SPRING 2006 - TAX TIME AGAIN
WHEN SELLING INVESTMENT PROPERTIES, KNOW YOUR TAX OPTIONS
How the Property Tax System Works
Bob calls the Gold Coast in Orange County home, but he's got a couple of rental houses in North Beach, Venice. Back when Bob bought these single-family homes, the alleys were littered with drug addicts. Now it’s a delightful pocket neighborhood on the Venice / Santa Monica border where some properties have recently broken the million-dollar mark. Bob is thinking of selling off his Venice properties - but is not sure whether to cash out on his houses or reinvest the money in something with fewer management headaches. As he figures out what to do with his money he ponders his taxable consequences. Are there ways of avoiding or deferring his tax obligations?

In many jurisdictions throughout the world, including the United States and the United Kingdom, a capital gains tax is charged on the profit realized on the sale of an asset that was previously purchased at a lower price. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals and property.

The tax rate on long-term gains (Assets held more than year.) was reduced in 2003 to 15%, or to 5% for individuals in the lowest two income tax brackets.
Didja know? It takes three separate Los Angeles County offices - Assessor, Auditor-Controller, and Treasurer and Tax Collector - to produce and account for your property tax bill and payment.

City and County Agencies:
Provides copies of all building recorded documents.

The Registrar-Recorder / County Clerk:
Provides copies of all deeds and other permits issued.
David is Getting Married: BUY his North of Wilshire 2 + 2 Condo
DEFERRING CAPITAL GAINS  followed by
YOU WILL ENJOY THE 1031 EXCHANGE
If you are investing your money - in real estate, stock, rare coins or any sort of collectible that you buy as an investment - you should have a healthy understanding of how capital gains tax works. Those in the know say, “Mastery of this convoluted part of the tax code can both soften your losses and sweeten your gains.”

In many jurisdictions throughout the world, including the United States and the United Kingdom, a capital gains tax is charged on the profit realized on the sale of an asset that was previously purchased at a lower price. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals and property.


We all have capital gains we can deduct from our income taxes, in any given year, only 7% of all taxpayers report capital gains. And, of those reporting, 2/3rds of them make more than $100,000 a year.

In the United States, individuals and corporations pay income tax on the net total of all their capital gains, but the tax rate is lower for "long-term capital gains", which are gains on assets that had been held for over one year before being sold.

Currently there are delicious incentives in place to motivate investment property owners to liquidate their real estate assets. For property sales transactions that conclude between May 6, 2003 and December 31, 2013, the capital gains tax rate has been reduced from 20% to 15%. For those in the lower tax brackets, the tax is only 5% of the gain. In 2013 these reduced tax rates "sunset" and retreat back to pre-2003 rates - around 20%.

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Multi-Tenant Automotive Specialty Center

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET A TRAFFIC TICKET

This system has been tried and it works in every state. If you get a speeding ticket or went through a red light or whatever the case may be, and you're going to get points on your license, this is a method to ensure that you DO NOT get the points. When you get your fine, send in a check to pay for it. If the fine is $79.00 make the check out for $82.00 or some small amount over the fine. The system will then have to send you back a check for the difference, however here is the trick. DO NOT CASH THE REFUND CHECK! Throw it away! Points are not assessed to your license until all financial transactions are complete. If you do not cash the check, then the transactions are NOT complete. The system has received its money and is satisfied and will no longer bother you. This information comes from an unmentionable computer company that sets up the standard databases used by every state.
-- David V.

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Q: Not too long ago, I sold my condo - I was lucky and paid no capital gains tax because I owned and lived in it for more than 2 of the last 5 years. Now I want to sell my house I own with my girlfriend. We are tenants in common and have both lived there over 24 months. Will her half of the $250,000 be tax-free? Would a tax-deferred exchange work better?
-- Frank J.

A: Bob Bruss, the nationally renowned real estate columnist shares that because you recently used your Internal Revenue Code 121 principal residence sale
URBAN LANDSCAPE
TIDBITS

California 1900 vs. 2006

California 1900:
California was sparsely populated with a mere 1.48 million residents in 1900. In Venice, 40-foot by 100-foot lots for new houses sold quickly at $1,500 to $3,000.

California 2006:
More than 36 million people live in California - and we are a very diverse group. The 2000 U.S. Census found 75% of the U.S. population was white, 59.5% of California