E4 HOUSE LAWYER Before settlement, learn the basics of all that legal mumbo jumbo
by Harvey S. Jacobs Real estate settlements are
often shrouded in mystery. There are many moving parts, multiple parties sitting impatiently at the table and piles of documents filled with legal mumbo jumbo. Even the brightest, most accomplished speed reader would be hard-pressed to read, let alone understand, all of the legal implications of the documents that they are required to sign at settlement. All parties are expected to sign 20 or more documents with assembly-line precision. Having a basic understanding of all that mumbo jumbo before you pull up a chair at the closing table will help you understand
GREEN SCENE Landscaping makes buyers feel at home by Joel M. Lerner
If you are trying to sell your home, you can rise above the competition by designing curb appeal into your property. Landscaped homes have more appeal to buyers. You can — and should — give buyers an impression of a comfortable entry and a well-maintained space as they view your home for the first time. One way to accomplish this is by making sure paving is smooth and well maintained, the joints free of weeds and the paving edged, presenting a clean appearance. Gutters, paint, roofing, entries, mailboxes and landscape lighting make important first impressions. A comfortable entry is one that leads people to enter the house efficiently and without confusion. It should not be overwhelming. Walkways should have no more than a 5 percent grade with a width of at least 42 inches. You might want to consider redesigning paved areas if they are in poor condition. If steps are necessary, always plan on having
at least two. A single step is a “trip step.” Build each riser a maximum of six inches high and make the part you walk on — the tread — at least 14 inches deep. Use lighting for aesthetics,
security and safety. Illuminate entries in aesthetically pleasing styles. Install down-lighting from trees and shine a few lights against the house and on plants that have interesting growth habits. This helps invite buyers to experience your property in the evening, offering a completely different atmosphere. Trees add the greatest value, according to the American Nursery and Landscape Association, so install them first. And color in the landscape — especially delivered by flowers — gets properties noticed. Take pictures of the garden at its showiest times of year. Clients have told me that, when sellers have passed along photos of their garden, along with information about the plants’ requirements, they found that to be as useful as any other information they received about their new homes. Here are other landscape design suggestions: Balance the front of your
property so it is equally weighted —a large tree to one side and shrubs to the other. Ornamental plantings should highlight the entire front yard, not hide the house. Sweep beds wide, across eight to 12 feet, around the front corners of the house, with a vertical element, such as a holly, hinoki false cypress, water lily star magnolia or chindo viburnum, planted about eight feet off the corners, anchoring the house to the landscape. This adds an expansive appearance to the property. Large plants placed tightly against walls will make houses seem smaller. Design beds so plants are sequenced with low flora in the front and tall ones to the back, with two feet or more open to the house walls. Large beds are very effective, allowing room for a wide variety of foliage and color. Selections of plants can be installed in groupings for impact. The front of the bed could be
edged with pulmonaria if the location has filtered sun, backed by several very compact, dwarf weigela, which have maroon foliage. Back these plants with Iroquois or Oneida viburnum bred for their flower, berries,
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attractiveness to birds and fall color. Fill in with assorted groupings of shade-tolerant perennials and annuals that flower at various times throughout the growing season. This type of arrangement needs a bed 12 to 15 feet deep to accommodate mature plants. Color, texture and form get your property noticed. Use sweeps of the same or similar colors for the greatest impact. Use shrubs with interesting architectural form and texture, fall color, berries, flowers, summer leaf color and foliage variations. Choose shrubs for their year-round ornamental value, especially if you don’t know when you will be selling. Some shrubs and trees offer 12-month interest, such as kousa dogwood, with spring flowers, edible summer fruits, fall color and a winter bark that is mottled tan and brown. Virginia sweetspire has at least three seasons of interest. It displays deep maroon stems in winter and thick-textured, maroon fall foliage. Its white fragrant, eye-catching, horizontally growing panicles open in spring. Repeating plants in mass, using the same colors in large sweeps, has an eye-catching effect. So if you’re planting black-eyed Susans in full sun, for selling over the next several months, plant them in groups of three to five in several open, sunny beds on the property. Purchase mature plants in flower now. They seldom fail to catch your eye and you can assure the buyer that they will return annually. Bath’s pink dianthus is another good plant that yields fragrant flowers in the spring. It provides an evergreen mat of blue-green foliage that, in four years, has spread six feet in
SANDRA LEAVITT LERNER FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
To add curb appeal to your property, design beds so that plants are sequenced with low flora in front and the taller ones in back.
diameter over asphalt and flagstone on our property. Beds in full sun can be filled with masses of petunias now and mums in the fall. Containers can enhance any entry and wow a prospective buyer. Almost any plant that can be placed in the ground can be grown in a container. And virtually any object that will hold soil can serve as one, whether it’s a clay or foam pot or any object in which holes have been punched for drainage. Think of containers as you would a garden. You can install trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials and most fruits and vegetables, provided the container is a proper matching size for the plants. You can have plantings in places they wouldn’t ordinarily grow, such as on a deck, patio, balcony or roof. They can provide a garden around homes with no space for a traditional one and will help overcome problems of poor soil aeration and drainage. The greatest risks of container gardening are soil drying and drainage. Container plantings are much more susceptible to drought than flora planted directly in the ground. Watering at planting time is essential. Containers, especially in hanging baskets, might require watering every day during the summer if
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25 year 360 pmts 300 pmts 20 year 240 pmts 15 year 10 year 180 pmts 120 pmts Rate Pmt Rate Pmt Rate Pmt Rate Pmt Rate Pmt
4.750 $2,347 4.750 $2,566 4.625 $2,877 4.250 $3,385 3.750 $4,503 4.875 $2,381 4.875 $2,598 4.750 $2,908 4.375 $3,414 3.875 $4,529 5.000 $2,416 5.000 $2,631 4.875 $2,939 4.500 $3,442 4.000 $4,556 5.125 $2,450 5.125 $2,664 5.000 $2,970 4.625 $3,471 4.125 $4,583 5.250 $2,485 5.250 $2,697 5.125 $3,001 4.750 $3,500 4.250 $4,610 5.375 $2,520 5.375 $2,730 5.250 $3,032 4.875 $3,529 4.375 $4,637 5.500 $2,555 5.500 $2,763 5.375 $3,064 5.000 $3,559 4.500 $4,664 5.625 $2,590 5.625 $2,797 5.500 $3,095 5.125 $3,588 4.625 $4,691 5.750 $2,626 5.750 $2,831 5.625 $3,127 5.250 $3,617 4.750 $4,718 5.875 $2,662 5.875 $2,865 5.750 $3,159 5.375 $3,647 4.875 $4,746
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Rates and payments based on $175,000 first mortgage loan for single family home with 20% down unless otherwise noted. Jumbo rates (loans that exceed $417,000) or “jumbo-conforming” rates (loans between $417,001 to $729,750 depending on location) based on $450,000 loan with 25% down unless otherwise noted. All rates are believed to be accurate but cannot be guaranteed and are subject to change without notice and may not be available at time of loan commitment or lock-in. Minimum down payment requirements, 720+ credit scores, and other restrictions may apply. Closing costs may vary. Companies pay a fee to be in this Guide. Pts=points, and include origination + discount fees. APR=annual percentage rate and is calculated by each company - includes costs to obtain loan and private mortgage insurance, if any. Lock=rate lock period. *ARM=adjustable rate mortgage. The APR on ARM loans is variable and is subject to change after consummation based on changes in the index. VA Lic #=licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission. MD Lic #=Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation. WVA Lic#=licensed by West Virginia Division of Banking. NMLS=Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. The Washington Post and INFOTRAK are not in the business of providing or brokering loans or related products or services; are not acting as an agent on behalf of any lenders or their products or services; do not endorse or recommend any of the lenders or their products or services; and shall not have any responsibility for any of the products or services purchased from lenders. All advertisements for the financing of residential real estate publishedinThe Washington Post are subject to the federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” State lawforbids discrimination based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. TheWashington Post will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate financing which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all financing advertised is available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development toll-free at 800-669-9777. The toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is 800-927-9275. To determine estimated closing costs for each company, click on “Fees” in the “Current Rates” section of the mortgage guide website and contact each company for details. **Average 30-year fixed with 0 points. Information provided by INFOTRAK National Data Services Inc. Copyright 2010, INFOTRAK National Data Services Inc.
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they are in the sun. Although clay pots are more
aesthetically appealing from a design standpoint, plastic or fiberglass that looks like clay will be far better for moisture retention. Plastic containers don’t “breathe,” so they won’t need to be watered as often as clay. They also are lightweight and easy to move. Position a piece of outdoor art or feature a specimen plant near the entry, but use only a piece or two. The sculpture can serve as a contrasting element with the garden and serve as a focal point to set off the entrance. Design plants and sculptural elements in proportion to the size of your home or property. A large home can accommodate larger plantings than a small property. Remember, the first step is
developing ideas. Look for what will invite a buyer to your home by researching combinations of plantings, structures and paving, and dress up your front yard according to these theories and guidelines. Well-maintained landscaping shows prospective buyers — and your neighbors — that you care about your property.
info@gardenlerner.com
Joel M. Lerner is president of Environmental Design in Capitol View Park.
which documents — and which parts of those documents — warrant most of your attention. Today’s column examines the legal implications of the more important documents you will see at settlement. In essence, a settlement is where the buyer gives the seller money and the seller gives the buyer a deed. The language in that deed has serious consequences, because the deed, in addition to having words that convey the property, also identifies the manner in which the buyer will be holding title to that property. There are four basic ways to hold title to real property. For a single person, the typical way to hold title is sole ownership. That means that the named individual
owns all rights to own, possess, convey, bequeath or encumber the property. Creditors of that sole owner may attach a lien against that property to secure the payment of the judgment. For a married couple, the
strongest form of title is called tenancy by the entirety. Strongest means that the home cannot be reached by the creditors of only one spouse. For example, if the husband is in a car accident, is sued, loses the case and gets a monetary judgment entered against him, that judgment creditor cannot attach [or take] his marital home if it is owned by the tenancy by the entirety. The sole exception to this asset
protection is for liens filed by the Internal Revenue Service. If the IRS has a lien against only one
spouse it can attach or go after the marital home and enforce the government’s lien against that marital property.
When one spouse of the
entirety dies, the other, by operation of law, becomes the sole owner. Similarly, when tenants by the entirety get divorced, the tenancy is severed and the parties become tenants in common, which I will address shortly. When two or more people, regardless of marital status, wish to own property together, they can elect to hold title as joint tenants with rights of survivorship or as tenants in common. The legal implication of a
JTWROS is that if one co-owner dies, the surviving co-owner(s)
become the owners of the deceased co-owner’s share of the property. So, for example, if there are three siblings who owned a home as JTWROS and one sibling passes away, the surviving two siblings, who each had previously owned a one-third share of the property, would each own a 50 percent share. JTWROS is often used when the co-owners are family members. Because the JTWROS ownership is extinguished upon a person’s death, it cannot be left to someone in a will or otherwise bequeathed. Inheritance is not restricted using the tenant in common format, which is most often seen in business partnerships. TIC ownership interests can be separately bought, sold and
encumbered, assuming you can find someone willing to deal in a fractional interest in a piece of property. TIC ownership can pass to the owner’s estate upon death. Both JTWROS and TIC interests are subject to creditors’ rights of attachment. Such attachment will only affect the ownership interest of the party against whom the creditor has a judgment.
hjacobs@jgllaw.com
Harvey S. Jacobs is a real estate lawyer in the Rockville office of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake. He is an active real estate investor, developer, landlord, settlement attorney and lender. This column is not legal advice and should not be acted upon without obtaining your own legal counsel.
KLMNO
DC MG PG
SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010
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