please feel free to e-mail me.

This Month In Real Estate

Morning Light

Cool Light this morning in Palm Springs. It was sunny to the East but a storm cloud was coming over the mountains from the West. [caption id="attachment_94" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Storm Over Sunlit Mountain"][/caption]

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

Many articles have been written summarizing the changes and the extension of the tax credit but here it is in Black and White right from the IRS website. I thought it would be easiest just to have this list:

If you are in the market for a new home, you may still be able to claim the First-Time Homebuyer Credit. Congress recently passed The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act Of 2009, extending the First-Time Homebuyer Credit and expanding who qualifies.
Here are the top 10 things the IRS wants you to know about the expanded credit and the qualifications you must meet in order to qualify for it.

1. You must buy – or enter into a binding contract to buy a principal residence – on or before April 30, 2010.
2. If you enter into a binding contract by April 30, 2010 you must close on the home on or before June 30, 2010.
3. For qualifying purchases in 2010, you will have the option of claiming the credit on either your 2009 or 2010 return.
4. A long-time resident of the same home can now qualify for a reduced credit. You can qualify for the credit if you’ve lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the new home is purchased and the settlement date is after November 6, 2009.
5. The maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500. However, married individuals filing separately are limited to $3,250.
6. People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit. The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after November 6, 2009. The full credit is available to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes up to $125,000, or $225,000 for joint filers.
7. The IRS will issue a December 2009 revision of Form 5405 to claim this credit. The December 2009 form must be used for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 – whether the credit is claimed for 2008 or for 2009 – and for all home purchases that are claimed on 2009 returns.
8. No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000.
9. The purchaser must be at least 18 years old on the date of purchase. For a married couple, only one spouse must meet this age requirement.
10. A dependent is not eligible to claim the credit.

For more information about the expanded First-Time Home Buyer Credit, visit IRS.gov/recovery.