Today’s real estate market update will span the last two decades in Ventura County. From 2000 to 2019, I’ll examine the number of home sales, new listings, the average absorption rate, and the median absorption rate for each year. What these numbers mean and how they compare to each other will give you a good idea of where we stand entering 2020.

Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch it in its entirety or use these timestamps to browse specific points at your leisure: 

1:16—Total yearly home sales from 2000 to 2019

2:58—Total yearly new listings from 2000 to 2019 

3:53—The yearly average absorption rate from 2000 to 2019

5:51—What the average absorption rate indicates for our market 

7:01—The yearly median absorption rate/wrapping things up

If you have any additional questions about our Ventura County market, or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you. 

Do you have to pay taxes when selling your home? What are the tax implications of selling a primary residence, second home, or investment property? For Episode 26 of the “Jose Luiz Morales Show,” I’m joined by CPA Andrew Kiefer to answer these important questions. This is a topic not many people think about when selling their home. Selling high and buying low is a great strategy in theory, but there are tax payments that need to be factored into it that may impact your real estate goals.

Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch it in its entirety or use these timestamps to browse specific points at your leisure: 

1:56—Tax laws that apply to the sale of a primary residence

2:50—What is considered a gain?

4:39—Documenting the expenses related to your primary residence 

5:34—Cases when you might be audited

6:29—What happens if you sell a home you haven’t lived in for two of the past five years?

8:15—Defining “prorated” taxes 

9:37—How the capital gains tax changes according to different homeownership timelines  

13:27—Why future sellers must know what the market will do in the next three years

14:56—How investment (rental) properties are taxed 

17:10—Passing an investment property onto your children for them to sell

19:35—Is there a limit to how many properties can have a step-up basis?

20:13—Using 1031 exchanges to nullify the taxes your heirs would have to pay

22:35—Planning for and understanding inheritance taxes 

24:06—Tax strategies to explore 

25:24—The importance of having an estate plan

26:17—Tax laws that apply to secondary homes

28:28—What if you move into a rental property after renting it out for many years?

30:45—Taxable gains are considered capital gains 

32:41—Final thoughts

If you have more questions about this topic or would like to get in touch with Andrew, you can email him at akiefer@cbiz.com or call (805) 988-3222. 

As always, if you have any other real estate questions for me, don’t hesitate to call or email anytime. I’d love to hear from you. 

For Episode 25 of the Jose Luiz Morales Show, we have a very special guest joining us. It’s Mike Skoczylas of Madison Exchange, LLC, who is an expert in 1031 exchanges. The reason I wanted to bring Mike on is because I get a lot of questions from home investors who don’t fully understand what a 1031 exchange is and how it can help alleviate certain tax implications when they want to sell. 

Here’s an outline of our full discussion, with timestamps so that you can skip ahead to the section(s) that interest you the most:

1:25- What is a 1031 exchange?

3:00- Why investment property sellers can benefit from a 1031 exchange

8:00- What classifies as a “like-kind” property?

11:45- The qualifications for doing a 1031 exchange

17:48- Can you do a 1031 exchange after you’ve closed on your sale?

20:30- Is there a waiting period that you have to observe between 1031 exchanges?

23:55- How long do you have to hold on to a property before completing a 1031 exchange?

25:25- Can the IRS challenge 1031 exchanges?

28:30- What happens when an investment property becomes a primary residence?

31:00- What’s a reverse 1031 exchange and when is one appropriate?

35:20- A few additional pieces of advice from Mike for those considering a 1031 exchange

41:40- Wrapping things up

Thanks so much to Mike for joining me and sharing his expertise with all of us. If you have any other questions about 1031 exchanges or Ventura County real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

Also, please take a look at other videos and posts on my blog! http://www.myhomeseekers.com/blog/

Yonah Weiss, today’s guest on the “Jose Luis Morales Show,” has helped me save a lot of money in taxes over time, so who better to help me address some strategies that you can use to save on your own taxes? He works for Madison Specs, a cost-segregation company, which is something that all real estate investors absolutely need to know about. By the end of today’s show, our goal is for you to walk away with your mind blown.

Feel free to follow our discussion in the video above, or else you can use the timestamps below to navigate the conversation at your leisure:

1:54—A little-known benefit of investing in real estate: depreciation

4:01—Putting depreciation into simpler terms

5:05—How does cost segregation work?

7:55—“Sprinkling magic fairy dust on your taxes”: How cost segregation benefits real estate professionals in particular

10:21—To count as a real estate professional for the purposes of cost segregation, you don’t need a license

12:40—What is “bonus depreciation?”

15:09—How Jared Kushner has a net worth of $300 million but hasn’t paid federal income taxes for 10+ years

16:31—How does cost segregation benefit different asset classes?

20:29—Does cost segregation deduction have to be added back on the sale of the property as well?

22:10—A strategy seasoned investors use to defer taxes

23:45—Is there a minimum dollar amount at which point it doesn’t make sense to do cost segregation?

25:57—A real-life example of the benefits of cost segregation

27:35—What does bonus depreciation look like over the next five to 10 years?

30:25—Would this disable you from qualifying for a loan?

31:30—Can you only do a cost segregation study when they buy a building, or can they do it later after a major rehab?

34:46—On cost segregation and rehabbing

38:20—How to contact Yonah for more advice and answers to your questions

I recently worked with Yonah for a cost segregation study that we did, and my experience was nothing but positive. I look forward to working with him more in the future.

If you have any other questions about real estate investment, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you.

Welcome to episode 23 of the “Jose Luiz Morales Show.” This time, I’m joined by Aaron Norris of the Norris Group to talk about an important new bill recently passed by the state of California regarding accessory dwelling units (ADUs). This new bill affects homeowners and real estate investors alike, and there’s plenty of opportunity to be had by its passing.

Once again, I’ve provided timestamps from our interview below. You can browse specific topics at your leisure or watch the video in full: 

1:45—The reasons behind this new bill  

4:36—What an ADU is and which rules and regulations have changed

8:41—Why this new bill is good for investors 

9:50—Size and building requirements for ADUs

14:14—Do ADUs have to be attached or detached?

16:05—ADUs can be bigger than 1,200 square feet, but only under certain circumstances

17:50—When you can have multiple ADUs on one property 

19:30—Fee restrictions 

20:55—Parking restrictions 

23:20—Important questions to ask before building an ADU

24:49—How long does the city have to respond to your permit application?

26:07—Why you must make sure your ADU is structurally sound 

27:07—What happens when this bill expires in 10 years? 

28:35—Why you should find out if your city is for or against ADUs

30:15—Are there any incentives to use ADUs to provide low-income housing?

31:31—Wrapping things up

Stay tuned for the next video I feature Aaron on where we’ll talk about another important topic: rent control. In the meantime, if you have any questions for me about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you. 

Welcome to episode No. 22 of the “Jose Luiz Morales Show.” Today I’m joined by professional appraiser Roy Villa to talk about the role appraisals play in the home selling process. Roy will discuss how appraisers determine a home’s market value and answer any and all questions you have about the appraisal process. To start, an appraisal is defined as an unbiased estimate of a property’s market value, and this estimate is based on comparable market activity for the surrounding area. An appraisal is an opinion of value, so just because one appraiser values a property at a certain price doesn’t mean another will value it at that same price too. Follow along in the video above to see our full discussion about appraisals and how they affect you as a buyer or seller. As always, if you have any questions related to real estate or about what we covered in episode No. 22 today, please get in touch with me. I’d love to hear from you! 

On today’s episode of the “Jose Luiz Morales Show,” I’m joined by Marc McKenzie of Acorn Law to discuss elder law, estate planning, and how to take care of mom and dad as they get older. 

Follow along in the video above to see our full discussion. For your convenience, I’ve provided timestamps so you can jump ahead to various sections: 

1:18—What is elder law?

5:44—An oft-overlooked part of estate planning: planning for incapacitation

7:00—As adults get older, how can their children plan for their future?

8:38—Aside from money, what else do people fight over during estate planning?

9:40—The biggest problems that can arise from not planning for the future 

11:44—Some of the do’s and don’ts of planning for the future 

15:05—What long-term care is and how you can pay for it

20:09—How early should you start researching life insurance?

20:56—The difference between Medicare and Medi-Cal

22:28—What’s required to be eligible for Medi-Cal?

23:15—Common misconceptions surrounding Medi-Cal and Medicare qualification

30:04—What is a living trust and when should you establish one?

32:07—When can you use a will instead of a trust? 

34:21—The financial drawbacks of deeding property to a family member

41:56—The bottom line when it comes to estate planning

43:15—What can you do to avoid negative tax consequences 

44:44—Wrapping things up

If you’d like to know more about this subject, you can visit Acorn Law’s website acornlawpc.com or give their office a call at (805) 409-3878.

As always, if you have any real estate questions for me, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you. 

Mortgage professional Martha Salas is our latest featured guest. Today she shares her keen insight and expertise on the home loan process. 

I’m glad you’ve joined us for another episode of the “Jose Luiz Morales Show”!

For episode No. 20, we’re speaking with special guest Martha Salas from Nations Lending. Martha has been in the mortgage lending business for more than 30 years, and she joins us today to help us gain a deeper understanding of the loan process—especially consumers who might not know what to expect when they first reach out to a loan officer.

For your convenience, I’ve provided timestamps from our interview below. You can browse specific topics at your leisure or watch the video in full:

2:18—The first step a consumer looking to purchase or refinance a home should take

6:00—Can a loan officer offer guidance to a buyer who isn’t yet ready to buy?

9:07—How Martha determines an applicant’s qualification for a loan

12:05—What not to do before applying for a home loan

14:23—The difference between a pre-qualification and a pre-approval

17:45—How is working with a big bank different from working with a local mortgage lender?

22:44—Is it ever too soon to speak with a mortgage professional?

25:39—The story of a time when Martha had five restaurant waiters apply for a loan together

28:41—Martha warns against buyers pre-qualifying (or disqualifying) themselves

31:57—What will the loan officer do after a buyer’s offer is accepted?

39:16—Martha’s take on her duty to be available and responsive to her clients

42:23—What is conditional loan approval? What issues might arise?

46:50—What happens after conditions have been submitted?

49:30—Why a high level of care and attention to detail is so important to Martha

56:32—What pre-approved buyers must do to inch closer toward closing

58:35—The documents that matter most in the closing process

1:02:38—Martha’s final advice to consumers

If you’d like to get in touch with Martha about anything we discussed today, give her a call at 805-890-2008. And if you have any questions for me about what we covered in today’s episode of the “Jose Luiz Morales Show,” please reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you!

For the latest episode of “The Jose Luiz Morales Show,” I’m joined by Jason Ritchie of Mission Bank to discuss the subject of commercial lending. 

There are several important differences between residential financing and commercial financing, and as a commercial lending specialist, Jason can outline these differences. If you’ve ever thought about buying an apartment complex of four units or more, buying an acreage, you’re a business owner and you’ve ever thought of buying your own building, then today’s video is a great resource. 

Once again, for your convenience I’ve provided timestamps of our discussion so that you can jump around to whichever sections you please:

1:32—What is a commercial loan?

2:45—An example of a commercial loan for a triplex property

3:36—What types of commercial loan products are available to consumers?

6:36—What would the loan-to-value ratio be for an investment property?

8:37—What type of down payment would you need for an SPA loan? Can you buy more than one unit with an SPA loan?

12:09—What kind of payment schedules can you get for commercial loans as opposed to residential loans?

14:52—Are commercial loan rates comparable to residential loan rates?

16:18—How much wiggle room are you allowed?

18:25—Why the sooner you can establish a relationship with your bank, the better off you’ll be

19:41—What kind of down payment can you expect for other commercial loans?

23:28—How the strength of the property, the income it produces, and the strength of the borrower influence its valuation 

26:09—Can you have a foreclosure or short sale on your record and still qualify for a commercial loan?

28:23—What else consumers need to know regarding commercial loans 

If you have any more questions about this topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you. 

Welcome to episode 18 of “The Jose Luiz Morales Show”! Today’s special guest is Franz Froehlich of Saber Foundation Repair, a fantastic foundation repair company here in Ventura County. 

Certain areas in Ventura County are known to have properties with foundation issues, and sometimes first-time homebuyers don’t find out about them until after they buy the house and it’s time for them to sell it. These kinds of issues can cause you to sell for less than your asking price, so I want to educate you on how to spot foundation issues before you buy a home and what you can do if your current home has foundation issues. 

Once again, for your convenience I’ve provided timestamps of our discussion so that you can skip ahead to various sections at your leisure: 

1:57—How do you define a home’s “foundation”?

2:53—What are the different types of foundations properties have?

4:42—What are some of the problems that arise with foundations?

6:20—What’s the most common reason Ventura County properties have foundation issues?

6:57—What sort of clues should first-time homebuyers look for during the walk-through?

8:52—What does the retrofitting process look like?

9:57—How big does a crack in the foundation need to be for you to be concerned?

11:28—What can you do if you have an older property with foundation issues?

14:05—What can you expect to spend on foundation repair?

16:01—What happens if the builder doesn’t use rebar when building a foundation?

17:29—Are there areas in Ventura County more prone to foundation issues?

18:47—What does the foundation inspection process look like?

19:18—How can new home builders reinforce their foundation if they’re building in an area where the soil isn’t very strong?

21:13—Wrapping things up

If you’d like to get in touch with Franz or the rest of the team at Saber Foundation Repair, you can visit their Facebook page, check out their website SaberFoundations.com, or give them a call at 1-800-922-2488.

As always, if you have any other real estate questions for me, don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I’d love to help you.